I traveled from Guadeloupe to St. Kitts and Nevis from Friday 8 August to Friday 15 August 2025. I took a flight from Guadeloupe to Saint Martin, a taxi to go to Sint Marteen and a ferry to go to St. Kitts and Nevis, an english-speaking country in the Caribbean Region. According to the Official Website of the St. Kitts and Nevis Tourism Authority, with the exception of citizens of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), all visitors traveling to St. Kitts are required to present a valid passport and an approved Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). The eTA application can be submitted up to 90 days before your arrival in St. Kitts. The eTA will be valid for 90 days or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner. A service fee of US $8.50 per person applies through August 31, 2025. Effective September 1, 2025, the fee will be US $17 per person. Before the end of July 2025, I paid 9.27 US Dollar, around 8 euros (8.50 for a single entry eTA- standard and 0.77 for the bank fee) for my Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to go to St. Kitts and Nevis. It was my first time in The Federation of Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis. According to the Official Website of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis became independent on September 19th, 1983 and has a population of 50,726. The population is largely black. The capital of St. Kitts is Basseterre, the island is 69 square miles. The capital of Nevis is Charlestown, the island is 36 square miles. Their combined area is 105 square miles. The Governor General is Her Excellency Dame Marcella Althea Liburd GCMG JP. She was sworn in at Government House on February 1, 2023, as the fifth Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis. Having served as the Governor-General’s Deputy since September 2022, His Majesty King Charles III has now appointed her as the first female Governor-General of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis on the advice of Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew. The Head of Government is the Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Michael Drew, Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis – August 6th, 2022 to present. The Honourable Dr. Terrance Micheal Drew, currently serves as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, National Security, Citizenship and Immigration, Health and Human Resource Management and Social Security. He is the leader of the decision-making body of the government of St. Kitts and Nevis. The St. Kitts & Nevis Labour Party won six of the 11 elected seats in the legislature. St. Kitts & Nevis Labour Party’s leader Terrance Drew was elected Prime Minister on August 5th 2022. The National Flag of St. Kitts and Nevis was adopted on September 19th, 1983. It was designed by Edrice Lewis in a national design competition. Green represents their fertile lands. Yellow represents their year-round sunshine. Black represents their African Heritage. Red represents their struggle from slavery through colonialism to independence. The white stars are symbols of hope and liberty. According to the Official Website of the St. Kitts and Nevis Tourism Authority, tourism is the primary industry of the country. St. Kitts is the site of the largest Greenhouse in the Caribbean. K@ribbean Newsweek shares with you some pictures.

Day 1: Friday 8 August 2025

In Guadeloupe, I took a flight of Air Caraibes instead of Air Antilles because the flight was cancelled and the company proposed me to travel later in the day. It was impossible because I had to take a ferry for St. Kitts and Nevis. I arrived before 9 AM in Saint Martin. Then I took a taxi to go to Bobby’s Marina in Sint Marteen, in order to take the Makana Ferry to go to St. Kitts and Nevis. I paid online 274 US Dollar, 235,19 euros for the ferry at the end of June 2025. I asked members of Makana Ferry where I can change currencies: Euros in US Dollar. There I met Joel Browne a passenger who proposed to help me. He is from Sint Marteen, but his family is from St. Kitts and Nevis. He works at an Hilton Hotel in Sint Marteen, he is also a DJ. Instead of waiting for the two casinos to open at 11 AM, Joel Browne drove with me to his bank. As a foreigner, I do not have a bank account in the Dutch side, so it is difficult to change currency in a bank. He could change my Euros in US Dollar, he signed a document as if it was for him. I also talked to Vanessa from Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, a mother of three children who is married with a man from St. Kitts and Nevis. She gave me a lot of advices as a traveler. For example, I could have taken two buses that are cheaper than the taxi from the French side to the Dutch side.

Joel Browne and I traveled together until St. Kitts and Nevis. By ferry, it is 4h30. Makana Ferry stopped at the island of Saba and the island of Statia, Sint Eustatius, before the twin-island of St. Kitts and Nevis. Passengers can ask for free bottles of water in the ferry. I was with Joel Browne to go to the Immigration service in St. Kitts and Nevis. A member of his family came to pick him up. I went to a Casino to change US Dollar in Eastern Caribbean Dollar. There, I talked to people from St. Kitts and Nevis and the island of Dominica, I met a woman from the island of Dominica who called Marshall who is a Uber driver. I could go to my airbnb apartment in Bird Rock. I bought a box of chicken and garlic bread at Bary’s.

