St Kitts and Nevis family holidays and breaks

The charming and beautiful green island of St Kitts, lined with unspoilt beaches – on the Caribbean side to the south and the Atlantic side to the north – is relatively new to tourism, having made its money from sugar until 2005, so everything is small-scale and hence perfect for family holidays. You won’t get hassled on the beach and you won’t encounter cynicism, and there are lots of great activities that make for fantastic family days out, including snorkelling on a coral reef, exploring the island’s rainforest, and visiting a UNESCO listed fortress. And because the island is small, nothing is more than half an hour’s drive away from the centre.

A short boat ride brings you to St Kitts’ sister island Nevis, a haven of tranquility that prides itself on being ecologically forward-thinking and plans to use solar power, wind power and geothermal energy to generate enough electricity to take it off-grid. It also limits buildings to two storeys, so nothing detracts from its natural beauty.

Best of all, both islands run the Kids ‘r’ VIPs program offering great activities at discounts. Some of the islands’ hotels are in on it too, providing kids’ clubs and kids’ rates on meals and accommodation.

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Today

27°C
82°F

Flying Time	8.5 hours
Timezone	GMT -4
Local Currency	Eastern Caribbean Dollar

What to do

Head for the beaches on the Caribbean side, which offer the safest sea for families to paddle and swim in – the white sands of Frigate Bay and Cockleshell Bay (known locally as Reggae Beach) are the favourites. Look out for conch shells and brown pelicans (the national bird) as they soar then dive and fold neatly into a dart before plunging into the water on the hunt for fish. The beaches on the Atlantic side are quieter, with volcanic black sand and hearty waves – confident swimmers will find them great for body-surfing.

Encourage kids to try sailing or kayaking from the Reggae Beach Bar at Cockleshell Bay. Lessons start with a little orienteering, but after a very short time, children are scooting around the shallow and sheltered bay in a sailing dinghy with a teacher from the St Kitts Sailing School (stkittssailingschool@gmail.com) calling the shots. Smaller children, or those who don’t want to get in a vessel, will be perfectly happy saying hello to the pet monkey or goat, or watching Wilbur – the island’s famous 318kg pig – snort about in the undergrowth.

With older children, join the St Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network research team for an observation night-hike of the critically-endangered local sea turtle population (8pm-midnight in season; nesting season is Mar–July, with leatherback turtle hatchlings emerging in Oct).

Learn about more of the island’s wildlife with a visit to the rainforest with Greg’s Safaris. Greg is a 5th-generation islander with buckets of knowledge about the plants, animals and eco-system of the island’s rainforest, and he or one of his team will pick you up from your hotel in an open-backed Land Rover and lead you under the tree canopy, where you’ll see hummingbirds and monkeys, and enormous fincas trees with ridged and roving roots. Kids love prodding mimosa pullica plants, which furl up at the gentlest touch. If they’re really lucky, they’ll find a black diamond. A 2hr trek, involving an exciting tree-root climb to the top of a ridge, finishes with fruit punch and home-made sugar cake (an island speciality).

Take all the family on a catamaran cruise; Blue Water Safaris run day-trips from Port Zante. Children love sitting on the webbed deck at the front and getting splashed whenever the catamaran hits a big wave. The staff are fun and really friendly, offering free-flowing rum punch to adult passengers but quietly making sure safety rules are observed at all times. A full day-trip takes you past Frigate Bay, stops at Shitten Bay for some deep-water snorkelling, and, after a delicious buffet lunch, drops everyone off at Banana Bay for an hour’s beach fun before returning to Port Zante.

Hop aboard the St Kitts Scenic Railway Tour or ‘Sugar Train’, which snakes along the Atlantic coast, past former sugar plantations and some stunning scenery. It’s the last remaining railway in the West Indies and offers a characterful day out: the doubledecker train with its open top-deck chugs along 29km of narrow-gauge track, crossing ravines and passing villages where everyone smiles and waves. Drinks and snacks are served en route, and there’s a history lesson from the driver over the sound system.

Enjoy a riveting day out for all the family at the UNESCO World Heritage listed Brimstone Hill Fortress, which was the imposing centre of defensive army might at St Kitts, England’s first colonial outpost in the West Indies. Young kids love clambering up the ramparts, sitting on the cannons and exploring the barracks; older kids are fascinated by the bakery, gunpowder store, dormitories and prison, which are set up as reconstructions, with scarily life-like models. They also love the descriptions of everyday life and gory pictorial depictions of the garrison’s punishment and torture regime. The 360° views from up here are breathtaking, and it’s easy to imagine the sight of the French army arriving for a month-long siege in 1782.

