Melissa5

My husband and I just returned from a 6-night trip to St. Kitts in the Caribbean (West Indies.) Such a friendly island!

I recommend both places we stayed: Timothy's Beach Resort and Ottley's Plantation Inn.

If you are the kind of traveller who enjoys meeting friendly locals, then St. Kitts is a good place to go. We rented a car and drove all around the island. I thought it was remarkable that the people of St. Kitts, of all ages, including teens, treated us with politeness and friendliness. One local in a truck actually backed up on the road, going out of his way to see if we were lost! (We were a bit lost actually.)

I have also been to other islands, and St. Kitts is the friendliest that we have found.

St. Kitts, also called St. Christopher's, is less developed than many islands, which we think is great. The beautiful southeast peninsula is one place where you can drive a ways without seeing any buildings in sight, it's great! Beautiful green hills and no civilization in sight, yet you aren't far from important things like food.

St. Kitts has a great locally-made beer, Carib, which you can get for a buck or two. We found lots of good restaurants, which I will elaborate on. Thanks for everybody's help on this forum in planning our trip!

There isn't a lot of night-life on St. Kitts. One of my few disappointments is that there wasn't any dancing, not at any of the places where we had planned on finding dancing. Not even at Turtle Beach Bar & Grill, where there was a sign promising a live band every Sunday afternoon. Nope, not for us. There wasn't any live music of any kind, anywhere that we went, except for a lone half-hearted musician playing boring music at the Marriott one night.

Night-life on St. Kitts, for us at least, consisted of having a long leisurely dinner, walking on the beach a bit in the moonlight, and stopping to see what was going on at one of the little beach bars, like Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack, next to Timothy's Beach resort. The beach bars look like huts, and are friendly and casual gathering places, which are lively on some nights, quiet on other nights, and closed altogether on other nights!

I would say tracking down night-life on St. Kitts is a pretty iffy project, even if you do your research, apparently things sometimes get cancelled or else have erratic schedules.

I want to tell you more about Timothy's and Ottley's, and list our favorite restaurants, what we ate, and prices, as soon as I get back on-line.

I should mention that our activities included snorkeling, a rainforest half-day tour, walking around the grounds at Ottley's, shopping in Bassetere, swimming, touring the island on our own in our rental car, and visiting the Brimstone Hill National Park (fabulous views up there!)

cw

So glad you had a good time, Melissa. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your report.

cw

sunshine7

Thanks for your report.

My husband and I are leaving in 2 weeks so I am especially interested in your opinions of restaurants and the rainforest tour.

ejcrowe

Whew! I know many of us here are breathing a collective sigh of relief that you and your husband enjoyed your trip so much. We know you put a lot of effort into your trip planning, so it's always nice to hear back about a successful trip. Many happy returns to you, Melissa.

A_Traveller

Glad to hear you had a good time. You seemed to be so stressed planning everything down to the last detail I am please it all worked out well.

Melissa5

Thanks for the good vibes, cw, ejcrowe, and A_Traveller.

Sunshine7, I'm happy my trip report comes in time to help you. I'll answer any questions you have...Have fun swimmin' and slooowing down, Caribbean style. Good for the soul!

TRIP REPORT:

TIMOTHY BEACH RESORT & SUNSET CAFE:

The best thing about Timothy's is its perfect location right on a good swimming and snorkelling beach, on the calm Caribbean sea. It is the only hotel right on a sandy Caribbean beach.

The hotel rooms are actually set back from the beach in a series of 4 or 5 buildings set perpendicular to the beach. We enjoyed a standard ocean view in the second bulding from the beach, second floor. This room goes for about $150 a night in high season, a Caribbean bargain. www.timothybeachresort.com Bargains available for the spring. (Note that first floor rooms in the first building will have their view blocked by the restaurant.)

SUNSET CAFE:
The Sunset Cafe at Timothy Beach Resort is a perfect place for breakfast...it is built so close to the beach, enjoys a sparkling water view. Casual patio dining on plastic chairs and tables. Open-air restaurant with wooden ceiling and fans whirring, more pink and turquoise canvas awning surrounding that, from there you can step down onto the sand.

Food is average at Sunset Cafe but the setting is wonderful...view of sandy beach and gentle Caribbean sea. We tried their breakfast and their lunch; dinner is also served here.

Favorite breakfast at Timothy's Sunset Cafe: their specialty, the crab and ham omelette which comes with diced vegies.

