We just returned from our Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Allure of the Seas. During our cruise, we enjoyed a lovely port day in St. Kitts. It has been a couple of years since our last visit and we were excited to go back.
During our last visit, we were sailing with extended family. The girls in our group went Stand Up Paddleboarding! I was… NOT GOOD, but I absolutely loved it. The men in our group walked around town and went on a short tour. This time it was just me and my husband Brian. So, of course, we wanted to do something fun together! This week’s post is all about our fun and relaxing port day in St. Kitts.
One of the options we were excited about was to take the Ferry over to St. Kitt’s sister island, Nevis. Unfortunately, the ferry schedule was just not going to work in our favor. I was also pretty set on visiting Sir Timothy Hill so that I could check out the amazing Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea view…and I just didn’t feel confident that we could do both without stress in trying to make our all aboard time. I couldn’t break the most important rule of cruising…DON’T MISS THE SHIP!
So, we decided that we would take a taxi to Sir Timothy Hill, snap a few breathtaking pics and then head to a beach.
Let our Port Day in St. Kitts Adventure Begin.
When you first disembark the ship and enter the port and the sea of taxi and tour solicitors it’s very easy to become overwhelmed. There are people everywhere. The Caribbean Princess (a very large ship) was also in port at the same time so there was a lot of cruisers in port. We put on our “no thank you” faces and walked past the masses.
Once we made our way past the most congested area we turned around and just scanned and accessed the scene. My husband, Brian, noticed a woman with a tour sign standing near some shops all alone and said, Hey, what about talking to her? Enter our new friend Tryphena.
We explained to her our “plan”. She gave us a price of $14 per person (roundtrip) but she needed a group of at least four. (The taxi stand quoted us $16 round trip each to go to Timothy Hill) We thought this was reasonable as they usually try to fill their vans that hold 12. Brian, feeling very outgoing, decided that he was going to go and look for a couple of “normal” people heading to the beach to share a ride with us. Please don’t take offense to the use of the word “normal”. If you have ever shared a taxi with others, I’m sure you understand. Low and behold he came back with a lovely couple from the UK to join our little mini tour. Hi Dave & Sandra!
Tryphena was great. She let us just sit and chat when we wanted to and in between our conversations she chimed in with local tidbits and didn’t let us many any highlights during our drive. She was SO nice! I’ll leave her info at the end of this post.
Off to Sir Timothy Hill.
Beautiful view…but don’t tick off the donkey guy!
This viewpoint is a place I heard about from watching my favorite Travel Vloggers on Youtube – Kara & Nate. If you haven’t heard of them, check them out! They are so smiley and fun and are on a mission to visit 100 countries by 2019. Jealous! Visiting a spot where you can overlook both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea seemed to be the most amazing thing ever to this saltwater fan.
Donkey and Monkey in Costume, Oh My!
On the hill was a local entrepreneur with a donkey and a little monkey. For the fee of $5, you could take a picture with the donkey and monkey (both in costume). Well, I felt bad for the animals and I was there for the view. So, I wasn’t really interested. But…I was shooting a video of the two bodies of water. As I turned back around to our little group, I switched my iPhone from video to photo mode. The man thought I had taken a picture (even though I was holding it down when I switched the mode) without paying the fee and started yelling at me. I kindly told him what I had done and that I had not taken a picture of him or his costumed animals. He got a little mouthy.
I mention this only as a heads up that in St. Kitts, in port people might try and but a little monkey on your shoulder and get you interested. Please be advised that they will expect to be paid whether you asked to have the monkey on your shoulder or not. So, just a heads up.
Also…a short time ago if this happened I would have literally stood behind my big strong husband. I absolutely hate confrontation. I get so nervous and get completely tongue-tied. But…I have to say that I remained respectful but held my own. YAY me! I also had the truth on my side because I, in fact, DID NOT take his picture. Why can’t we all just get along? Peace, love, and applesauce, etc.
<here’s where the crazy picture would be…if I had taken one>
Moving on with our Port Day in St Kitts – Cockleshell Beach
In total, including our stop at Timothy Hill, our taxi ride was about 30 minutes. So many hills and exceptional views. Just a heads up, the last mile of our taxi journey was pretty rugged. Tryphena explained to us that the government is trying to pave the roads but they haven’t yet reached an agreement with the landowners. If you are a worry-wart like me, you may think your taxi driver is taking you to the middle of nowhere to trade you for some adorable, yet somewhat creepy, diaper wearing monkeys.
We were excited to just be lazy at the beach during our port day in St. Kitts. We love to walk along the water, enjoy the sun, grab a local beverage and some food. Heaven! Tryfena recommended Cockleshell Beach because there were lots of options for activities, food/beverage, and facilities. The largest “restaurant” on this beach is the Reggae Beach Bar. Here is the Trip Advisor link. It was super casual and a fun environment. We really enjoyed our time there. Just be aware that it is tourist pricing. For example, in the town square by the port, you can get a local Carib beer for $1. At the beach bar, they were $3-4 for each beer. The beach was nice, the facilities were good and the view of Nevis was lovely. There are other little food/beverage “shacks” along the beach as well so don’t feel like you will have to eat, drink and be merry just at the Reggae Beach Bar.
Tryphena picked us from the beach right on time and we headed back to our temporary home on the amazing Allure of the Seas. Well, that wraps up our short port day in St. Kitts. I hope you are inspired to go check out this lovely island.
Have a great week everyone! I’ll be back next week with a look at my dream island, St. John USVI.
Other great options for a Port Day in St. Kitts –
The sister island of Nevis – if your schedule allows, I think this would be worth exploring! I hope to make it there soon.
St. Kitts Scenic Railway – This looked very interesting as well. You should have plenty of time for this tour during your port day in St. Kitts. It’s a 3-hour combo bus/train tour covering the island. You can book this tour online, via your cruise line or at the port. There is a tourist information desk at the port entrance.
G.E.M Taxi/Tour Services – We highly recommend Tryphena. She was friendly, laid back and kind. She returned to pick us back up from the beach at the designated time and had left us with her contact information if we wanted to return earlier. We spoke to several other drivers who were waiting on people and the beach and they raved about her reliability as well. She’s awesome.
If you missed my Countdown To Cruise Series I hope you’ll check them out.
Packing for a Warm Weather Cruise
My Essential Tech Gear for Traveling
The Royal Caribbean Check-in Process
The Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner
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Happy Travels!
Jillian