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Saint Kitts and Nevis Tourism - Travel to Saint Kitts and Nevis

        

Saint Kitts and Nevis are a pair of tropical islands in the Caribbean, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago.

Table of contents

1 Understand 2 Geography 3 People 4 Government 5 Economy 6 Contact 7 Transportation

Understand

As if it were the custom in the Caribbean, St-Kitts and Nevis changed hands many times between English and French, which has left it a heritage of cities with names from both countries. Contrariwise, the architecture there is very Anglo-Saxon (Style Victorian) with driving on left and especially in downtown Basseterre: Circus Place the reproduction of the 'Berkeley Memorial Clock'.

There are also several ancient British fortifications which have been restored with minutiae and reproducing the tiniest details of original construction. St-Kitts and Nevis will be called to be developed in the near future, in fact many projects are in progress or completion, notably vast dockings to accommodate the largest liners and cruisers with terminals, loading docks, etc.

What is really remarkable on St-Kitts and Nevis is the natural aspect. Many tropical birds which one rarely finds elsewhere are present in great concentration in the nature and there are also the famous monkeys which, it is said, were introduced by the pirates. An all-new road permits going to the southeast end of St-kitts (Turtle Beach) where one feels that a certain febrility in the air will make of this part of the island an appreciated place. Indeed, one has only to take a little adventure in the underwoods with some fruit in hand to see onself quite soon surrounded by monkeys coming gently to meet one to get fed. For the inhabitants of the islands, on the other hand, the monkeys are not percieved as as big a joy, for these pretty little hairy beings plunder the harvest and nose around everywhere they can go.

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First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed.

Geography in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Climate

tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain

volcanic with mountainous interiors

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

Natural resources

arable land

Land use

arable land: 16.67%
permanent crops: 2.78%
other: 80.55% (1998 est.)

Natural hazards

hurricanes (July to October)

Environment - current issues

NA

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island

People in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Ethnic groups

predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese

Religions

Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic

Languages

English

Government in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Country name

conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis
former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

Government type

constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament

Capital

Basseterre

Administrative divisions

14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point

Independence

19 September 1983 (from UK)

National holiday

Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

Economy in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Economy - overview

Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the St. Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the September 11 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances. The government revised estimates of 2001 growth down to 1% and faces dim recovery prospects in 2002, given the depressed state of the tourism industry, low sugar prices, and a growing budget deficit.

Contact

Telephone system

general assessment: good interisland and international connections
domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone
international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat

Transportation in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Railways

total: 58 km
narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (2002)

Highways

total: 320 km
paved: 136 km
unpaved: 184 km (2000)

Waterways

none

Ports and harbors

Basseterre, Charlestown

Merchant marine

none (2002 est.)

Airports

2 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

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