Our breakfast menu and prices one morning at Sunset Cafe: Total of 88.29 EC or $33.32 USD, for 2 people enjoying fresh island fruit side dish, (ripe sweet papaya, banana, melon, orange), one vegie omelette with American cheese added; coconut pancakes; 1 coffee and 1 tea. I leave a tip of 8 EC. (Some restaurants include a service charge on your bill; others don't. Do check!)

The ever-changing play of light on the Caribbean sea is beautiful and entertaining. Sitting at the Sunset Cafe, sometimes the water is blue, clearn & bright enough to see the bottom. When it is overcast or cloudy the sun pokes through a cloud and turns the water silvery blue.

ROOM 37C at TIMOTHY BEACH RESORT:
Our standard ocean view room (about $150 a night) was on the second floor in the second building from the water. We thought this was a good location.

Rooms are what you would expect in a moderately priced room. They are attractive with basic comforts. No amenities in bathroom. Everything was clean, with minor exceptions: there was a rubber hair-catcher in the shower drain that needs to be replaced or scrubbed very hard, ugh. I put it aside. But this is a small nit-picky detail. Shower curtain clean, (no mold, I checked!)

The "rattley air conditioner" which I read about on-line was just fine, it worked fine, and it wasn't even rattly. I thought it hummed softly, blocking any outside noise and helping me to sleep.

There is also a fan in the room. Balcony on second floor with 2 chairs and ocean/beach view off to your left as you stand on the balcony. Some of your view can also be seen from the room. Ocean CANNOT be heard from your room. (Actually the Caribbean sea is so calm it is fairly quiet anyway.)

Our King bed was actually 2 mattresses "sheeted" together. It was comfortable enough.

Would I stay here again? You bet! I especially loved the beach, and the fact that guests at Timothy's are especially friendly, and will give you a nod, a hello, or stop for a chat. We even went to dinner our first night with another couple, sharing a taxi, because we didn't have our car yet.

Staff is helpful, and Jason, activities director, is especially friendly and fun to chat with.

What more could you want for $150 a night in the Caribbean in high season? If you want a whole suite you can pay more, I think they have kitchens, but I prefer really getting a break from cooking on vacation.

You can swim in the Caribbean sea but the Atlantic (Marriott side) is too rough for snorkeling or swimming, it's mostly good for looking at.

I'll take a break and then move on to restaurants, activities, and Ottley's Plantation Inn. I should add that I did the research myself and chose our hotels accordingly, and then had my AAA travel agent book us Ottleys and Timothy Beach Resort as part of an Apples Package, no food, but airport transfers included. We booked our own car with Avis.

Melissa5

OTTLEY'S PLANTATION INN & RESTAURANT

Ottley's on St. Kitts was our splurge. Beautiful grounds, including a rainforest ravine walk. Island elegance and luxury. Big staff, you will be spoiled by a staff of over 40 employees. Friendly and gracious staff, especially Tasha, Peggy, Neslin, and a young man called Kimbo.

We had a superior cottage with a small "plunge pool", which is the size of a jacuzzi with cold water. Our cottage also had a separate shower and big jacuzzi tub for 2 inside. Bathroom was so clean it was sterile, you could make a sandwich on the tub if you wanted and safely eat it!

Cottage #17 was beautifully furnished and decorated, and has wooden shutters with slats you can leave open for a fresh breeze. Air conditioned but we never turned it on, the breeze was fine in February.

The innkeepers are a friendly family and try to take the time to meet you and chat with you over the course of your stay. Art Keusch (innkeeper) is a history buff, and has plenty of energy and mischief still left in him though he is old enough to be my grandpa. Be sure to ask him where the last battle of the American Revolution REALLY took place!

Marty Lowell (innkeeper) is a horticulturist and generously spent as much time as he could spare chatting with my hubby the biologist. Marty knows a lot about St. Kitts plants and wildlife.

Karen Keusch (innkeeper) took the time to chat with us at dinner and came to the lobby to say goodbye when we checked out.

It was our anniversary and we were surprised to find a chilled bottle of champagne in our room, very nice, and also we received a small bottle of rum as a parting gift. \/

Fell asleep at night listening to the kokee frogs peeping, and enjoying a breeze through the wooden shutters.

Coming from the friendly, social Timothy Beach Resort, it was at first hard to get used to Ottleys. It is harder to meet other guests at Ottleys, many of whom have come for peace and privacy. Walking the grounds you will spot women cozying up in their own private corner, intently reading, who obviously value their privacy.

