Charlestown

Charlestown is the capital of Nevis and serves as the main point of arrival for cruise passengers.

You'll be anchored in Charlestown Harbor and tendered to the center Charlestown.

Charlestown is compact and easily walkable. For any locale beyond the town center, your best bet is to take a taxi. $40 per hour.

Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, is a small, picturesque town, with a Main Street lined with Georgian stone buildings which are examples of the architectural style of the colonial era, sporting breezy balconies and wooden upper floors over a ground floor built of stone. About 1,200 of Nevis’s 10,000 inhabitants live in Charlestown.

• Hermitage Plantation' in Saint John, built of lignum vitae wood in 1640, is the oldest surviving wooden house still in use in the Caribbean today.
• Bath Hotel of 1778, located just outside Charlestown, is the first hotel built in the Caribbean and once served as a luxury hotel and spa. The soothing waters of the hotel's hot springs lured many famous Europeans, including the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Antigua-based Admiral Nelson and Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, the future William IV of the United Kingdom. They attended balls and private parties at the hotel. Today, the building serves as the government headquarters and the hot springs are open to the public.
• Culturama, an annual cultural festival, is celebrated the first week of August as part of the Emancipation Day weekend.

Taxis are efficient, clean, and the drivers tend to be knowledgeable and friendly. Drivers will bring you to your destinations, wait for you or come back and get you at your convenience. Although a great bargain in terms of what you get (really more like a personal limo -- and the charge remains the same no matter how many people are going)-- taxis are relatively expensive in absolute amounts (US$10-20 is typical) to go anywhere.

The "H" Bus. These are privately owned, but government registered, vans that haul people from point to point for around 3-5 EC -$1-$2 US (depending on how far you are going) per person. H Buses range from luxurious vans with air conditioning and televisions to crowded dingy things with broken seats. The buses generally make circuits on part of the ring road (the road running around the island) with each group going back and forth on roughly a third of 17-mile loop. Stand on the side of the road, look for a van whose license plate starts with H, wave at them as they approach.

Due to strange driving license rules, car rental is not a good option.

Charlestown Market: Visit the local market to experience the vibrant culture and buy fresh produce, spices, and crafts.

Nevis operates on the Eastern Caribbean Dollar; $1 ECD is worth about 36 cents U.S., but you'll want to check xe.com for the latest exchange rates. Many shops and restaurants take American cash (or euros) but you may receive change in EC.

Downtown Cyber Cafe is a great all-in-one spot for Web surfing and noshing.

English is the language of Nevis.