caymansreef

hi guys. i was wondering if you could list your favorite off the beach snorkeling sites on st kitts. our plan is to get off the ship, and grab a cab to the best sites.
thanks in advance for your help
caymansreef

Diana

imho, the snorkeling on St Kitts is mediocre at best. If you are on a cruise ship, there will be other islands on your itinerary that would make far better use of your time for snorkeling than SKB.

There are lots of neat things to see on the island - why not take an island tour instead? The fort there offers great views, and there are other neat sights as well. Shopping is interesting in the downtown area, and there are some good places for lunch.

Or, you could take the ferry over to Nevis and go exploring there.

You can save a bundle over what the cruiseline charges for tours by simply going to the big parking lot down by the waterfront in Basseterre and negotiating a private tour with a taxi driver.

ejcrowe

Unless snorkeling is the only thing you want to do, I agree with Diana's suggestion. I would recommend hiring a private taxi for a tour and then taking in the Fort Brimstone, which provides fantastic views and a moving history. Maybe also take in a tour of Romney Manor and Caribelle Batik. Maybe stop for lunch up at the Golden Lemon and then wind your way back to Basseterre for departure.

If you really do want to snorkel from shore, I'd recommend trying South Friars Bay (S. Frigate Bay will be *Extremely* crowded with a cruise ship in port) or Cockleshell Bay which is on the tip of the southern peninsula. Arrange with a taxi driver to pick you back up at a certain time.

skbfan

If you are interested in a tour of the island, I recommend the services of Thenford Grey. His van is extremely clean and spacious. He is knowledgeable, friendly and very accommodating. His e-mail is [email protected]

He will take you to Brimstone Hill, Romney Manor, various plantations, Black Rocks, and to the beach.

For snorkeling you can also visit Turtle Beach and Whitehouse Bay.

A website you might enjoy is www.myislands.myeyez.net and www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

Another suggestion is to go on the catamaran/excursion with Blue Water Safaris. www.bluewatersafaris.com

Have a great time in St. Kitts!

LIZ

caymansreef

Hi guys. i just wanted to make some things clear. When i get off the ship are the cabs right there? Can i trust them to come back to pick us up? we want to go to the se peninsula, how much should that cost round trip? Is there any other snorkleing sites that are worthy of taking a taxi too?
Once again thanks so much for your time
caymanseef

A_Traveller

Yes, there will be plenty of cabs at the dock. Yes, they will drop you off at a beach and pick you up at the appointed time. A trip to one of the beaches on the far end of the South Pennisula should run you about $20 to $25US each way. As everyone has told you "off-beach" snorkeling on St. Kitts is not something that should be high on your list of things to do. Try Cockelshell or Turtle Beach but truthfully there's not much to see "snorkeling wise".

skbfan

You will find many cabs at Port Zante and also near The Circus. You can also take a water taxi from Port Zante to Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack www.mrxshiggidyshack.com located on South Friars. Delicious food, snorkeling available next to Timothy Beach Resort and jet ski rentals.

You can also take a taxi down the scenic highway to Cockleshell (great photo opportunities), enjoy a meal at Lion's Beach Bar and a famous Lion punch. You can enjoy snorkelling here as well.

At the end of the southeast peninsula is Turtle Beach www.turtlebeach1.com

Loved their mango coladas, breathtaking view of Nevis, Wilbur the resident pig and snorkeling. Food was good too.

To see recent photos of St. Kitts go to
http://community.webshots.com/user/3dlefranc

Have a great day in St. Kitts!

StanKase

The comments about snorkeling are "spot-on" for both St. Kitts and Nevis. It's a shame for both are lush islands with good, not excellent eaches, and lovely hotels.

rxtennis

I had one day to spend on St. Kitts and thanks to the people on this forum it was organized and a perfect day. right of the ship I asked the taxi driver how much for the day. I already knew the going price at the time 12/04 was 60.00 per day. what a deal. we started off by going to the fort and seeing how the people live on the way. what a photo spot. I even paid a boy 5.00 to let me hold his monkey. then after the clothing factor we went to turtle bay. I didn't know how muuch time to tell the driver to let us stay and we didn't stay long enough. the snorkeling was not good but sharing my french fries with dozens of monkeys was very fun. from there he dropped us at a beach very close which was secluded no facilities but we snorkeled some. I did trust him to pick us up we even left stuff in the truck. it was a very memorable day.

caymansreef

Hi rxtennis. Can i get a taxi off the pier? Are all the taxies legit? is there a barganing process? And doing what you did on that day looks very cool. even without good snorkeling.
thanks in advance for your help
Jen

caymansreef

Hi again. is Nevis worth a visit? how is the snorkeling, beaches over there? We leave in 3 days!
thanks to all on this board for your help
Jen

rxtennis

The Taxi's were all right off the ship. They seemed to be same company. I just asked how much for the day because I had gotten the suggestion of around 60. here beforehand and wanted to confirm ist but that was 14 months ago price could have gone up some. let me know when you get back. have fun

skbfan

Make sure your taxi driver shows you his ID to confirm that he is legit. Taxi cabs will have a "T" on their license plate as well.

Here are some rates I was quoted in December:

Half Island $60 US
Full Island (excluding South East Peninsula) $80 US
2 1/2 hour tour of SE Peninsula $52 US
Basseterre to Turtle Beach $26 US
City Tour $30 US

If you go to Nevis be sure to visit Chevy's Beach Bar on beautiful Pinney's Beach. http://www.myspace.com/chevys_calypso_bar

carib_bean2

I do not snorkle much - ok I never snorkled before St.Kitts - but....We stayed at Turtle beach and around the reef there we saw all kinds of huge schools of fish, my husband and father went further out and saw turtles, squid and we all brought home sand dollars and all kinds of people were carrying conch shells (empty of their original tenants) up to their condos. I realize I don't know the joys of high end snorkling but this was good stuff I thought and pretty fun spot - but yes Turtle beach gets pretty jumping when the cruise ships come in...but still great fun and the beach bars also add to the experience!

caymansreef

Well, we are back. Special thanks to lvsun. Our day at Bonair was wonderful. Curt found the snorkeling at Plaza hotel to be world class. Even though there was a ship in port, the beach was not that crowded.
our trip was wonderful. a new island every day for us to explore. On Grenada we hiked to 7 sisters waterfall. The hike was deep into the rain forest. We swam in the cool water, and played in the wake of the falls. Beautiful. The hike was a little muddy, but sturdy, surrounded by thick foliage. Awesome. Grenada is a little rough around the edges. Devastated by a hurricane a couple years ago, there are a lot of shacks, and very poor people.
on st kitts we got lucky and found Anthony Henry. We found him right off the pier, ready to take us on a tour of the island. Anthony was friendly, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. We left things in his cab while we went swimming. A wonderful guide, who was warm, and awesome. Here is his cab number - f9737. you can reach him on these phone numbers. 869 465 3379, 869 465 3804. We personally recommend Anthony.

thanks to all fellow travelers who contribute to these boards.
Jen