Leaving St. Thomas we set our sights on St. Kitts. Neither of us had visited St. Kitts before and were excited to see some of what the island had to offer.

St. Kitts is a stunningly gorgeous island that has a UNESCO World Heritage site, charming historical architecture, old churches, sandy beaches, and colonial estates. It is approximately 1,200 miles from Miami, covers 69 square miles, and has a population of approximately 40,000 locals. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere in both area and population. The capital is Basseterre and the primary language is English.

St. Kitts has large, fertile tracts of land, a cooperative climate, and a steady pattern of rainfall which historically made it ideal for growing sugar cane. In 2005, the government-owned sugar plantations shut down and tourism became the primary industry. Since then, tourism has grown at a dramatic rate.

The cruise port in St. Kitts has two berths and can handle some large cruise ships. There are more than 60 shops right at the port for the shopaholic in you. You can also enjoy restaurants and cafes there too. For the beach bums, St. Kitts has some incredibly beautiful beaches. I’ll drop a few names that are worth your investigating: Majors Bay, South Friars, Frigate Bay South, Cockleshell, Turtle Beach and Dieppe Bay Beach. If beaches or shopping isn’t your ”thing” you could visit Wingfield Estate whose first owner was the great-great-grandfather of Thomas Jefferson. You could do a rainforest nature tour, a ATV tour, a zipline canopy tour or a scenic railway tour.

Once considered the gateway to the Caribbean, St. Kitts celebrates a rich history that has shaped the island’s development. Whether you have a day or a week to spend in St. Kitts, you won’t have far to travel to enjoy all that St. Kitts has to offer.

Have you been to St. Kitts? Drop a note in the “comments” below and let others know about your experience.