This first trip segment got us to briefly experience island living for five nights in St Kitts and Nevis.

2026.01.17 – [KA] Home ==> Basseterre

We woke up around 3 a.m. and did a final check of the house before leaving. Gang, a good friend who recently retired, very kindly offered to drive us to the airport. Upon arriving around 4 a.m., we expected the terminal to be very quiet, but on the contrary, it was bustling with travelers—most likely heading to all-inclusive resorts on this early Saturday morning.

As this was among our first experiences traveling with carry-on backpacks only, we struggled a bit at the security checkpoint when Jenny’s bag was flagged for containing too many liquids. We ended up redistributing her skincare containers across our carry-on and personal bags. After running everything through the scanners again, the problem was solved. We then enjoyed some good coffee while waiting.

At the last minute, after hearing an announcement that overhead storage might not accommodate all carry-on luggage, we decided to take advantage of the complimentary gate-check of our bags through to our final destination. Our 6 a.m. flight to Toronto was uneventful—except for being offered an awful chewy bar as part of the onboard service. At Toronto airport, we appreciated not having to haul our carry-ons between distant sections of the terminal. We ate some bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwiches) before boarding our five-hour Air Canada Rouge flight to St. Kitts. The low-fare carrier only offered free refreshments on the flight.

Upon landing in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts, we exited the aircraft via a rear staircase and faced a long walk from the parking stand to the terminal. We were glad we had completed our Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) at home, as it allowed us to bypass a lengthy queue. Our backpacks appeared among the first on the luggage carousel. After exiting the terminal, we searched for our rental car, which the company had left in the parking lot. Once we found it, one of our apartment hosts arrived to escort us to our accommodation. It felt strange to be driving on the left side of the road again. Our hosts gave us a thorough walk-through of the apartment and shared several helpful local tips.

Shortly after settling in, we drove to a nearby supermarket to stock up on breakfast staples and frozen items for our dinners. By the time we exited the store, night had already fallen. Later, we attempted to reach a seafood restaurant recommended by our hosts, but we abandoned the plan after growing uneasy about the route suggested by our mobile phone. Instead, we ended up getting dinner from KFC.

After eating, we quickly grew very sleepy. A hot shower and a comfortable bed brought our long first day of travel to a close.

2026.01.18 – [KN] Basseterre ==> Basseterre

We both had a great night’s sleep and felt well rested when we got out of bed. While sipping coffee, we reviewed our St. Kitts itinerary and our flight schedule for the next island hop. After a light breakfast, we headed out for some sightseeing.

Our first stop was a lookout atop a hill (Timothy Hill) where, in a single view, we could admire both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Our small Toyota Agya struggled a bit on the climb. Later, we stopped to check out three potential snorkeling sites for a future outing. Finally, we wandered through the shops near the cruise ship port.

Back at our apartment, we prepared our own dinner. Today, we unsuccessfully tried three different ATMs in hopes of withdrawing some local currency. Since it was Sunday, most businesses were closed.

2026.01.19 – [KN] Basseterre ==> Basseterre

We planned an extended road trip today. After breakfast, we set out to visit three attractions: (1) the Wingfield Estate Sugar Plantation ruins and the gardens of Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor; (2) Brimstone Hill Fortress; and (3) Black Rock Memories.

Along the way, we managed to drive around the entire island perimeter north of Basseterre in less than 60 kilometers. The road was in very good condition – except for being a bit narrow and even narrower as cars would commonly park on the roads. We had hoped to stop for lunch at a restaurant en route, but the few modest places we encountered were closed on Mondays. As a result, before returning to our accommodation, we stopped at our usual supermarket to pick up some snacks and refreshments.

We tried using an ATM again today, but once more without any luck.

2026.01.20 – [KN] Basseterre ==> Basseterre

Every morning, as we looked out the window of our accommodation, we noticed a new set of two or three cruise ships that had docked at Basseterre’s port during the night. By the time we sat down for dinner in the evening, we could watch them depart. We quickly realized that these cruise ships bring a steady stream of passengers eager to participate in a variety of land excursions.

