A Week on St Kitts Taking In Old Road

Old Road Town is a day in an island trip, not the place to stay for it: there are no resort hotels in the village, only a few small self-catering units listed in the wider area. The plan below assumes you base yourself in Frigate Bay, Basseterre, the Southeast Peninsula or on Nevis, and it gives Old Road the full day it deserves.

Plan before you fly

  1. Apply for the eTA. The UK government says all visitors need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before travel, made through the official travel form portal .
  2. Decide on a car. Driving is on the left. The temporary local licence costs EC$62.50 for three months or EC$125 for a year, and hire firms usually sort it out.
  3. Check the season. June to November is hurricane season; December to April is the drier, busier period.
  4. Bring both currencies. EC$2.70 buys US$1 at the fixed rate, and US dollars are taken almost everywhere.

Five days of ideas

Day 1, settle in. Arrive, rest and spend the afternoon on Frigate Bay.

Day 2, Basseterre. See the 1883 Berkeley Memorial on the Circus, Independence Square and the National Museum in the old Treasury Building.

Day 3, Old Road and the west coast.

  • 9:00 am: Romney Manor opens on weekdays. Adults pay US$5 and children up to 11 go free. See the saman tree, estimated at over 400 years old, and the batik studio.
  • Late morning: the Kalinago carvings at the approach to Wingfield Estate, then the Sky Safari zipline (US$99 adult, US$75 child) or a rum tasting booked ahead with the Old Road Rum Company.
  • Afternoon: Brimstone Hill Fortress, 10 minutes up the coast, open until 5:30 pm (US$15).
  • Evening: supper at Sprat Net on the Old Road shore, on one of its evening opening nights later in the week.

Day 4, volcano or train. Climb Mount Liamuiga with a licensed guide (4 to 7 hours), or take the 3-hour Scenic Railway circle from Needsmust.

Day 5, Nevis. Ferry to Charlestown in about 45 minutes; fares are reported at around EC$25 to EC$30 each way.

Adding solemn history

Between Basseterre and Old Road the main road passes Bloody Point, west of Challengers Village, where English and French settlers massacred about 2,000 Kalinago people in 1626, by the usual estimate. The island commemorated the 400th anniversary in August 2026. A short, quiet stop belongs on the Day 3 drive.

Moving between bases

  • Taxis are unmetered; the 2021 government schedule sets Basseterre to Old Road at US$16 for up to four people.
  • Minibuses on the main road are cheap and cash-only, with fewer runs on Sundays and at night.

Read more: Trips out of Old Road Town , Old Road Town for two and the 7-day St Kitts and Nevis itinerary .

Search places to stay on Booking.com for Basseterre .