Charlestown, Nevis: A Georgian Town With Hamilton's House in It
The smallest capital worth walking, a ferry from St Kitts, and Pinney's Beach round the corner.
Why Go
Charlestown is the capital of Nevis and it is tiny — a few streets of stone-and-timber Georgian buildings around a harbour, with Nevis Peak rising behind and almost nothing raised above two storeys. Alexander Hamilton was born here, and the house on the waterfront is now a museum that a great many visitors arrive specifically to see. The ferry from St Kitts lands in the middle of it, Pinney's Beach starts a few minutes north, and the whole thing can be walked in half an hour. It is the most intact small colonial town in this part of the Caribbean and it is not trying to be anything else.
The Experience
The town is built of stone at ground level with timber above — the local answer to earthquakes and fire — and enough of it survives that the streets read as a coherent whole rather than a few preserved buildings among modern ones. The market and the ferry pier are the busy points; away from them it is very quiet, and it closes early. Nevis Peak dominates the view inland from almost everywhere, wearing cloud most afternoons. North of town, Pinney's Beach runs for three miles of pale sand with the island's resorts and its best-known beach bars strung along it, and that is where visitors actually spend their time. Nevis as a whole is quieter, greener and slower than St Kitts across the channel, and Charlestown sets that tone.
What to Try
The Birthplace of Alexander Hamilton on the waterfront is the fixture, run by the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, which also looks after the island's other heritage sites and is the place to start if you want more than a single museum. Then go to the beach: Sunshine's Beach Bar & Grill on Pinney's is the island's most famous address and its rum punch has a reputation that precedes it, with Lime Beach Bar and Turtle Time Bar and Grill along the same sand. Mango and Neve are the polished dinners on that stretch, and On The Dune sits above it. In town, Gabriella's Snackette & Bar and LL Rum Shop are the local end and the Library Bar the quiet one. The Charlestown Gallery and Hidden Treasures cover the art and craft, Percys Jewellery is the jeweller, and Funky Monkey Tours & Rentals is who you call for wheels or a guided circuit of the island.
Insider Tip
Come over on an early ferry and walk the town before the heat, then move to Pinney's for the afternoon — that sequence gets you the architecture at its best and the beach at its best on the same day. If you are staying on St Kitts, check the last ferry back before you settle in at Sunshine's, because the crossing stops earlier than the drinking does and the alternative is an expensive water taxi.
The Practical Stuff
The ferry from Basseterre lands in Charlestown and takes well under an hour, running several times a day, which makes Nevis an easy day trip as well as a destination. Vance W. Amory International on the island's north side takes regional flights; most long-haul visitors arrive through St Kitts. The town is walkable in half an hour and parking is easy, but you want a car or a taxi for Pinney's Beach, the plantation-inn hotels in the hills and the road round the island, which takes about an hour to drive. Driving is on the LEFT and a temporary local permit is required. Shops keep weekday hours, close early on Saturdays and shut on Sundays. Nevis is in the hurricane belt, roughly June to November, with December to April the drier and busier season.
Common Questions
How do you get from St Kitts to Nevis?
By ferry from Basseterre to Charlestown, taking well under an hour with several sailings a day. Vance W. Amory International on Nevis takes regional flights, but most long-haul visitors come through St Kitts.
Is Charlestown worth visiting?
Yes, for a morning. It is among the most intact small Georgian towns in the Caribbean, with Hamilton's birthplace on the waterfront, and it walks in half an hour. Then go to Pinney's Beach.
Where is Alexander Hamilton's birthplace?
On the Charlestown waterfront, in a restored stone house that now holds a museum run by the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society. It is a short walk from where the ferry docks.
Should you stay in Charlestown or on Pinney's Beach?
Pinney's, or the plantation inns in the hills, for almost everyone. Charlestown is where the ferry, the shops and the museum are, and it closes early; the beach is where Nevis is actually enjoyed.
Is Nevis quieter than St Kitts?
Considerably. It is smaller, greener and slower, with no cruise pier of its own, no equivalent of the Frigate Bay strip and far fewer visitors. That difference is the main reason people choose it.
How long do you need in Nevis?
A day trip covers Charlestown and a few hours at Pinney's. Three or four days lets you do the island road, Nevis Peak and the plantation inns properly, which is what most people who love the island come back for.
Pair It With
- Birthplace of Alexander Hamilton Guide — The museum on the waterfront, minutes from the ferry.
- Sunshine's Beach Bar & Grill Guide — The afternoon, after the town.
- Pinney's Beach Guide — Three miles of sand just north of the capital.
