Basseterre
- Not to be confused with Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe.
Basseterre on the west coast of the island of Saint Kitts is the capital city of the two-island nation, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Basseterre is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean, but most of the city structures were built after the great fire of 1867.
Understand
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Basseterre is a small city that is laid out in a grid pattern. It has four main streets running west to east, and they are listed here in sequence from south to north: Bay Road, Liverpool Row, Central Street, and Cayon Street. The main street running north to south is Fort Street/Bank Street, which is home to the bulk of the island's main shops and banks.
The city has two centres, at The Circus, which is geared towards tourism, and the Independence Square, which contains the cathedral, courthouse, and most of the older buildings.
Get in
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By plane
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From the US
[edit]Daily flights are available from San Juan, PR with Seaborne Airlines. American has daily flights from Miami (3 flights during low tourist season), with seasonal flights from Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York-JFK (two times weekly). Delta Air Lines has seasonal non-stop from Atlanta on Saturdays. Delta also operates from New York-JFK seasonally. United also operates seasonal flights from Newark as well.
From Britain
[edit]British Airways flies direct between London Gatwick and St. Kitts twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday (as of May 2024).
From Canada
[edit]Air Canada flies seasonal non-stop flights from Toronto.
Throughout the Caribbean
[edit]Air Sunshine and Trans Anguilla Airways operates flights throughout the Caribbean. Sky High Aviation services operates to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and British Airways operates flights to Antigua.
By cruise ship
[edit]A large pier supports visiting cruise ships. Their passengers can walk directly through the "duty free" shopping area (noted in "Buy" below), and onward to the central downtown area.
By ferry
[edit]It is very easy to get to Basseterre from Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, which is the sister island of St. Kitts. A number of different ferry boat make the scenic round trip between the two islands several times a day, especially in the early mornings and late afternoons.
By bus
[edit]All local buses start and terminate in Basseterre and they are a very good, fast, inexpensive way to get around the island. A bus will drop you off or pick you up anywhere at all on the main road. Buses have a green license plate that starts with the letter "H" or "HA".
By taxi
[edit]Taxis have a yellow licence plate which starts with the letter "T" or TA". Taxis are not inexpensive, but they are reliable, and being vans they can carry a whole family or a group of people plus a lot of luggage. There is a taxi stand at the Bradshaw airport; any taxi driver will be happy to take you into Basseterre, which is only a short distance away.
Get around
[edit]There are many ways to get around Basseterre
- Bus
Public buses have green licence plates with the registration identifier starting with the letter H. The 5 main bus routes on St. Kitts are:
- Basseterre to Sandy Point travelling West, starting at the Ferry Terminal
- Basseterre to Capesterre travelling West, starting at the Ferry Terminal
- Basseterre to St. Peter's travelling North, starting at College Street Ghaut
- Basseterre to Molyneux travelling East, starting at Baker's Corner
- Basseterre to Saddler's travelling East, starting at Baker's Corner
When a cruise ship visits, dozens of taxis and cars-for-hire can be seen flanking the duty-free mall near the cruise terminals, many with "brokers" in the mall ready to greet you and negotiate costs. Others serve the airport and key resorts, or can be called by phone.
See
[edit]Worthwhile places to see in Basseterre include:
Do
[edit]- Bicycle Rental, Cayon St (near Church St), ☏ +1 869 466-3912. US$15 per day.
- Cricket: 1 Warner Park Sporting Complex, Park Range, ☏ +1 917 693 8138. Opened in 2006, the east section is the cricket stadium, capacity 4000, hosting the Leeward Islands team, and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the T20 Caribbean Premier League. The west section is the soccer stadium, capacity 3000. The complex is also used for athletics.
Buy
[edit]The city has a decent selection of small stores on its several primary streets. They offer restaurants, souvenirs, jewellers and local crafts, plus nearly everything needed for daily life by its citizens and visitors.
Among other crafts, the island produces and offers very high-quality batik, in the form of cloth, clothing, and numerous kinds of home decorations and accessories. The batik is made at Caribelle Batik, which is about 11 miles outside Basseterre, in a historical sugar plantation, Romney Manor, which has a lovely tropical garden around it.
In the past several years, the waterfront in Basseterre has been filled in to create a sizeable, duty-free, open-air shopping mall catering primarily to visitors. Virtually all merchants accept U.S. currency. Before giving you duty-free rates, merchants often ask for something that shows you are not a resident, such as a cruise card, foreign driver's licence, or a passport.
- Amina Craft Market.
- Public Market.
- Splash Boutique, TDC Mall, Basseterre, St. Kitts.
- Caribelle Batik.
Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]- Shipwreck Beach Bar, ☏ +1 869-764-7200. A rustic dive bar with ocean views. You can get up close with the monkeys which hang around nearby. Live entertainment every Sunday afternoon.
Sleep
[edit]The main tourist hotel near Basseterre is the Marriot.
- Ocean Terrace Inn. It is in the Fortlands area of Basseterre, overlooking the main harbor (Port Zante) and the Deep Water Port across the bay in Bird Rock. There are several restaurants run by OTI, including the Pool Bar and Grill, Waterfalls, and Fisherman's Wharf across the street (down on the waterfront).
Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]The main resort area is in Frigate Bay.