St Kitts & Nevis Travel Guide

Full Name

Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Former Name

Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

Capital City

Basseterre

Government Type

Vconstitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament

Climate

tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Geography

with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island

Languages

English

History

First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis is once more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts.

Currency

East Caribbean Dollar (XCD)