At Ottleys restaurant other guests don't greet you, not even if you glance their way. It is just the way of things at Ottley's. Took a bit of getting used to.

At dinner the innkeepers will stop by your table and have a chat wit you. There was a short rum punch party in the Great Room in the main house which we managed to just miss, arriving as the guests were all leaving!

By the time we left Ottleys, we had finally discovered how to meet other guests who are open to chatting. The pool at Ottleys is lovely but rather publicly located, right next to the restaurant, on the other side of the wall, and there is a small bar right next to the pool. Therefore I at last discovered the folks at the pool to be more open for a chat, and I had a nice chat with a couple from Europe...the hubby was English and the wife was from Scotland originally.

OTTLEY'S RESTAURANT:
The restaurant at Ottley's has 2 sides. One side, where breakfast and lunch are served, is breezy with a view down to the sea far below. On the other side of the wall is the restaurant area where dinner is served, more protected from the evening breeze.

Food at Ottley's was pricey and good. We had other meals on the island which we felt were as good as Ottley's, and a little bit less money. My suggestion is, if you are staying at Ottleys, or have reason to visit this side of the island, or want to stroll their beautiful grounds and try their rainforest ravine walk, then do stop by their restaurant for a meal. However if you are staying on the other side of the island, and the only reason you are coming to Ottleys is for the food, there are equally good places to eat on the other side of the island.

On the other hand, if you are staying at the Marriott, and you notice a banquet offered at Ottleys in the Great House, do sign up, you will enjoy it, we saw that function and there were torches lit, I think you would enjoy the change from the Marriott.

If you are staying at Ottleys, you will certainly enjoy the restaurant, the food, the grounds, the ambience. I am just saying there is also good food on the other side of the island.

Ottley's is the only place on the island where you will be offered free refills on your coffee!!! The bonus treatment!

Favorite breakfast at Ottleys: Rum-and- orange-flavored French toast made with raisin bread, and a side of bacon. The rum & orange french toast isn't quite as good when it's made with the plain bread, they don't have the same bread every day. I spent $23.68 USD breakfasting alone one morning while my hubby did the rainforest half-day tour. I ordered the Rum & Orange French toast, a side of bacon, and both tea and coffee.

We spent $101.50 USD including service charge and taxes for 2 people for dinner on our last night at Ottleys. We ordered: 1 Salmon Medallion with sauce, asparagus & carrots; 1 Curried chicken breast with potatoes and bell peppers; 1 West Indian creole plantain soup. THIS SOUP WAS MY FAVORITE FOOD AT OTTLEY'S! YUMMY! We had water and no dessert on this night.

Food at Ottleys is all nicely done, well-prepared, with an emphasis on delicous sauces at dinner.

Ottleys Plantation Inn is an especially good choice for a couple seeking beauty, and privacy, for a honeymoon or a wedding anniversary celebration.

I will move on to sharing about more restaurants we enjoyed, and our activities. Plus some airport and car rental info.

I should clarify that the rainforest ravine walk at Ottleys is part of their grounds and takes between 30 minutes and an hour. It is lovely, and can be muddy and steep in parts, wear walking shoes with tread on the bottom, no heals, no sandals. The main rainforest on the island is higher up than Ottleys, my hubby got a half-day tour of it, which I will elaborate on.

Knowing

Glad to hear your trip went so well, Melissa. We just returned from Nevis 13 days ago (Sigh! Yes, I'm still going through withdrawl)and found Nevis and St. Kitts to be the friendliest and most beautiful islands ever as well. My husband loved the Carib beer, too, once he finally gave in and tried it. The only thing is we still can't figure out why anyone would think there was anything wrong with the beaches???

Laby

What a wonderful and informative trip report! It sure sounds like you had a fantastic time and took full advantage of everything St. Kitts has to offer. I enjoyed reading your report.

Sunnyboy

A great report Melissa. It was well written and captured the true feel of the island. After all that planning you were an expert on St. Kitts before ever setting foot on the island. I'm pleased it met your expectations.

Melissa5

GREAT RESTAURANTS ON ST. KITTS:

SPRATT NET

Spratt Net was our #1 favorite place to enjoy dinner and a smooth Carib (local beer) in a casual atmosphere. Spratt Net is St. Kitts at its friendly best. Here you dine on long picnic tables, sitting with locals and visitors.

Come early and you can watch the sun set on the sea. Spratt Net opens at 6:00 pm, and by 7:30 pm on some nights it is really hopping.

