Shopping in St. Kitts

Shopping while you're on your St. Kitts vacation is something that must be on your to do list.  Not only will you enjoy hunting for locally made souvenirs for your friends and family back home, but you may also find a good deal on luxury products thanks to the island's duty free status. 

The Goods

Many islands in the Caribbean are known for their low prices on luxury imports.  On St. Kitts, you would do well to stick to items made right there on the island. Clothing, coconut shell crafts, leather work, and woven baskets are all excellently made souvenirs. 

Where to Shop

Basseterre is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean, and is the main shopping area on St. Kitts.  Here, you will find a variety of shopping facilities, and in them a buffet of products. Shops around the Circus (as the town center is known) includes Island Hopper which sells Caribelle Batik clothing and accessories as well as large selections of original handcrafted items and brand-name clothes. Brown Sugar is located on Bay Road where t-shirts to designer clothes are sold. Pelican Mall and TDC Mall offer luxury goods, mass-produced items and locally made crafts and clothing can be found.  

Duty free shopping can be done at Port Zante, one of the largest shopping centers on the island, and is frequented by cruise passengers.  There are over 60 shops in the mall, with jewelry and top of the line goods being the top products of choice among patrons. Nearby, arts, crafts and gifts made by Kittitians can be found at the Nation Museum Shop and at the Amina Craft Market.

Throughout Basseterre and the rest of the island, visitors will also find a small number of stand alone shops selling everything from cheap souvenirs to clothing and accessories to food, and so on.

On the island of Nevis, there are small boutiques and galleries, selling local artwork and crafts, but the most interesting place to shop is the public marketplace in Charlestown. Here you can converse directly with craftsmen and farmers as they sell their product.

Duties, Taxes, and Tips

The official currency of St. Kitts is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar, though most places readily accept the United States Dollar (USD).  Major credit cards and travelers checks are also widely accepted.

In St. Kitts, there is a two-tiered duty free system.  In some locations, such as Basseterre and on the entire island of Nevis, items are sold duty free, no questions asked.  Other locations like Frigate Bay and Port Zante, however, will ask you to provide your passport or airline ticket to prove that you are going to be transporting the items you purchase off of the island.  U.S. citizens have a duty free exemption of $800(USD), plus the additional bonus of being able to mail duty free items home as long as each item is valued at less than $200(USD). Included in your duty free purchase may be up to one liter of liquor; two, if at least one liter is produced in St. Kitts.

Store hours in St. Kitts tend to be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Fridays and Saturday mornings are the most active times to shop while the cruise ships are in port. Shopping is pointless on Sundays as most places are closed, unless a ship is in port finding the shops at Port Zante open for business. Click here to read more about Hours of Operation.

Get lost in the streets of St. Kitts for a day as you explore shops and vendor booths in search of the perfect souvenir.  Along the way, you are sure to discover landmarks and historical sites which will make even more memories worth keeping for much longer than that souvenir will be around.