2 Best Sights in St. Kitts, St. Kitts and Nevis

You can explore Basseterre, the capital city, in a half hour or so, and should allow four hours for an island tour. Main Road traces the northwestern perimeter of the island through seas of sugarcane and past breadfruit trees and stone walls. Villages with tiny pastel-color houses of stone and weathered wood are scattered across the island, and the drive back to Basseterre around the island's other side passes through several of them. The most spectacular stretch of scenery is on Dr. Kennedy Simmonds Highway, which goes to the tip of the Southeast Peninsula. This modern road twists and turns through the undeveloped grassy hills that rise between the calm Caribbean and the windswept Atlantic, passing the shimmering pink Great Salt Pond, a volcanic crater, and seductive beaches. Major developments are underway, including the Kittitian Hill and Christophe Harbour megadevelopments. The 6-furlong Belmont Park racetrack and state-of-the-art stables opened in 2009 but, despite the exciting equine environment that lured as many as 9,000 spectators, has closed indefinitely, its planned entertainment complex, with an upscale restaurant as well as polo grounds, go-karts, a retail complex, and bird and butterfly parks, on hold.

Sand Bank Bay

A dirt road, nearly impassable after heavy rains, leads to a long mocha crescent on the Atlantic. The shallow coves are protected here, making it ideal for families, and it's usually deserted. Brisk breezes lure the occasional windsurfer, but avoid the rocky far left area because of fierce sudden swells and currents. This exceptionally pretty beach lacks shade; Christophe Harbour has constructed several villas and a beach club (whose upscale Pavilion restaurant is open to the public only for dinner). As you drive southeast along Simmonds Highway, approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Basseterre, look for an unmarked dirt turnoff to the left of the Great Salt Pond. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; swimming; windsurfing.

White House Bay

The beach is rocky, but the snorkeling, taking in several reefs surrounding a sunken tugboat, as well as a recently discovered 18th-century British troop ship, is superb. It's usually deserted, though the calm water (and stunning scenery) makes it a favorite anchorage of yachties. There is little shade, but also little seaweed. Christophe Harbour's sexy beach bar (open from late afternoon), Salt Plage, anchors one end. A dirt road skirts a hill to the right off Simmonds Highway approximately 2 miles (3 km) after Friar's. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: snorkeling; solitude.

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis

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