The restaurant is run by 2 brothers who are fishermen. If you order the lobster or the fish of the day, it is very fresh and perfectly grilled. The local lobster is perfectly cooked here, the only grilled lobster in the world which I have to say was as tender as boiled lobster! Meals are accompanied by basic sides of corn on the cob and bread.

You will get a generous serving of fresh fish for $12 USD, or fresh lobster for $26 USD (twice as much lobster as you get in the USA)! We had fresh tuna one night, and returned a second night for sweet, tender lobster. Order a smooth Carib at the bar for $2 USD.

Folks eating at Spratt Net are friendly and ready for a chat.

You order your dinner at the grill, and they take your name, and they tell you to sit anywhere, they will find you when your food is ready, and amazingly, they do!

If you arrive at 6:00 pm you won't have to wait long for your dinner. If you arrive at 7:30 pm on a crowded night, you may have to wait an hour for your food; we did. (But they give you an honest time estimate when you order.)

Driving up to Spratt Net from Timothy's Beach Resort or the Marriott, you have to drive past Basseterre. If you take a taxi from the Marriott or Timothy's, it is between $40 and $50 for the 40-minute taxi ride, round trip. This should be the cost for everyone who can fit in the taxi, and NOT a per person charge. We split the cost with another couple whom we met in the lobby at Timothy's.

Or, if you're staying at Ottley's, and you have a car, you can do a half-day-tour of the island after lunch, driving around the north side, and arrive at Spratt Net from that direction for dinner.

Sitting at one of the long tables, sipping on a Carib, waiting for our food, I decided to introduce myself to the local man sitting nearest to me. His name was Bobby, and he shook my hand, and said, "Welcome to the island, and may you return with many friends."

MARSHALL'S:
We heard Marshall's was good, and looked over their menu in the lobby of our first hotel, Timothy's. But Marshall's prices are twice as high as Serendipity, which is also recommended. Therefore we skipped Marshall's and headed for Serendipity. This time we had a car!

SERENDIPITY:
Serendipity Restaurant & Lounge Bar in Basseterre, on Wigley Ave., is a romantic choice, with excellent gourmet food. Service is very gracious, and our waitress went way beyond the call of duty when it was time for us to leave. It was near closing time and it was pouring rain. She put on her coat and insisted on walking us to our car, with a giant umbrella! Such a wonderfully thoughtful gesture!

The music at Serendipity is soft, romantic love songs, many by American singers...yet, the atmosphere feels very Caribbean, gracious St. Kitts style. In good weather they roll up the shades and you have open air dining, with a roof over your head, and a nice romantic view. As it was raining, the clear plastic shades were down to protect guests from the weather, but we could still see water and lights twinkling through the shades.

Web-site for Serendipity is www.serendipity.com We had our hotel call for all of our dinner reservations, and ended up with good tables this way. (Except for Spratt Net, where you don't need a reservation.)

We enjoyed sharing a seafood appetizer, and we both ordered the grouper, which came on potatoes, with an artistic garnish on top which looked like a nest of fried green onion tops, and surrounded by a fantastic sauce, lemony and buttery with herbs.

For dessert we chose to share an excellent home-made sorbet, it was an island fruit flavor, I think it was Passionfruit. It had a very fruity flavor and wasn't too sweet, very tasty and light. They were out of our first choice, which was soursop ice cream.

My coffee was brought to me with one of those personal hand-press coffee makers that they set on your table. Great coffee.

I would like to mention...don't be surprised if your fish comes on the well done side, it seems to be the custom frequently on St. Kitts to cook fish well-done. If you like it more rare, you could probably request it, we didn't do that.

You will be very pleased with Serendipity, especially if you are hoping for a romantic atmosphere. This is one of the places we will return if we get to St. Kitts again.

ISLAND SPICE:
I can also recommend dinner at Chef Lynn's Island Spice Restaurant in the Sugars Complex on Frigate Bay. This one is very convenient from Timothy's beach resort or from the Marriott.

I have only one thing to say about the Island Spice restaurant: ORDER THE COCONUT TART FOR DESSERT! WOW! Never had anything like it, it was my #1 favorite dessert on the island. In fact it was my #1 favorite coconut dessert anywhere in the world. Fresh pastry crust filled with fresh coconut, cinnamon, and ginger or nutmeg (I wrote down ginger but I think I must have meant nutmeg)... It is soooooo good. Comes warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

We shared one coconut tart but I wish we had ordered 2 of them, they aren't that big, you can eat a whole one.

Okay, if you insist, I'll tell you about the food as well as the dessert.

