US$75 an hourThree hour minimumFuel includedYou set the route
St Kitts Private Driver by the Hour
A driver and a vehicle held for you by the hour at US$75, with a three hour minimum, so US$225 is the shortest booking we take. You go where you want instead of along a fixed route. Fuel and air conditioning are in the rate.
Fuel in the rate
The vehicle, the driver, fuel and air conditioning are all in the US$75.
The clock starts when you get in
If your ship arrives late the driver waits, and the block starts when you are in the car.
Rain moves the stops
The vehicle is covered, and the driver will put the indoor stops in the wet part of the day.
What can you do with a St Kitts private driver?
Anything the road reaches. One main road rings the island, so three hours gets you most of the way round it with two or three real stops, and five hours gets you round it slowly with lunch in the middle.
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A coast road through green hills. Stock photo. The loop
Romney Manor at Old Road is a seventeenth century estate house with a garden built round a saman tree reckoned at over 350 years old. Brimstone Hill is the British fortress on a volcanic cone 800 feet above the sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Black Rocks, past Sandy Point, is lava that ran into the sea and set there. Timothy Hill looks down on the South East Peninsula with the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other.
- 2
The Atlantic shore of St Kitts. Photo SV Zanshin, CC BY-SA 3.0. Off the loop
The peninsula road runs down to Cockleshell Bay, where you look straight across The Narrows at Nevis. Mount Liamuiga, 3,792 feet, is behind you for most of the north coast.
- 3
A house in Basseterre. Photo P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0. Your own list
The trips nobody sells as a tour. A cemetery in a village your grandmother came from. A shop in Basseterre that stocks one thing. The school you went to. Say it on the form and the driver will find it.
- 4
At the wheel. Stock photo. The driver
They will suggest stops, tell you what you are looking at, and work out the order so you are not crossing the island twice. They stay with the vehicle at a site. If you want someone beside you explaining Brimstone Hill bastion by bastion, book a guided tour.
How long should you book a St Kitts private driver, and will it fit a cruise day?
Ships in Basseterre are alongside from about 8am to 5pm or 6pm on most calls, and the all aboard comes before the sailing time. A five hour block from a 9am pickup has you back at Port Zante early afternoon with room to spare. Tell us your ship and we work the block back from the all aboard. Hotel guests can book any hours, and an 8pm start costs the same as a 10am one.
- 9amPickup at Port Zante. The clock starts when you get in
- +3 hoursThe minimum block: most of the way round the island with two or three stops
- +5 hoursRound the island slowly with lunch in the middle, back at Port Zante early afternoon
- Extra timeUS$75 an hour, billed in half hours, if the driver has no booking behind yours
How much does a St Kitts private driver cost?
The rate is for the vehicle, so three people and six people pay the same US$75 an hour as long as everyone fits. There is no separate child rate. The shortest booking is three hours at US$225. Extra time is the same US$75 an hour, agreed in advance or on the day if the driver is still free. The late night surcharge in the taxi schedule does not apply to an hourly booking.
Included
- The vehicle and the driver
- Fuel
- Air conditioning
- As many stops as fit the hour
Not included
- Brimstone Hill admission, US$15 a head
- Romney Manor admission, US$3 a head
- Anything you eat, drink or buy at a stop
- Tips, which are appreciated and not required
| Booking | Price | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| Per hour | US$75 | The vehicle, the driver, fuel, air conditioning, and as many stops as fit the hour |
| Three hour block | US$225 | The shortest booking we take |
| Each hour after that | US$75 | Agreed in advance, or on the day if the driver is still free |
What to bring
- Closed shoes or trainers if Brimstone Hill is on your list. It is cobbled, uneven and steep in places, and sandals are the commonest regret of the day.
- Cash in small notes. The two gate prices come to US$18 a head and the roadside stalls take small notes faster than cards. US dollars are accepted everywhere on the island.
- Your list, written down. With addresses or the name of a nearby village. Half the places people want are not on a map and the driver will know them by the junction.
- A light layer. The rainforest side of the island takes a passing shower most afternoons and it stops as quickly as it starts.
Is it right for you?
- It does not suit anyone who wants a guide walking them through each site. This is a driver with local knowledge and a vehicle, and the walking round is yours to do.
- You can drive yourself for less, but a visitor needs a temporary local permit first: EC$62.50 for three months or EC$125 for a year, about US$23 and US$46.
- If you use a wheelchair, book it and tell us on the form. An accessible vehicle takes notice to arrange and we will say plainly which stops you will reach and which you will see from the road.
- Small children need a car seat you bring yourself. Local vehicles do not carry them.
Questions people ask
How does this compare with the taxi rate?
Can we change the plan once we are moving?
What if we run over the block?
How many people fit in the vehicle?
Do you pay the admission fees for us?
Do we tip the driver?
More St Kitts excursions
Send a request. Pay only once it is confirmed.
The date, the start time, how many hours, how many people, where to collect you, and the places you already know you want. We confirm the block with the driver within one working day, and only then send a payment link.