Adventure Guide to Antigua, Barbuda, Nevis, St.Barts, St.Kitts and St.Martin

258 Pages·2001·2.059 MB·English

by  Paris Permenter, John Bigley

Adventure Guide to
Anguilla
Antigua
St. Barts
St. Kitts
St. Martin
including
&
Sint Maarten, Barbuda Nevis
Anguilla
Antigua
St. Barts
St. Kitts
St. Martin
including
&
Sint Maarten, Barbuda Nevis
2nd Edition
Paris Permenter & John Bigley
HUNTER
HUNTERPUBLISHING,INC,
130CampusDrive,Edison,NJ08818
732-225-1900;800-255-0343;Fax[phone]
[email protected]
UlyssesTravelPublications
4176Saint-Denis,Montréal,Québec
CanadaH2W2M5
514-843-9882,ext.2232;fax[phone]
WindsorBooks
TheBoundary,WheatleyRoad,Garsington
Oxford,OX449EJEngland
01865-361122;Fax[phone]
ISBN1-55650-909-X
©2001ParisPermenter&JohnBigley
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any
means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthewrittenpermissionofthepublisher.
This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities
containelementsofrisk,thepublisher,author,affiliatedindividuals
andcompaniesdisclaimanyresponsibilityforanyinjury,harm,orill-
nessthatmayoccurtoanyonethrough,orbyuseof,theinformation
inthisbook.Everyeffortwasmadetoinsuretheaccuracyofinforma-
tion in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and
herebydisclaim,anyliabilityforanylossordamagecausedbyerrors,
omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems
causedbythisguide,evenifsucherrorsoromissionsresultfromneg-
ligence,accidentoranyothercause.
Coverphoto:RawlinsPlantation,St.Kitts©ParisPermenter&JohnBigley
Interiorimagesprovidedbytheauthors,unlessotherwisenoted
IndexbyNancyWolff
CartoonsbyJoeKohl
MapsbyKimAndré,©2001HunterPublishing,Inc.
1 2 3 4
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vi (cid:1) AbouttheAuthors
About the Authors
J
ohnBigleyandParisPermenterareprofessionaltravelwritersand
photographers specializing in the Caribbean. They contribute
travel articles and photographs to many top magazines and newspa-
pers.
ParisandJohnaretheauthorsoftheAdventureGuidetotheCayman
Islands,AdventureGuidetoJamaica,TheCaymanIslandsAlive!,Ja-
maica:ATasteoftheIsland,JamaicaAlive!,Nassau&theBestofthe
BahamasAlive!Antigua,Barbuda,St.Kitts&NevisAlive!andBaha-
mas:ATasteoftheIslands,alsobyHunterPublishing.Theirmostre-
cent guide for Hunter is Romantic Escapes in the Caribbean. The
couplehaveauthoredGourmetGetaways:ATasteofNorthAmerica’s
TopResortsandTexasBarbecue,namedtheBestRegionalBookbythe
Mid-AtlanticPublishersAssociation.
The husband-and-wife team are also frequent television and radio
talk show guests and have appeared on several travel shows. Both
Paris and John are members of the prestigious Society of American
Travel Writers (SATW) and the American Society of Journalists and
Authors(ASJA).TheyresideintheTexasHillCountry,nearAustin.
Readerscanfollowthecouple’stravelsontheirwebsites:Travelswith
Paris and John (www.parisandjohn.com) and Lovetripper Romantic
TravelMagazine(www.lovetripper.com).
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:1)
Acknowledgments (cid:1) vii
Acknowledgments
W
ewouldliketothankthosewhohelpedonthehomefrontduring
ourmanyresearchtrips.OurthanksgotoLaurieandTimKibel,
Cliff and Clara Trahan, Sam Bertron and Rebecca Lowe for all their
help.Asalways,specialthankstoMomandDadfortheirsupportas
wehittheroad.
Thanks also go to our daughter, Lauren Bigley, who lent her assis-
tancewithfact-checking.
Ourresearchwasalsoassistedbythemanypublicrelationsagencies
acrossthecountry;theirhardworkmadeourjobsmucheasier.We’d
especially like to thank for Anguilla: Deborah Roker and Miss Ernie
Hodge with the Anguilla Tourist Board. In St. Martin/Sint Maarten,
thanksgotoMaryJaneKolassawithYPB.InSt.KittsandNevis,we
sendathankyoutoTimBenfordandTimIIIofBenford&Associates.
In Antigua and Barbuda, we thank Cheryl Andrews Marketing. Our
special thanks also go to the many informative taxi drivers who
sharedtheirwealthofknowledge.
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Contents
AbouttheAuthors........................................vi
Acknowledgments .......................................vii
Introduction 1
Saba .............................................3
SintEustatius .....................................3
Montserrat ........................................3
WhenToGo .............................................5
High/LowSeason......................................5
Hurricanes...........................................5
SpecialConcerns .........................................7
Currency.............................................7
Health...............................................7
Crime ...............................................7
InterestingIslandFacts ................................8
PackingForAdventure ....................................9
HowToUseThisBook....................................10
AdventureChapters ..................................11
AdventuresOnFoot .................................11
AdventuresOnWheels...............................12
AdventuresOnWater................................12
AdventuresIntheAir................................13
AdventuresOnHorseback ............................13
Eco-Travel .........................................13
CulturalExcursions .................................14
SightseeingSections ..................................14
WheretoStay........................................15
Hotels&Resorts ..................................15
Condos ..........................................15
SmallInns .......................................15
Camping.........................................15
WheretoEat ........................................16
