Saint Kitts and Nevis is home to several universities, Mount Liamuiga volcano, and a lush rain-forest with an abundance of monkeys.

During our short time here, we decided to go zip-lining through the rain-forest. We arrived on the Carnival Fascination, and ventured out on our excursion early in the morning. 

A bus picked us up near the port to take us up into the forests, making for an interesting tour through the downtown and countryside - we learned all about the history of Saint Kitts and what their future may look like. Saint Kitts is somewhat of a college town, as they are home to a vet school and many other medical related universities. There are also many children that live on the island, and the population is growing steadily.

I always find a locally guided tour to be very informative, as you get a locals perspective to parts of the island you may not normally be exposed to - I believe this to be the only way to truly get a feel for the islands' culture.

Once you reach your destination, you’ll get into your gear and do a practice test (they’ll ask you to leave your belongings behind, so don’t bring anything of value) before boarding a jeep that will take you to the zip-lining mount. While you’re up there, you’ll see cute little monkeys running around in diapers (cute, but kind of sad). You may want to take a picture with them, but I would recommend not doing so, unless you plan to pay for the picture - they won’t tell you this until after the photo is taken, so beware.

The trip includes a bit of hiking, so bring the right shoes. Once you get up there, you’ll zip-line off three different lines (two long, and one short). It’s very high up, way above the treeline. This rain-forest is more of a desert rain-forest, but it’s really cool to look out over the treetops as you’re gliding along.

This excursion took up most of the day in Saint Kitts, though we did have time to grab a bite to eat before boarding the ship.

Overall, if you’re interested in doing something active, this was a solid excursion. 

A few important tips:

• Bring:

  • Tennis shows

  • Sunscreen/sunglasses (it’s bright up there)

  • Comfortable walking shoes that won’t fall off (plus minimal hiking)

• Don’t:

  • Touch the monkeys unless you want to pay for it. Yes, they’re cute. Yes, they’re wearing a diaper. No, it’s not worth it - learn from our mistakes. 

  • Accept free aloe vera from a nice local. Unless, of course, you want to pay for that as well - after its been applied (this happened in the downtown area after the excursion). General rule of thumb: nothing is free.