Why go to St. Kitts? It’s just a tiny speck in the Caribbean Sea – less than half the size of the Isle of Wight – and over 4,000 miles from the UK.
Well, good things come in small packages, they say, and that’s certainly true of this little jewel of an island, the larger part of the twin-island federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. It has an 18-mile-long spine of green mountains stretching down to beaches that shade from golden to dramatic black volcanic sands. If lazing on a beach doesn’t appeal, how about a rainforest adventure, a rum-tasting tour, a sightseeing train ride, or a dive below the surface of that tempting blue water?
While St. Kitts has the warmth and beauty you’d expect of a Caribbean island, it also does things slightly differently. For a start, it holds its carnival at year’s end rather than during the traditional pre-Lenten season. Appropriately for an island once nicknamed Sugar City after the sweet product of its canefields, Kittitian carnival is called Sugar Mas. Officially, it begins on 13 December, but calypso and soca heats, junior calypso finals and fetes get going from mid-November. J’Ouvert is on 26 December, followed by the calypso monarch finals, Panorama on Sunday 29th, the Grand Carnival Parade on New Year’s Day and Las Lap on 2 January 2025.
For details and updates, see the official Sugar Mas website. The High Journey Travels offers Sugar Mas packages starting at US $2,566.
If you need to unwind after the excitement of Sugar Mas, you can treat yourself to a session in the new, deluxe spa at Belle Mont Sanctuary Resort at Kittitian Hill, which is due to open in December. Other new attractions include the “hottest new restaurant in St. Kitts”, Orchid Bay Beach House, which combines Italian dining with panoramic sea views. Boasting a prime position on Cockleshell Beach, Spice Mill restaurant has added a grass-thatched roof terrace and bar, from where you can enjoy spectacular views of Nevis while sipping sorrel-based cocktails.
British Airways flies to St. Kitts twice weekly from London Gatwick. British Airways Holidays, Caribtours, and Turquoise Holidays offer a range of inclusive holidays. For more information on the island, check the Visit St. Kitts website.
