St Kitts is the neighbouring island to Nevis.  It is a much larger, more commercial island and was going to be our next stop on our trip north.  Having read the book, (we have a cruising guide for the area which basically tells you everything you need to know about a place, where to anchor, dump your rubbish, clear in etc but also more importantly where sells the best rum cocktails), we were unsure about anchoring there.  All around the island there are small inlets which provide good holding for a lunchtime or swim stop but which aren't not good enough to stay overnight.  The only options seemed to be the new marina, or anchoring just outside the new marina, providing the weather was ok.  However, due to the shape of the island, most wind directions seemed to be, at best, questionable.  We decided to take a ferry trip and suss it out, if we liked the town we would go again by boat after leaving Nevis.  The ferry runs frequently each day, and only takes about 45 minutes so off we went.

Maybe we picked the wrong day, as there was a huge cruise ship in dock and the place was packed out.  There is a large cruise dock complex where all the duty free shops are based, but after a quick look around we soon got out of there.  Cruise ship docks are the same whichever island you visit, all the same duty free jewellery, perfume and clothing shops - seen one seen 'em all!  We went for a walk around the town which, after the quiet and steady pace of Nevis seemed manic and hectic.  A lot of the people who live on Nevis told us that they rarely, if ever, visit St Kitts, and only then for good reason - not out of choice! We only had a short time on the island, but managed to get to the more local areas of the town and found lovely parks, and art galleries tucked away in side streets that people from the cruise boats wouldn't venture into.

We also visited the marina, as the anchorage was really close to the ferry and cruise docks and the boast already there were rolling around like crazy with the swell.  The marina was pleasant, but basic, and again right next to the cruise dock.  By this time we had already decided that this one day visit would almost certainly be our only visit to St Kitts and we would sail straight past when we leave Nevis.

The town itself is however, charming, and the people very friendly, we had lunch in a great restaurant overlooking the main square and spent a lazy hour or two just sitting people watching. We were very glad to get back to the peace and quiet of Nevis and have now decided to book another week here - we have 2 more fairly quiet islands to visit before we hit the Virgin Islands, which will be hectic and so wanted to prolong the relaxation while we can!!

 The main square on a somewhat overcast day

 A great lunch spot - perfect for the nosey ones among us - you can see all that's going on from here.