Anguilla 17
What'sSpecialAboutIt? ..................................17
History ................................................18
EarlyDays ..........................................18
Colonization.........................................18
ModernTimes .......................................21
Geography&Land.......................................21
Climate................................................22
Flora&Fauna ..........................................23
Conservation&Protection .............................23
x (cid:1) Contents
Birds...............................................24
Reptiles.............................................24
MarineLife..........................................25
MarineConservation ................................25
Government&Economy ..................................26
Currency............................................26
ThePeople .............................................26
TravelInformation.......................................27
WhentoGo..........................................27
Customs ............................................27
Cost................................................27
Holidays............................................28
CalendarOfEvents..................................28
Transportation.......................................30
Flights ............................................30
FerryService.......................................31
Arrival ............................................31
ByPrivateBoat ...................................31
SpecialConcerns .....................................32
Pets ..............................................32
Health ............................................32
Crime.............................................32
Drugs.............................................32
GeneralInformation ..................................32
Dress .............................................32
BusinessHours.....................................33
Electricity .........................................33
MoneyMatters .....................................33
Weddings ...........................................33
Communication ......................................33
TelephoneCharges ..................................33
Internet ...........................................34
Media.............................................34
InformationSources ..................................34
OutontheIsland........................................34
GettingAround ......................................36
TaxiService........................................36
CarRentals ........................................36
GuidedTours.......................................37
AttheAirport ......................................38
Beaches.............................................38
TopBeaches........................................38
Cays&Islets ........................................39
Adventures.............................................40
OnFoot.............................................40
Caving&Hiking....................................40
Contents (cid:1) xi
OnWheels ..........................................40
Cycling............................................40
OnWater ...........................................41
ScubaDiving.......................................41
WreckDiving.......................................42
DiveOperators .....................................42
Snorkeling.........................................43
Watersports........................................43
Sailing ............................................44
BoatingExcursions..................................44
IntheAir ...........................................45
IslandHopping .....................................45
OnHorseback........................................45
Eco-Travel ..........................................45
Birding............................................45
ArchaeologicalTours.................................46
CulturalExcursions...................................48
Sports..............................................49
Tennis ............................................49
Golf...............................................49
Soccer.............................................49
Sightseeing.............................................50
WheretoStay...........................................51
Hotels&Resorts .....................................51
SmallInns ..........................................54
WheretoEat............................................54
BeachBars..........................................54
CaribbeanCuisine....................................56
ContinentalCuisine...................................56
Shopping...............................................58
Artists..............................................58
Nightlife ...............................................58
LiveMusic ..........................................58
St. Martin/ Sint Maarten 61
What'sSpecialAboutIt? ..................................61
History ................................................63
Colonization.........................................63
TheBeginning&EndofSlavery ........................64
Geography&Land.......................................65
Climate................................................65
Flora&Fauna ..........................................65
Government&Economy ..................................65
People&Culture ........................................66
TravelInformation.......................................66
WhentoGo..........................................66
Customs ............................................66