The apartment was nice and clean. When I was inside, I had to turn on the light and the air conditioner during the day. There was no window, there was not much natural light. The accommodation is more or less far from the city centre of Basseterre. A car or a bus is necessary. It is more than 30 minutes of walking.

Day 2 : Saturday 9 August 2025

After walking for 20 minutes from the airbnb apartment to a bus stop, I took a bus to go to the city centre of Basseterre and I paid 3,50 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, 1,10 euros. The license plate of the buses are green. The bus stopped at the bus terminal. I visited somes places in town such as Port Zante dutty-free shopping, the Amina Craft Market to buy some gifts, the Berkeley Memorial, the Independence Square, Pelican Mall, the War Memorial Stone Pier. A security guard took pictures of me in the front of the sign St. Kitts in Port Zante. I also walked in front of the BasseTerre Public market but I forgot to take a picture. It was opened. When I finished to see the War Memorial Stone Pier, a woman gave me a lift and stopped near Port Zante dutty-free shopping. I ate in a local restaurant in Port Zante dutty-free shopping, I drank local juices, star fruit or carambola and beet. When I finished, I took a bus at the bus terminal to stop at the light in from of a well-known big supermarket. I walked a little bit and a man named Joseph, who is a neighbor in Bird Rock, gave me a lift to go to my airbnb apartment.

According to a brochure of The St. Kitts Tourism Authority, the city « Basseterre was established in 1627 by the French, under Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc. Philippe de Longvilliers de Poincy was made the French governor of St. Kitts in 1639 and quickly made Basseterre capital of the entire French West Indies colony, which included the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and remained so until his death in 1660. The city was made capital of the entire island of St. Kitts in 1727, following French expulsion from the island and the Bristih gained full control ».

Day 3 : Sunday 10 August 2025

While I was walking to go to the city centre of Basseterre, Joseph gave me a lift. As you can see in the pictures, the National Museum of St Kitts is closed. I saw the Basseterre Public Market that was closed on Sunday. I went again to the War Memorial Stone Pier. I saw the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw Memorial, the Fort Thomas. I went to a beach in town. There I met Kalonji and his two sons. I ate a saltfish pancake and a sweek pancake, I drank a local tamarind juice. After eating, I also talked to Imani, an old man from St. Kitts and Nevis. As it was on Sunday, it was impossible to get a bus to go back to my accomodation. So I decided to walk to go to my airbnb apartment. I did not want to take a taxi.

Day 4 : Monday 11 August 2025

I went to the St. Kitts Tourism Authority to get a map of the country and to have information. It was impossible to do the Sugar City Trains, and the St Kitts Scenic Railway during my stay. So I changed my plan for Tuesday. I wrote emails to the St. Kitts Eco-Park and to the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park to ask them if I can come to visit on Tuesday, the next day. I got positive answers. On Monday, I also went to Radio Freedom 106.5 FM and I talked to the manager of the radio. I forgot to ask for his name. He was busy. He advised me to go to ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation. I saw the buildings of the Government Headquarters. I ate at Rituals Coffee, I bought a ginger juice, a mix sea moss juice in the streets and food in the well-known Amory Bakery.

Day 5 : Tuesday 12 August 2025

The day before, Tishari Kelly, Event & Tour Co-ordinator at the St. Kitts Eco-Park told me that I could come and visit the St. Kitts Eco-Park located in Sandy Point. It is 20 acres of land with fruits and vegetables. I took a bus at the bus terminal and if I remember well, I paid 4,75 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, around 1,50 euros. When I arrived, I talked to Miguel at the front gate. Rochella Challenger, the Tour guide, gave me a star fruit or Averrhoa carambolaz L., and a dragon fruit or a pitaya. It was a free tour. I saw the Rose Garden and the Desert Garden. The Tour guide explained me that some prisoners (If I remember well they were less than 10) are part of a project in order to work and help planting fruits and vegetables during the day. They started working on Monday 11 August 2025.

According to a brochure of the St. Kitts Eco-Park, « Having taken three years to construct, the St.Kitts Eco-Park is many things. A symbol of the enduring friendship between St Kitts-Nevis and Taiwan; a nature-based exhibit of the flora and agricultural heritage of both countries ; and a captivating example of the positive ways in which green energy, tourism, and agriculture can, individually and in combinaison, advance the interests of the nation. The St. Kitts Eco-Park emerged from the innovative and highly rewarding Agro-Tourism Demonstration Farm Cooperation Project initiated by St. Kitts and Taiwan. Located in a particularly pretty area of an already beautiful island, the St. Kitts Eco-Park bears testimony to the multifaceted wonders of Nature ». The site has green buildings, green energy, green landscape, and a green house, « the biggest of its kind in the Caribbean. There are multi-function, landscape, and nursery rooms. The multifunction room is a venue for special events, and displays the floral abundance of the facility ».

