Lush & Tropical Nevis

Similar to St Kitts, Nevis has a circular main road skirting along the lower slopes of its central volcano.

In Nevis we had a hire car for 4 days and as a small island, from our base at Oualie Beach Resort in the north we had plenty of time to explore at our leisure. This post covers the lush and tropical interior of the island and also the beaches we visited.

Nevis Heritage Village

We arrived at the Nevis Heritage Village but unfortunately it was closed. When open there are little wooden huts dotted around which contain exhibits which show an insight into the houses and lifestyles of the people of Nevis through the ages.

We were not sure why it was closed and the little houses were locked up even though we had arrived at 1.30 pm and closing time should have been 3.30 pm.

Fortunately we were allowed to wander around the ruins of the old sugar mill and the lovely well kept gardens in the foothills of Nevis Peak overlooking the sea at no cost.

Walking around the gardens of Nevis Heritage Village.

We saw an abundance of these pretty small pink flowers growing wild along the hedgerows of Nevis.

Nevis Peak

With an elevation of 985 m Nevis Peak is not surprisingly the highest peak on the island. Similar to Mount Liamuiga on St Kitts, Nevis Peak is often hidden by mist and clouds. This volcano could be potentially active as while there have been no eruptions since pre-historic times, active hot springs on its lower slopes show there is low level volcanic activity.

There are many goats freely roaming around Nevis. You need to be careful when driving as they have a tendancy to wander into the road. We also saw a group of monkeys darting across the road so you need to watch out for them as well!

We came across some donkeys just milling around. They looked healthy and well kept and thankfully were not tied up or in a fenced off field.

Even on a relatively clear day the top of Nevis Peak was still covered in mist.

Hiking trails

There are hiking trails which criss cross the island and All Trails have information about several trails in St Kitts and in Nevis. But neither of us had our hiking boots and this wasn’t part of our agenda for this trip.

Golden Rock Inn

We had lunch one day in the gorgeous Golden Rock Inn a boutique hotel nestled in the lower slopes of Nevis Peak in the parish of Gingerland which is named after the valuable ginger crop which was previously grown there.

With its stunning well maintained tropical gardens and lovely terrace overlooking extensive ponds this was a little piece of paradise.

Golden Rock welcomes outside visitors for breakfast, lunch or dinner without needing to stay there. We hadn’t booked a table for lunch although this may be advisable during the peak season between December and May or if you want to be sure of a table.

The Golden Rock Inn is an old converted sugar mill on an estate which dates back to 1801. Its current owners, New York artists Brice and Helen Marden designed the property with its engaging mix of bright furnishings and cultivated gardens which contain over 50 species of palms.

For lunch we both had vegetable curry roti which is a traditional West Indian wrap. This was served warm and tasted amazing especially with the home made mango chutney. I had a glass of wine and as Chris was driving he had home made ginger beer.

After lunch (we were in no hurry to leave) we both had ginger beer which was the best ginger beer ever and left a lovely tang in your mouth.

Lunch was so good and in such a wonderful setting we did book a table for the following evening for dinner.

Driving in Nevis

You need your UK (or your country) driving licence in order to purchase a temporary licence for St Kitts & Nevis. Chris did all of the driving on this trip (my job was to research places to visit and to navigate to them) and as he already had this from St Kitts, he was good to go in Nevis.

Driving around the island was easy as there was little traffic and you could do a complete circle in about 45 minutes even if you drive very slowly.

Nevis Botanical Garden

This was incredibly lush and tropical and as I took so many photos, the Nevis Botanical Garden will have its own separate post which is coming up next!

Nevis beaches

Nevis has its share of stunning Caribbean beaches and during this holiday we visited a few of them. First up is calm, shallow and sandy Oualie beach. As this is where we stayed we have an entire separate Oualie Beach post.

A mile or so further around the north of the island is Lovers Beach due to its secluded nature. In the distance you can see St Kitts.

On the east coast is wild Herberts beach with the choppy Atlantic Ocean crashing against its shoreline.

Pinney’s Beach

One morning we drove to Pinney’s Beach which is one of the longest stretches of golden sand on the island. We parked near to Lime beach bar where there was a small collection of about 5 beach bars from which to choose.

Following a Carib beer each and a chat with the friendly barman in Limes we set off walking along the edge of crystal clear and turquoise Caribbean sea of Pinney’s beach towards the Four Seasons hotel to do some off-the-beach snorkelling.

The manicured beach in front of the Four Seasons hotel was lovely with its gently shelving sand, warm shallow waters and no other tourists. Guests of the Four Seasons use the sunbeds with their yellow umbrellas laid out for them at the top of the beach however all beaches in Nevis can also be used by the public.

Chris and I set out our Oualie Beach Resort supplied blue and white stripey beach towels directly on the sand.

Snorkelling wasn’t the best as there was only a few fish around near the rocks. Also dark clouds were looming over us straight from Nevis Peak located behind the Four Seasons.

We felt a few drops of rain and as the sky looked clear and blue in the direction of Oualie Beach we headed back there for lunch.

Summary

We had a fabulous time driving around the beautiful scenery and stopping to experience some amazing and colourful places.

We would highly recommend hiring a car as a great way to get around, see the treasures and experience the authentic Caribbean charm of Nevis.

We hired our car from Nevis Auto Rental for a cost of around £210 for the 4 days (although Chris didn’t need to pay for another temporary St Kitts and Nevis driving licence this time).