St Kitts-Scenic Railway
 

Visiting St Kitts next month on a cruise. Has anyone gone on the Scenic Railway? Can we do this on our own without going on a ship excursion? Can we walk to where the train departs? This seems like a good way to see the island.

No you cannot walk from the cruise ship dock to the Scenic Train it's much too far.

you can get information about obtaining tickets here:www.stkittsscenicrailway.com

Quite honestly, it is not the best way to see the island. The tour, while interesting, takes you through many of the old abandoned sugar cane fields (hence the name) which are out in the countryside. The train does not pass any of the major points of interest around the island.

You are much better off taking a basic island tour (there are several different tour operators based inPort Zante where you will dock) or hiring a taxi and doing your own private island tour.

Good to know. Won't waste our money then. Thanks for responding.

Well, just to be sure you get both sides of this, I have a different opinion of the Scenic Railway tour on St. Kitts. It's a completely different vantage point and perspective. You are riding on the observation deck of a two-level railcar, putting you up about 17 feet above ground. You have 360 degreee viewing from the cars and can "see" the entire island. You're not just stuck down in the bottom of a green path (the Island Main Road).

The train goes through villages as it winds between its terminal stations (Needsmust and La Valle), covering 18 miles of the island in just less than 2 hours. It crosses four big steel bridges over deep Ghuts (ravines), and there are good views of ocean and beaches around the coast. All the drinks are complimentary, they serve a sugarcake snack, the Tour Narrator gives a good history and points out the sights, and the passengers are entertained by the Scenic Railway Choir. It's the only railroad I was ever on that had their own choir. They sing old Caribbean folk songs, and even do the national anthem at the end of the ride.

The other 12 miles of the tour are done on Scenic Railway buses that run along the Caribbean side of the island. This part of the tour goes through Sandy Point, and under the guns of Brimstone Hill Fortress. The buses do 12 miles of the 30 mile tour, and that 30 miles (18 by train and 12 by bus) essentially circles the entire main part of the island.

The train does not go down to Frigate Bay, a tourist area, where the Marriott Hotel is located, and where "The Strip" of beach bars is strung out along the water's edge. It doesn't go down to the Southeast Penninsula where the new Christoph Harbour real estate development is underway, or to Cockleshell Beach (where most of the cruise ship taxis take passengers for their day at a beach on St. Kitts).

The train does, however, do something that you can't do anywhere else on any other island in the West Indies. It takes you through the back of the land behind the volcano, back into the villages and to the edge of the rainforest. It's REAL. It's the last living connection between the days of sugar and the new economy of tourism. And it's run entirely by Kittitian people. The Conductor proudly told me that there are 68 Kittitian men and women who run the railroad, the last narrow gauge railroad in the entire Eastern Caribbean.

You can take a taxi tour anywhere. If you want a once-in-a-Caribbean cruise experience, take the train. But I must admit that I take the train anytime there is one, anywhere I go. You get to see a place and the people who live there from a train. Farmers in fields wave at you, and kids in their schoolyards...you see the laundry billowing on the lines behind houses where people actually live their lives in a place. You can see that from the train on St. Kitts.

Whatever you do in St. Kitts, Enjoy it. It's a lovely undiscovered island. Have fun. Always wave first.

Rail Traveler

Thanks...I appreciate your thorough reply. Now I'm undecided.