I left the St kitts Eco-Park, I took a bus to go to the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park & The Fort George Museum in St. Thomas Parish. An employee of a restaurant in the site, who was waiting for her bus, tried to call a taxi for me but the taximan did not answer. A white man who works at the souvenir shop in the site wanted to give me a lift but I decided to walk. I had to walk up the hill. It was a long and difficult road. I could take pictures. I paid 15 US Dollar, around 13 euros to go in the site. The visit starts with a video about the site. After, I was free to visit alone. I went to the Fort George Museum in the Citadel. I met a young historian from St. Kitts and Nevis, who works in the site and studied in the USA.

According to a brochure named The Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, « The Citadel is the showplace of the Fortress. At the top of the ramp is the Western Place of Arms with three sentinel 24-pounder cannon overlooking the Caribbean Sea with breathtaking views all around. As you cross the bridge over the dry moat you enter the Fort George Museum where a viariety of artifacts reflecting the history of the Fortress and the island are displayed in restored barrack rooms. The Citadel is an outstanding architectural and engineering monument. Passing through the Citadel you reach the Eastern Place of Arms where cannon point to the mountains ».

According to a Brief History of Brinstone Hill Fortress, « the first cannon were mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1690 by the British in an effort to recapture Fort Charles on the coast below from French occupation. The Bristish realised the potential of the Hill as a place of defence and proceeded to fortify it. The Fortress was designed by British Army Engineers and built by African slave workers. In January 1782, during the great struggle among the Europeans colonial powers and the American republic for control of the rich Caribbean sugar islands and the North American mainland, 8000 French soldiers attacked the island and besieged the Fortress. About 1000 defenders drawn from the Royal Scots and East Yorkshire Regiments, local militia and escaped slaves, fought valiantly for a month before finally surrendering on 12th February. The French allowed the defenderss to march out with all the honours of war. A year later the articles of the Treaty of Versailles returned the island to the British and fortifications were continued until 1794. In 1852 British troops were reassigned and the Fortress was abandoned. The Society for the Restoration of Brimstone Hill was founded in 1965 and, in 1973, HRH Prince Charles, with a suitable ceremony, reopened the first complete restoration, the Prince of Wales Bastion. In 1983 St. Christopher and Nevis became an independent country. During the previous year the Fort George Museum had been established. Britan’s Queen Elizabeth II, in 1985, unveiled a plaque signifying Brimstone Hill Fortress as a National Park. This was affirmed by legislation in 1987. The D. Lloyd Matheson Visitors’ Centre, named in honour of a former president of the Society, was opened in 1992. The Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and the following year, acommemorative plaque was unveiled by the Prime Minister, Dr. Denzil Douglas, at a special ceremony at Brimstone Hill. The Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is administrated by a registered non-profit organisation on behalf of the Government and people of St. Christopher and Nevis ».

After finishing my visit, I ate and drank at the restaurant in the site. I talked to Coy and other waitresses. Coy is a waiter who is a student from Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis who does his associate degrees in environmental studies. Back in Basseterre, I bought a moringa and lemon juice in the street. I also talked to Katrina or Catherina from Dominica who works at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.

Day 6 : Wednesday 13 August 2025

Thanks to Sharon Richards, an Advertising Sales Representative at ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation, I visited the National Broadcasting Corporation of St. Kitts and News which has a radio and TV station. She is the one who took the pictures of me. She introduced me to two DJs. I saw a radio studio and I wrote my name somewehere. She introduced me to two men journalists. ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation is near the Department of agriculture. and the Headquarters of the St. Kitts and Nevis Regiment or Defence Force. I also took pictures of the Government House. When I went back to the city centre of Basseterre, it was raining. I decided to go to a restaurant. When I finished, I bought a local juice (I forgot the name of the fruit) and a coconut juice in the streets.

