St. Kitts & Nevis islands used to be part of UK, but are now independent. The islanders call themselves Kittisians. If that is not sweet enough (sounds like sweet kittens to us), board the train called the Sugar Train. That is exactly what we did as we were told that would be one of the best ways to see the island with the limited time available as cruise passengers.
Sugar Train was used to transport sugar from the plantations to the factory (until 2005). These days it is a fantastic tourist attraction and the only one of it’s kind on the Caribbean islands. The train goes round this tropical, hilly island of St. Kitts for more than two hours and you can sit on the double-deckers open air cars admiring the jungle, the mountains, the low hanging clouds, the plantations, coastline, the villages.
Locals wave at you, you can smell smoke of the burnt wood, guess what someone is cooking for lunch, get the salty breeze from the sea and even admire some scents of sweet flowers by the railway. There are refreshments and a capella singers with calypso entertainment on board.
After the train ride we boarded a catamaran for a scenic cruise. This was another excellent possibility to see the coast of the island, get a better understanding of the geography and see things from a different perspective. Some catamaran cruises include swimming, snorkeling and stops on the way, ours was purely enjoying the warm Caribbean winds, the sun, rainbows and views.
There is a lot to do on the island. Historic, urban and nature activities & attractions (did someone say green monkeys?) draw visitors here.
If you want to learn more about the island and it’s unique life, head to St. Kitts official Tourism Board’s site. The Travel Hack’s travel journal from St. Kitts is a good read as well. And here is a St. Kitts special by The Guardian.