My hubby enjoyed the National dish, which includes creole salted codfish and coconut wheat dumplings. The dumplings are a big doughy, but the creole salted codfish is better here than elsewhere on the island.

I enjoyed the Marlin with creole sauce, plantains, and delicious vegies like zuchini and mushrooms.

Dinner for 2 people, including 1 dessert and 1 water bottle, was 167 EC, which is around $62 USD.

More restaurants to follow as soon as I get back to the computer!

Melissa5

OOPS! So sorry for typo above! The web-site for Serendipity is actually www.serendipitystkitts.com

sunshine7

Melissa,

Thanks so much for all of the colorful details in your trip report. I'm looking forward to any other comments.

Melissa5

sunshine7, have a great trip to St. Kitts!

Here are more great restaurants, followed by rainforest tour details, rental car, and Brimstone Hill.

BALLAHOO RESTAURANT

We had lunch twice at Ballahoo restaurant in Basseterre. We liked the prices and the food, and it is conveniently located for shopping.

Our favorite lunch was 71.40 EC for 2 people, including service charge. (One dollar USD is equal to 37 cents EC. Therefore this lunch is reasonably priced for us.) We ordered: 2 lobster subs, 1 pumpkin soup, 1 iced tea, 1 Carib (beer). Lobster subs were tasty on a warm day, lobster prepared similar to a crab salad, on a white sub roll, with cucumber and tomato. We ordered it without the lettuce. Not much lobster, but enough to eat on a warm afternoon for a tasty light lunch.

Ballahoo is a casual restaurant on the second floor, with a view over the "Circus", in the centre of Basseterre. Web-site www.ballahoo.com

LUNCH AT THE GOLDEN LEMON INN AND VILLAS

We enjoyed lunch at the Golden Lemon, Dieppe Bay, north side of island. We sat on the cheerful patio under a yellow and white roof, open-air, garden view. There's a wall between you and the sea.

For $31 USD for 2 people, including service charge and tax, we enjoyed something different for lunch...a hamburger! Only it was called "chopped steak", and we ordered it well-done. The beef seemed of much higher quality than our ground beef in the USA.

The fat little burger comes on a home-made whole wheat bun with tomato and lettuce, accompanied by home-made potato chips and delicious banana baked beans topped with cheese. You can also get swiss cheese on the burger. Excellent iced tea.

STAYING HEALTHY:
For the sake of avoiding traveller's illness, hubby and I never eat any raw salads on vacation anywhere. The only uncooked, unpeeled fruits or vegies we eat when out of town are tomatoes. Since we have followed this prescription, I stopped getting traveller's sickness, which I used to be prone to. amp;

We recommend the Golden Lemon restaurant for lunch. If you want to order something more exotic than the hamburger, I would try the West Indian Rum Beef Stew for $15 USD, or the Lobster Cakes with Mango Mayonnaise for $18.50 USD.

TURTLE BEACH BAR AND GRILL

We drove around the beautiful southeast peninsula and ended up at the Turtle Beach Bar & Grill for lunch. However it was raining when we arrived, so nobody was on the beach, and even though the sign said live steel band every Sunday afternoon, there wasn't any live music on this particular Sunday, which was disappointing.

Waitress seemed a bit dazed, and hubby's food was boring, a barbecue chicken sandwich and fries. My Caribbean curry chicken burrito with grilled local vegies was quite good. Lunch totalled $34 USD for the 2 of us with drinks. We both had fresh mango juice which was just okay.

Pleasant view of Nevis across the water, though it was a bit cloudy so visibility wasn't great.

Turtle Beach is a rather boring place in the rain, and it's a bit out of the way. I wouldn't come here unless it is a sunny day. Though the southeast peninsula drive on the way to Turtle Beach was pretty.

Turtle Beach Bar & Grill was our least favorite lunch.

Okay that's it for the food report! I will add on a report of the rainforest tour, Brimstone Hill, and other activities.

Melissa5

Laby and Sunnyboy: thanks for the nice comments.

Knowing: that's 2 of us who found St. Kitts locals to be the friendliest islanders anywhere. I hope to visit Nevis one day too. I'm not sure why people would complain about St. Kitts beaches either, maybe they are comparing them to other islands. We thought our beach at Timothy Beach resort was a fine beach. Where else can you snorkel and swim in calm water all day? (In Maui the wind picks up in the afternoon so snorkeling is only good in the morning for example.)