Day 7 : Thursday 14 August 2025

I traveled from the capital Basseterre in St. Kitts to the capital Charlestown in Nevis. The first ferry left at 8 AM. I asked Marshall, Uber driver to drop me at the Ferry Terminal. It was a rainy day. One-way fares is 31 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, around 10 euros, same price to go back. Confortable boats make the 45-minute crossing between Basseterre and Charlestown regularly – most frequent early morning and early evening. I went to the Nevis Tourism Authority to get a map of the island and ask for information. I visited the Museum of Nevis History. I paid 10 US Dollar, around 8,55 euros. The Museum was very amazing and wonderful. I visited quickly the Alexander Hamilton Museum that is near the Museum of Nevis History. I saw the city centre of Charlestown, the office of the online radio station 2020visionradio.com, two squares. I also went to the Bath Hotel & Hot Springs Heritage Site near the old Government House. I paid 5 US Dollar, around 4,27 euros. I bought a local golden apple juice in the street. I went to The Artisan Village Craft House to buy a gift, than to Pinney’s Beach to swim a little bit. I ate in a restaurant at the beach. When I finished, I took the ferry at 4:30 PM, instead of the last one at 6 PM. I wanted to go back to St. Kitts before the night. I took a bus at the bus terminal and I paid 5 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, around 1,50 euros, to stop at the light in from of a well-known big supermarket. He was the same driver as the day before, Wednesday 13 August 2025.

Day 8 : Friday 15 August 2025

I was supposed to leave St. Kitts and Nevis on Sunday 17 August 2025. I wanted to go to Frigate Bay on Friday morning to swim a little bit and on Friday evening to lime on « De Strip », to experience the night life. There are many beach bars along one special shore simply known as « De Strip ». Never mind !

It was 7:30 AM when I really understood that I had to leave the country on Friday at 8:30 AM because of the storm Erin. Makana Ferry cancelled all the routes for Saturday and Sunday. A member of Makana Ferry helped me to get a taxi to go to my airbnb apartment. I packed my suitcase and all my stuffs very quickly. I was at the dock at 8:20 AM.

I met again Vanessa and her family. She gave me other advices. For example, I could ask the company airline to take the plane in the afternoon because of the storm Erin.

I could take the ferry. I arrived in Sint Marteen. Vanessa showed me the street where I could take a bus for Marigot, I paid 2 US Dollar, around 2 euros. From Marigot, I took another bus for Grand Case Airport, I paid 10 US Dollar, around 8,55 euros. I asked Air Antilles to travel on Friday instead of Sunday because of the storm Erin. I made it. I was very lucky.

You can also watch all my pictures and videos on the Facebook of Karibbean Newsweek and some of them on my Instagram (this application does not allow me to publish everything on time).

You can also read my article about my travel in Anguilla. By traveling, I learnt that St. Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla were together. In 1980, Anguilla officially seceded from Saint Kitts and Nevis and became a Bristish Caribbean territory with some measures of autonomy in Government.

Currencies

During my stay in St. Kitts and Nevis, I used two currencies: US Dollar and Eastern Caribbean Dollars (XCD). The Eastern Caribbean Dollars (XCD) were necessary to take the bus. I used both currencies depending of the amount for shopping and the restaurants.

Bus Fares

When I took buses at the bus terminal in the city centre of Basseterre to stop at the light in from of a well-known big supermarket, two times I paid 3,50 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, around 1,10 euros. Other times, I paid 4,50 or 5 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, around 1,50 euros because there were different bus drivers. I think each bus driver gives his price. One day, a taxi stopped for me. I asked him if he was a bus driver because I did not see the green license plate. I was confused because I gave him 5 Eastern Caribbean Dollar, around 1,50 euros and I asked for my change. In fact, he was a taxi driver and not a bus driver. I checked the license plate when I arrived at the bus terminal.

Official Websites & contacts in the country

For more information, you can go to :

• The Official Website of the St. Kitts and Nevis Tourism Authority : https://www.visitstkitts.com

• The Official Website of the Nevis Tourism Authority : https://www.nevisisland.com/

• The Official Website of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis : https://www.gov.kn

• The Official Website of ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation : https://zizonline.com/

• The St. Kitts Eco-Park : st.kittsecopark@gmail.com

• The Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park : info@brimstonehillfortress.org

• The Museum of Nevis History : info@nevisheritage.org

Résumé

J’ai séjourné pour la première fois à St. Kitts and Nevis du vendredi 8 au vendredi 15 août 2025. C’est un pays anglophone indépendant dans la Région des Caraïbes. J’ai visité des lieux historiques de Basseterre, la capitale de St. Kitts et de Charlestwon, la capitale de Nevis. Je me suis rendue à St. Kitts Eco-Park, au Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, au Fort George Museum et au Museum of Nevis History. J’ai eu de la chance de voir les journalistes et les studios de ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation, une société nationale de diffusion radio et télévision. J’ai aussi un peu parlé avec la population de St. Kitts and Nevis. Certaines personnes viennent aussi d’autres îles comme la Dominique.

St@y connected !

Salaura DIDON