St Kitts Island Tour: Brimstone Hill and Romney Manor

This half-day drive takes in the three sights every first-time visitor wants to see. You set off through Basseterre, the capital, with its Georgian buildings, the Circus and Independence Square, then follow the Caribbean coast west.

At Romney Manor, an old sugar estate in the hills above Old Road, the gardens are shaded by a huge saman tree said to be more than 350 years old. This is where Caribelle Batik is made: you can watch the artists work the wax and dye by hand, and browse the finished fabrics.

Next comes Brimstone Hill Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built by the British in the 17th and 18th centuries on a volcanic hill 240 metres above the sea. Its nickname was the Gibraltar of the West Indies, until a French siege took it in 1782. Walk up to the Citadel for views across to St Eustatius and Saba on a clear day. On the way back, your guide stops at Timothy Hill, where the Atlantic and the Caribbean lie on either side of the road and Nevis rises ahead.