St. Kitts rainforest visit: How? Where?
 

Does anybody have any tips on how to visit the rainforest on ST. Kitts? Hubby and I will have 6 nights on St. Kitts. It is a trip for romance and relaxation but also for biologist hubby who wants to check out the rain forest.

Yes we will have a car. But we don't know how accessible the rainforest is...which roads go up to it, and from which starting points?

We are staying at both Timothy's beach resort and Ottley's Plantation Inn. Not sure which one is more convenient as a base to visit the rainforest?

Private guides to rainforest? Group tours to rainforest? Do it ourselves? (Since hubby is a biologist his interests will be more specific than the average tourist's.)

Thanks for any help! Hubby is also trying to do research, though he is very busy with work and has less time for research. We're leaving in FEbruary, soon!

We took a guided tour with O'Neils tours. He grew up in St. Kitts and gave us a lot of great information about the rainforest and its plants. I would recommend him.

Melissa,

You will need a guide. See this post for more information. The guide will pick you up and bring you to the bottom of the rainforest, where you will begin your tour.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34732521

cw

Another great, private guide is Oliver Spencer. He's been written up in Islands Magazine, as well as some other publications. If you are interested, email me at [email protected] and I can give you his telephone number.

Greg's Safaris or Royston can also take you on a rain forest hike. The staf a your resort(s) will be glad to contact any of the guides for you. Just ask them.

Oliver spencer was my guide last year for the Mt. Liamuiga hike. . .
He is excellent -- and has a lot to say about the country as a whole, not just nature!

Highly recommend Greg's Safaris. He is recommended by the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and mentioned in many travel magazines.

www.gregssafaris.com
Email: [email protected]
869-465-4121

Most guides require a minimum number of people.

Book your tour early as they fill up quickly when a cruise ship is in port.

LIZ

Thanks everyone. It sounds like nobody has simply driven up to the rainforest and gone off on their own. I may contact Ottley's for help. Hubby the biologist will have more specific requests than the average non-biologist tourist. He wouldn't fit well on a guided tour designed for the non-biologist. This is a planning predicament for me. But perhaps Ottley's has had other biologists or naturalists staying there and can help me. But I wonder if a guide would charge a guest of Ottley's more than they would a guest of Timothy's for example?! We will be a guest at both places.

In Costa Rica we didn't hire any guides for the rainforest or cloud forest. However there were national parks and preserves with trails and a huge amount of information on where they were, how to get there, etc. So a guide wasn't necessary, especially not for a biologist. There was one private reserve where you weren't allowed in without a guide, but in other rainforests a guide wasn't required.

Thanks for trying to help me.

Melissa,

Walking into the rainforest without a guide is not recommended, go with a guide who can take you. There is not a road to an entrance where there are trails. There are access points in different places at the end of very very steep tracks.

We have often gone with Oliver Spencer and most of the time it was just the two of us. He just takes a coouple of people. I believe Royston does the same thing.

Some of the other, bigger operators take more people. Take to Ottley's about your needs.

I wouldn't be concerned that the charges would be higher for Ottley guests. After all, you will be much closer to the rainforest there then you will be in Frigate Bay.

CW

cw, thanks a lot for your reply, it is the most information I have found anywhere on visiting the St. Kitts rainforest. Now I feel like I have a better idea of what to expect. Yes, it does sound like we need a guide, because you are saying there isn't a road to an entrance where there are trails. Actually it sounds like my husband's favorite kind of forest experience. (I like trails better, with little signs! But the rainforest part of this trip is for hubby.)

If he had a whole summer on the island he could go off on his own, but with only a week on the island, and other activities to do, he wouldn't even know where are the best places to go to get into the rainforest. So I will take your suggestion and rely on Ottleys to get a guide.

There is so little info on visiting the rainforest, I didn't even know whether the rainforest was more accessible from Timothy's or from Ottley's until you must told me!

Now I feel better, wow, I'm supplied with info. :) I can pack my suitcase now with a sigh of relief.

Melissa,

Glad I answered some of your questions. You will enjoy the walk as well. Beautiful views and wonderful trees, ferns, and other tropical plants. It's not strenuous but wear sneakers or light hiking shoes.

And please excuse the typos in my message. I do know how to spell, I just forget to preview my reply!

CW