Our peaceful morning routine was abruptly interrupted when Jenny discovered that the ATM transactions that had failed the previous days had, in fact, resulted in withdrawals from our home bank account in Canada. After breakfast, our first order of business was to visit the local bank where we used the ATM. We were told there was nothing they could do and that we would need to file a dispute with our home bank. Needless to say, we were not pleased with the experience. We had never encountered this situation on any of our previous trips—there’s always a first. I hadn’t bothered checking our bank account balance after the failed attempts, though I had contacted our bank earlier to make sure they weren’t blocking our withdrawals.

After our bank visit, we drove to our first snorkeling spot. It took a while to finally find a reef with colorful fish activity. After about an hour, we moved on to a second snorkeling location along a popular beach. We rented sunbeds and an umbrella for the afternoon. The “reef” here turned out to be a man-made underwater boulder wall. While the snorkeling provided good exercise, we’ve experienced far more captivating underwater scenery elsewhere. Nonetheless, we were glad we had brought our own snorkeling equipment, as renting gear for both locations would have cost us $50 USD.

On our way back to the accommodation, we stopped at our usual grocery for some snacks.

2026.01.21 – [KN] Basseterre ==> Basseterre

By today, we felt that we had done and seen everything we had planned in St. Kitts, so we turned our attention to the nearby island of Nevis. Initially, we considered taking a 45-minute passenger ferry to Nevis and spending a few hours at one of its popular beaches. After further consideration, however, we opted for the one-hour car ferry so we could drive the perimeter road of the island.

To catch the ferry, we had to drive to the southernmost tip of St. Kitts—about 30 minutes from our accommodation. We topped up the gas tank before leaving Basseterre. At the ferry terminal, we realized that the car ferry operated on a relatively limited schedule. Nonetheless, we boarded the 12:30 p.m. ferry along with three or four other cars.

Before we boarded, we met another friendly American couple who had been island-hopping by ferry. The one-hour crossing passed very quickly as we enjoyed a lively travel exchange with Brandon and Elizabeth from Grand Rapids. Upon disembarking, we bid farewell to our fellow island-hoppers, as we headed off in different directions while they planned to stay on Nevis for two days.

Once on the road, we were surprised by the amount of traffic and the number of small towns we encountered. We completed the driving loop around Nevis in just over an hour, stopping briefly at a grocery store for a light snack before heading back to the ferry terminal to catch the 4:00 p.m. ferry—the last crossing of the day back to St. Kitts. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to stop and relax at a beach.

The ferry ride and drive back to our accommodation felt quicker than the journey over. Later that evening, Jenny multitasked once again by washing and drying our clothes while preparing another lovely dinner.

2026.01.22 – [AG] Basseterre ==> St John’s

At breakfast, we finished almost all of our grocery staples. Our host kindly granted us a late check-out until 1:30 p.m. We then had a late lunch at a beachfront restaurant. Service was quite slow, but the food was good.

Before returning the car to the rental office, we filled it up with fuel. The staff there kindly gave us a ride to the airport. We arrived a full three hours ahead of our scheduled 30-minute flight to Antigua. Thankfully, we passed through security without any issues related to liquids—although we did have to take our shoes off.

Our flight was surprisingly on time, especially considering the carrier’s poor reputation for reliability in the Caribbean. There were only five passengers on the plane. After landing, we completed airport formalities quickly, as the airport was virtually empty at 7:30 p.m.

We easily found our rental car parked in the short-term car park. The 13 km drive to our accommodation was cautiously slow, as we navigated dark roads while familiarizing ourselves with the new car’s controls. Our host met us outside his villa and proceeded to introduce us to the facilities.

We were somewhat surprised to discover that the kitchen was a shared facility with other guests. Clearly, we had been spoiled by our accommodation in St. Kitts—although our current place was half the price.