By Revura Scooter Rentals. Updated 3 November 2026.
You do not need a ship excursion to see St. Kitts in a day. From Port Zante, a taxi, a scooter or your own feet will cover Basseterre, Frigate Bay, Timothy Hill and Cockleshell Bay, and the hours your ship gives you decide which one.
Frigate Bay and back fits in under four hours. Timothy Hill fits most port calls. Cockleshell Bay needs six to eight hours once you count the ride, a swim and lunch. Brimstone Hill needs eight or more. To see which ships are in port on your date and how long each one stays, use our cruise ship schedule.
What fits in the hours you have ashore?
Taxi fares in St. Kitts have no meter. The government sets a maximum per car for up to four people, in the Vehicles and Road Traffic (Maximum Fares) Regulations of January 2021, the latest schedule we could find. We last checked these figures on 18 October 2026. A scooter is US$65 for the day and seats two.
| Hours ashore | What fits | Taxi from Basseterre, one way | Scooter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 4 hours | Basseterre on foot, or Frigate Bay and back | Frigate Bay US$20 | Frigate Bay and back |
| 4 to 6 hours | Timothy Hill viewpoint | No single fare listed; the 2-hour Southeast Peninsula tour is US$52 | Timothy Hill and back |
| 6 to 8 hours | Cockleshell Bay | US$40 | Cockleshell Bay and back |
| 8 hours or more | Brimstone Hill Fortress | Up to 2 hours at the fortress, US$55 | Brimstone Hill and back |
A taxi fare is one way. Coming back is a second fare, unless the driver waits, and waiting is free for the first 15 minutes and US$5 for every 15 after that.
What can you see on foot from the pier?
Five places sit within a six-minute walk of the Port Zante arrival building: the Circus, Independence Square, the Catholic co-cathedral, the local produce market and St. George’s Anglican Church. The walk from the pier to the arrival building is about 10 minutes, so add that to each time below.
| Place | What it is | Walk from the arrival building | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Circus | The roundabout at the heart of Basseterre | 2 minutes | 140 m |
| Independence Square | Basseterre’s central square | 4 minutes | 280 m |
| Immaculate Conception Co-Cathedral | The Catholic church | 5 minutes | 350 m |
| Basseterre market | The local produce market | 5 minutes | 350 m |
| St. George’s Anglican Church | The Anglican church | 6 minutes | 400 m |
We have not checked opening hours for the churches or the market, so look at them before a tight day.
Which beach is closest to the cruise port?
Frigate Bay, at the start of the Southeast Peninsula, is 5.9 km and 9 minutes by car from Port Zante, and US$20 each way by taxi. North Frigate faces the Atlantic and South Frigate the Caribbean. The beach bars on South Frigate are known as the Strip.
Cockleshell Bay is further. It is 16.1 km (10 miles) and about 20 minutes by car from Port Zante, via Bay Road. A taxi is US$40 each way. It faces Nevis across the Narrows, and Reggae Beach Bar is one of the bars along the sand. There is no fuel station on the Southeast Peninsula, so a scooter has to be filled in Basseterre before you set off.
Is Timothy Hill worth the stop?
It is 6.2 km and 9 minutes by car from Port Zante, and it is the island’s best-known viewpoint: the Atlantic on one side of you, the Caribbean on the other, with Frigate Bay, Friar’s Bay and Nevis in view. Pull fully off the road to stop. In cruise season the tour buses stop here too, so expect company.
By car from Port Zante, South Friars Bay is 8.0 km and 13 minutes, and Brimstone Hill Fortress is 17.3 km and 29 minutes via Cayon Street. In slow traffic a scooter gets through gaps a car cannot. Our estimate is that it moves 20 to 50 percent faster than a car, which puts the same trips at about:
Frigate Bay, 6 to 8 minutes. Timothy Hill, 6 to 8 minutes. South Friars Bay, 9 to 11 minutes. Cockleshell Bay, 13 to 17 minutes. Brimstone Hill, 19 to 24 minutes.
That is an estimate, not a timed ride, and the faster end needs slow or stopped traffic to pass. On an open road at the limit the times match the car.
What does a day ashore cost?
Brimstone Hill Fortress is US$15 for adults and half price for children 12 and under, open daily 9:30am to 5:30pm. Romney Manor and Caribelle Batik is US$3 for adults and free for children 11 and under, open weekdays 9:00am to 3:00pm and Saturday mornings from November to April.
Carambola Beach Club on South Friar’s Bay sells a US$45 day pass: a chair, an umbrella, a towel and one rum punch for six hours from 10am. The sand itself is free. The smaller bars along Frigate Bay and Cockleshell rent chairs by the piece, so ask the price before you sit down.
The local currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar, fixed at EC$2.70 to US$1 since 1976. US dollars and major cards are widely accepted, so most cruise visitors never change money. Pay in US dollars and your change may come back in EC dollars at a rate a little under 2.70. Opening hours move with the season, so check before a tight day. Source: the operators’ own published information, as at 18 October 2026. The full list is in our cruise day cost guide.
Should you take a scooter or a taxi?
Two experienced riders who want to stop at every lookout take the scooter: US$65 for the day, against US$80 for a taxi out to Cockleshell and back. Three or four of you, or under four hours ashore, take the taxi. Our scooter or taxi guide works through three days ashore with the sums.
On an open road a scooter does not beat a car. The law sets 20 mph in Basseterre and in every village and 40 mph everywhere else, and a scooter obeys the same limits. The drive from Port Zante to Cockleshell Bay is 16.1 km and takes about 20 minutes by car, an average of about 48 km/h (30 mph). Even at the full 40 mph limit all the way, the same trip takes 15 minutes. In slow traffic it gains time, and in every case it saves the wait: there is no driver to find and no return time to agree, and you stop where you like.
Is there Uber in St. Kitts?
No. Some locals give rides in their own cars that work like Uber, but the prices are not regulated, the rides are not covered by insurance and they are not legal, even though people still use them. Most visitors only find out which when something goes wrong.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service reported on 24 July 2023 that using a private licence and vehicle for reward or hire breaks the laws of the Federation, and a Ministry of Tourism official said a private vehicle’s insurance does not cover commercial use. A licensed taxi carries a plate with a T or TA in the number, and its fares are capped by the government, as in the table above.
What do you need before you can ride?
Your driving licence from home, your passport, your ship card, and a St. Kitts and Nevis temporary driver’s licence arranged before pickup. The police run an online portal at eservices.police.kn/ELicense. We cannot hand over a scooter without the temporary licence. The deposit is US$500, as a card hold or cash, and it is released after the return check.
Collection at Port Zante runs from 8:00am to 12:00pm, and the scooter is back by 4:30pm, earlier if your all-aboard time needs it. Traffic drives on the left. We rent to experienced riders only; the rider requirements say what that means.
What if your ship docks late or does not dock?
If your ship docks late, message us the new arrival time. We shorten the route to the hours you have left and keep the turnaround against the same all-aboard time. If your ship does not dock, you get a full refund or a free date change.