Try the new Sky Safari, a cluster of five thrilling zip-wire rides in the rainforest. Children aged 6+ and adults squeal with delight as they plunge through the trees, reaching speeds of 80km/h.

Take kids under 15 to claim their free golf lesson when accompanied by a paying adult at the Marriott St Kitts course, a beautiful spot with views over the Atlantic.

Take a 2hr steel pan lesson with the Scherzando School of Music (scherzando5@hotmail.com) on Nevis, available to kids aged 6+ and adults. The trainer steel pans are marked with notes, making it easy to play a tune straight off with the help of the school’s enthusiastic teachers.

Learn about traditional village life at Peak Haven on Nevis, where you can see the Slarb (a man-made pond used for washing clothes), the communal bread oven, an open-air church and a reconstruction of a chattel house (moveable wooden huts where slaves lived 10 to a room). There’s also a café and small adventure playground onsite.

Those here on two-week family holidays can take a pottery lesson with a resident St Kitts potter Carla Astaphan (thepottershouse@sisterisles.kn), making a pot the first week and decorating it the second.

Where to stay

St Kitts currently has just a handful of hotels, but major development is now beginning along the south-east peninsula, so that will offer the most options for family holidays. Christophe Harbour, the largest development, will cover 2,500 acres with hotels, residences, restaurants and a marina; islanders are positive about the economical impact this will have, and buildings that have been completed so far are low-rise and tasteful, with imaginative planting that preserves the island’s lovely views.

At present, the St Kitts Marriott is the largest hotel on the island, with 453 rooms surrounding three pools and eight restaurants. There’s also giant chess, board games to borrow, a kids’ club so that parents can venture out in the evening, and a lovely beach on the Atlantic side. For self-catering, head for the Timothy Beach Resort in Frigate Bay or Ocean Terrace Inn overlooking the main town of Basseterre. Both have pools and offer family rooms with small kitchens and living areas. Timothy Beach Resort is currently the only hotel right on the beach on the Caribbean side.

Many hotels offer discounts as part of the Kids 'r VIPs program.

Photos

When

St Kitts’ climate is tropical marine, which means it enjoys warm weather year-round (17-33°C). Even when temperatures reach their highest, the low humidity and cooling trade winds make it very pleasant where family holidays are concerned. The island is most popular during the dry season, late Oct–May; the rest of the year sees heavy rainfall and occasional tropical storms.

If you like a spectacle, come from Boxing Day to New Year’s Day, when the lively St Kitts and Nevis Carnival takes place.

How

British Airways serves St Kitts from London’s Gatwick airport once a week, with flights taking about 9hrs. See our flight-deals page.

The time difference between the UK and St Kitts is 4–5hrs according to the time of year, so factor jet-lag into family holidays.

Frequent ferries from St Kitts to Nevis take about 45mins.

Eat

It’s tempting for families to keep costs down with all-inclusive hotel deals, but that would exclude the fun of discovering the delights of the island’s great family-run restaurants and beachside cafés.

There are about 10 bars along what’s called The Strip, the beach at Frigate Bay. Head for Shiggidy Shack on a Thursday evening, where you can eat lobster, mahi mahi or a burger, and wait for the ‘fire man’ to come and breathe flames into the night air. The Monkey Bar is smaller and very friendly, serving fantastic seafood and demon rum punches for adults.

Many restaurants keep their menus short, featuring burgers, fresh fish and the odd pasta or salad dish. Local favourite Sprat Net’s menu is the simplest of all: here, everything comes with a baked potato, two jonny cakes (flatbreads) and corn on the cob.

For families exploring the main town of Basseterre, or visiting the market, a good lunch spot is Ballahoo, an open-sided first-floor restaurant overlooking the square. Spare ribs are a winner, and the hearty chicken salads are tempting, too.

The Reggae Beach Bar and Grill, a simple café set on boards on the beach in a lovely setting on the south-east peninsula, is a must for family holidays. Service is friendly and the food fantastic, with island classics such as roti chicken, mahi mahi and lobster given that bit more attention to detail that transforms the food from good to great.

If you want to try Caribbean fine dining, head to Spice Mill, with a setting a little more refined than most beachside cafés and sublime food. Islanders also like to head to the Marriott’s Calypso Café for a relaxed Sunday breakfast – the all-you-can-eat buffet features everything from pancakes and waffles to a full English or even curry with all the trimmings.

Bobsy’s Bar & Grill is a jumping karaoke joint come late evening, but arrive early and there are discounts for families with kids eating from their own menu.

Cost

St Kitts’ relative lack of development means it can be better value for family holidays than many other Caribbean destinations, although the island’s need to import many foods means eating out isn’t as cheap as you might expect.

Factor in about £700 for return flights from London Gatwick to St Kitts.