Blowing in the Wind – St. Kitts and Antigua

We wrapped up our 2026 exploration of the Lesser Antilles with a windy few weeks in St. Kitts & Nevis, followed by Antigua. The trade winds never stopped blowing.

In the past two years we have had the good fortune to visit most of the countries and territories of the Lesser Antilles, the arc of islands from Grenada to the Virgin Islands. The constant theme has been that, despite their proximity and shared histories, no two islands are alike. The same applies to St. Kitts, Nevis and Antigua.

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

The country is made up of two islands, St. Kitts being the a largest and most populated. Its economy was founded on sugar plantations, all long-since abandoned. It now relies on tourism.

Our apartment was in Frigate Bay, about a 10 minute drive from the centre of Basseterre, the capital. There are a lot of condos in the area catering to Brits and Canadians spending the winter. We had a beautiful view of the ocean, and thought we would have a nice beach. However, Frigate Bay is on the Atlantic side. What we thought would be the beach was a rock-strewn strip constantly battered by the waves and wind.

Basseterre

We spent a day wandering Basseterre while our niece went on a snorkel tour. Like most cruise ship ports in the Caribbean, Basseterre has a split personality – the area around the cruise port, and everything else. The main activity is around Porte Zante, where the cruise ships dock. The colorful Amina Craft Market is an oasis, with small coffee shops, galleries and craft stores. The area was bustling when cruise ships were in port.

Away from the port, the city shows signs of a tough economy and the effects of frequent hurricanes passing nearby. Since the town is compact, we were able to walk to all the historical sites at a relaxing pace. The outside of the local market is adorned with murals in vibrant colors. Sadly, inside there are few vendors. We bought some vegetables we didn’t need, just to give them some business. The fish market was even more disappointing. We’d hoped to get some fresh fish for our barbecue. Because of the rough seas, the fishing nets were empty, so there were no fish for sale. Actually, there was one. A pathetic looking grouper that the guy wanted $80 USD for.

Circle Tour

St. Kitts’ main road circles the island, a distance of about 65 kms. Our first stop was Romney Manor and the nearby Wingfield Estate, both of which attract fleets of tourist buses. Wingfield Estate has a restored rum distillery. It was too early in the day to be sampling rum, so we passed on that. Romney Manor was originally owned by a distant ancestor of Thomas Jefferson. It has been restored and is surrounded by lush manicured gardens.

The sprawling, well-preserved Brimstone Hill Fortress is the only UNESCO site on St. Kitts. Despite the steep, narrow road up, it is also the number one tourist attraction. Built in the late 1600’s by enslaved Africans, it offers panoramic views of the island. On clear days, you can see the islands of Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin and St. Barts. Unfortunately when we visited it was not a clear day, though we could see St. Eustatius on the horizon. Mostly we were watching the sky to dodge the short, but torrential rain showers.

Late lunch was at Cooper’s Bar, a roadside restaurant busy with locals. Their specialty is mutton stew. We opted for fried fish and roast chicken. Typical of the island, all the dishes came with macaroni pie, potato salad, rice and beans, and green salad. Sitting at a picnic table in the sun eating local food was a good way to end the day.

Nevis – the little brother

Nevis is half the country’s name, but it’s the little brother. It is only 10 kms wide by 13 kms long, with a population of about 15,000. We got there by a six-minute water taxi ride from the tip of St. Kitts. The owner of our rental car met us at the dock, took our cash and handed over the keys. Why can’t all car rentals be so easy?

Driving time around the island is only about 45 minutes. We took the whole day, mainly driving up and down dirt roads looking for sugar plantation ruins. There are plenty of them, all crumbling to the ground. Along the way we dodged sheep, donkeys and monkeys. Charlestown, the capital, took all of about 30 minutes to explore. We ended the day at Nevis’s biggest beach, Pinney’s Beach. By then rain clouds had rolled in so we weren’t able to fully enjoy it.

The highlight of the day was lunch. We stopped at a small restaurant, literally in the middle of nowhere – Passion Bar & Grill. Lunch of fresh snapper and coconut prawns, and all the traditional side dishes, washed down by homemade ginger beer was delicious, and the server “Momo” was hilarious.

Don’t let our uneventful day on Nevis deter you from visiting. There are many things to do – hiking, hot springs, cooking classes, rum distillery tours, the beach, sailing, diving…. And if you have deep pockets, the Four Seasons Resort is at Pinney’s Beach.

Antigua and Barbuda

Our story of Antigua is more a tale of what we didn’t do, rather than what we did do. We’d planned an extended stay in Antigua to allow for side-trips to Barbuda and Montserrat.

There’s one ferry a day to Barbuda. The 90-minute crossing is notoriously rough, and leaves at 6:30 a.m. That was out. There’s a daily flight. The aircraft only holds a handful of people. We left it too late to book. No Barbuda for us.

Montserrat was one of the islands we most wanted to visit. We were in Antigua in March. Montserrat is the only country other than Ireland where St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday. We just didn’t realize how big the party it is. The festival goes for ten days. Twenty-percent of Montserrat’s annual tourist visits are during that ten day period. By the time we tried to book, the 15-minute flight from Antigua was going to cost $500 (there are no ferries), and we couldn’t find any accommodation. No Montserrat for us.

What did we do on Antigua?

We didn’t do too much other than relax while on Antigua. We’d booked a very nice looking condo that was significantly cheaper than other comparable places. We found out why when we arrived. It was more isolated than we anticipated.

The property was a 45-minute drive from the airport, along the usual winding, narrow, pot-holed roads. The drive was slowed even further by the herds of feral donkeys wandering across the road. Nothing was less than a half-hour drive from the complex. The upside was that the apartment was nicer than we’d hoped. It was beautifully decorated and had a large balcony overlooking the ocean. We were in Nonsuch Bay Resort, with three pools and a private beach. There was no more than a handful of other residents. We felt like there was no reason to leave.

Exploring the Island

As tempting as it was to just relax at the apartment, we did get out and explore. Antigua prides itself on having 365 beaches. That claim might just be a tourist gimmick, but they do have an awful lot of spectacular beaches, especially on the Caribbean side. As we’ve said before, we’re not into laying around on beaches, but still visited about a dozen, stopping long enough for lunch, a short swim or a cold beer. If, unlike us, you enjoy spending time soaking up the sun on tropical beaches, Antigua is for you.

The capital St. John’s was an hour drive in busy traffic. It hosts the cruise ship port. The block or two around the port entrance was like a bubble. The usual assortment of duty-free liquor and high-end jewellery stores, and a few casual bars for passengers to get affordable beer. Outside that bubble, St. John’s is a different city. Buildings that have seen better days, locals going about their business, and few tourists.

The highlight for Maria was Antigua’s Donkey Sanctuary, operated by the Humane Society. It houses about 150 troublesome feral donkeys. A dozen or so of the more docile ones are kept in a compound accessible to visitors. Staff provided us with stiff brushes to brush the donkeys. They loved it, and so did Maria.

Another tough day at the office – our beach at Nonsuch Bay Resort