I will finish up this trip report soon, with the report on activities (rainforest tour, shopping, our drive around the island, snorkeling.)

cw

Still enjoying following your adventures around the island. I love sitting at the Ballahoo Restaurant and just watching the world go by outside in the Circus.

One comment about the water in St. Kitts. Unlike some countries, it's great potable water and I've never stayed away from fruit or salads. Actually eating the fresh, tasty greens and fruit are highlights of my trip.

You may be extremely sensitive to water changes, but I didn't want people to have the impression that they had to avoid the water and fresh food.

Keep the report coming! Thanks for taking the time to write.

cw

Melissa5

STAYING HEALTHY:
cw, yes, you are right, I am extremely sensitive to changes in my environment, and have a very iffy digestive tract! Previous to following hubby's advice, I almost always got sick whenever I went out of town!

Hubby is a biologist and explained to me that even if the water in a new part of the world is considered clean and safe to drink, I can still get sick because the flora and fauna in a new area is unfamiliar to my body.

What works for me is to drink bottled water, the most familiar type I can buy; to avoid raw salads and raw uncooked unpeeled vegies. On a long trip I can sometimes add in some of these things if I have remained well for a whole week...

It was in Italy that I discovered that I can eat tomatoes while travelling, and not salads! My guess is it's because a tomato is easy to wash and doesn't retain much of the water, whereas when you wash lettuce, the water droplets cling to the salad...lettuce is harder to get really clean as well.

Anyway, you are right maybe some folks can enjoy salads, drink the water, etc. in ST. Kitts and stay perfectly well. But if anybody out there is super sensitive like me, try my advice. It changed my travelling life!

Hubby never gets sick when travelling anywhere, and has always followed his own advice. In Morocco all his travel companions fell ill with digestive ailments, except for him! He told me that he ate only well-cooked meats/beans/vegies and didn't drink the water.

Lucky you, cw, since it sounds like you have a robust digestive system! I also have other problems, but they are manageable, such as lactose intolerance, etc.

cw, I agree, it's fun to sit up at Ballahoo and watch the world go by below you. We bought an artist's sketch of the Circus area and the Ballahoo restaurant as a souveneir!

Melissa5

On with the trip report:

SNORKELING AT TIMOTHY'S BEACH RESORT:

Hubby and I really enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the calm Caribbean sea on our beach at Timothy's on Frigate Bay. The water was calm all day, except for when the weather was rainy and blustery for half of one day, the rest of the time it was calm and gentle. The water remained clear until sunset!

If you stand on the beach at Timothy's, facing the sea, you will see a narrow rocky jetty jutting out into the water. It is not very long. If you swim out to the other side of the rocks (a short swim, you are still close to shore), that is the best snorkeling area.

This is a relatively small area, so if dozens of people come out to snorkel it will be too crowded. But as long as the cruise ship passengers were gone, we found only about 4 of us snorkeling at a time in the late afternoon/evening.

Hubby saw over 30 species of fish, including: a pufferfish, a lobster, a school of cuttlefish (similar to squid), unidentified yellow and blue fish, a squirrel fish, and young baracudas. This was more than he saw in Kauai.

As for me, everything I saw was blurry...I forgot my contact lenses and am very near-sighted. There weren't any optical masks for sale either. I still enjoyed swimmin' in the warm water, and looking at a few blurry fish!

Hubby and I are now shopping for optical masks. Sports Chalet has lenses in stock which they can put into a mask for you, matching your prescription close enough. The lenses are around $24 each and the mask is around $40, I believe. I will have to buy one of those because one eye is worse than the other and the regular optical masks make me dizzy!

Hubby is near-sighted also, and snorkels with an old pair of glasses, with the temples broke off, jammed into his mask! He is going to buy an optical mask too.

One more thing about the beaches on St. Kitts. They get crowded when the cruise ship lands, but the cruise ship folks are gone by the afternoon, and if the beach was crowded after breakfast, we toured the island in our rental car, then swam in the afternoon/evening.

Hubby found the light for snorkeling even better around 5:00 on slightly overcast days, because of the lack of shadows in the water.

If you are on a cruise and landing on St. Kitts, I must warn you that everywhere they drop you off you will find it crowded, only because you ARE the crowds! When you go back to your ship, we find St. Kitts very uncrowded. But it's your vacation too, have a great time!

Melissa5

More reports on activities as soon as I return to the computer.

Melissa5

MORE SNORKELING DETAILS:

I forgot to mention a few other things hubby saw while snorkeling at Timothy's beach. He saw soft coral, feather- and fan-type, and also sponges.

More activities to come...