Nevis
Almost everyone reaches Nevis by boat from St Kitts – competing passenger ferries into Charlestown, a vehicle ferry at the island's tip, or a water taxi – and gets around on unscheduled minivans or negotiated taxis once ashore.
- Researched
- 28 September 2026
- Reviewed
- 29 September 2026
- Ways of moving
- 8, 15 sources
- Not confirmed
- 8
- Fares seen
- 2025–2026
8 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed six ways of moving to, from or around Nevis: three by water, one by road and two hired or on demand, from 15 sources. Two entries are not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Three of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be. One needs a phone call or a message before you turn up.
The fares were seen in 2025 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Three fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 4 of the 8 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 28 September 2026, and ends with eight things we could not confirm.
By water
Charlestown – Basseterre passenger ferries
Port Zante / Basseterre, St Kitts to Charlestown, Nevis
Ferry dock at the port in Basseterre; ticket window at the Charlestown port on the Nevis side
- When
- Several sailings a day on competing boats; departures run later than the posted schedule
- Takes
- About 40 minutes
- Fare 2025
- US$12.50 per person, one way, as of 2025
SeasonYear-round, but Wikivoyage warns sailings are cancelled without prior notice; it gives no seasonal pattern and does not mention hurricanes. BookingBuy at the dock, or book ahead through the ifare.kn booking site. Run bySeveral private operators; Sea Hustler is the only one able to carry vehicles.
Sea Bridge vehicle ferry
Major's Bay, St Kitts (southeast peninsula) to Cades Bay, Nevis
Drive or taxi to the Major's Bay terminal on St Kitts; ferry berth at Cades Bay a few miles north of Charlestown
- When
- Runs 8AM to 7PM; no sailing interval is published on NASPA's own pages, so ask at the terminal for the day's times
- Takes
- 25–30 minutes
- Fare
- Not confirmed from a published tariff; ask at the terminal
SeasonYear-round; still operating as of the 2026 schedule page, contradicting any report that it had stopped. BookingNone required for foot passengers; vehicles should check the NASPA schedule page before travelling. Run byNevis Air and Sea Ports Authority (NASPA).
Private water taxis, St Kitts to Nevis
St Kitts to Nevis, various points including hotel jetties; also an Oualie Beach water-taxi facility on Nevis
Arranged through a hotel or negotiated at the dock; the Four Seasons runs its own boat for guests and will carry extra passengers if there is room
- When
- On demand, no timetable
- Takes
- Similar to the ferry crossing, faster with a smaller boat
- Fare
- More than the scheduled ferry; cheaper per head the more passengers share the boat, no current published rate found
SeasonYear-round, subject to sea conditions; no source found gives a seasonal pattern. BookingArrange in advance through a hotel, or negotiate at the pier. Run byIndependent boat owners and resort transfer boats.
By road
Nevis island buses
Circuit routes around the 17-mile ring road, roughly a third of the loop per van
Flag down any van with a green license plate starting with H, anywhere on the main road; wave with a downward motion
- When
- On demand, no timetable; frequent morning and late afternoon, sparse midday, none after about 9PM
- Takes
- Varies by distance around the loop
- Fare 2025
- XCD 3–5 (about US$1–2) per person, as of 2025
SeasonYear-round. BookingNone, pay the driver on board. Run byPrivately owned, government-registered minivans.
Hired, booked and on demand
Nevis taxis
Island-wide, point to point or hired by the hour for a tour
Taxi stand at the airport and the Charlestown port, or call ahead; van has a yellow license plate starting with T or TA
- When
- On demand
- Takes
- N/A
- Fare 2025
- Typically US$10–20 for a short trip as of 2025; confirm before boarding whether the quote is in EC or US dollars
SeasonYear-round. BookingHail at a stand or call; a ride-hailing app called Drop SKN Ride exists but did not appear to work as of 2025. Run byIndependent licensed taxi drivers.
Nevis car rental
Island-wide self-drive
Book by phone or email in advance; Nevis Auto Rental offers pick-up and drop-off in select locations rather than anywhere on the island
- When
- N/A, self-drive
- Takes
- N/A
- Fare 2025
- From around US$55 per day as of 2025
SeasonYear-round; drive on the left, watch for livestock. BookingArrange in advance; car comes with the required temporary driving licence issued at pick-up. Run bySeveral local agencies, e.g. Nevis Auto Rental.
Rules, permits and closures
Temporary driving licence for visitors
Required to drive anywhere on Nevis (and St Kitts)
Inland Revenue Department, or issued directly by an authorised car rental agency at the time of pick-up
- When
- N/A
- Takes
- Valid 3 months or 1 year, as chosen
- Fare 2026
- US$25.00 for three months, US$47.00 for one year, as of 2026
SeasonN/A. BookingPresent a valid non-national driver's licence, a passport and one other form of ID; must be 25 or older. Run bySt Kitts and Nevis Inland Revenue Department / licensed car rental agencies.
Vance W. Amory airport handles only small aircraft
Nevis has no international-scale airport; most travellers fly into St Kitts and cross by sea
N/A
- When
- N/A
- Takes
- N/A
- Fare
- N/A
SeasonNo cited source here documents a seasonal disruption pattern for Nevis; Wikivoyage's Nevis and Saint Kitts and Nevis articles do not mention hurricanes at all. Check a forecast and the ferry operators before travelling in the Atlantic hurricane season. Run byVance W. Amory International Airport (NEV).
What we could not find out
8 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
The Wikivoyage Nevis article names a 'Carib Queen' ferry alongside the Sea Hustler, but the live vessel list on the ifare.kn booking platform (GraphQL API at ifare-server-x50u.onrender.com/graphql, field getVessels) returns only Apple Syder, Apple Syder Legend, Lady B, Sea Hustler, MV Passion and Next Edition as of September 2026 – Carib Queen does not appear, so it may have been renamed or retired; ask at the Charlestown ticket window to confirm current operators.
- 02
Correction to the brief: the Sea Bridge vehicle barge between Major's Bay and Cades Bay is still running as of September 2026, per NASPA's own ferryschedule page – the brief's framing ('whether it still runs') is answered, it does.
- 03
No current published fare for the Sea Bridge could be found; its schedule/price table on naspakn.com/ferryschedule is loaded by client-side JavaScript that did not return prices to a plain fetch. Ask at the Major's Bay or Cades Bay terminal, or call NASPA directly.
- 04
No government-published fixed taxi fare schedule was found online for Nevis (unlike some other Caribbean islands where the tourism board posts one); the USD10-20 range here comes from a traveller account, not an official tariff. Ask the Nevis Tourism Authority or a taxi stand for the current fixed-fare card.
- 05
ifare.kn's own GraphQL endpoint (https://ifare-server-x50u.onrender.com/graphql) exposes a getTrips query with live schedule data, but it requires an authenticated session ('You must be signed in') so timetables and per-route prices could not be pulled without logging in.
- 06
The domain nevisportsauthority.com, named in some older references, now redirects to naspakn.com (Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority) – use the new domain.
- 07
The Sea Bridge description quoted here sits on NASPA's Sea Bridge page (naspakn.com/copy-of-long-point-ferry), not on the ferryschedule page linked from it; the schedule page itself renders its times in JavaScript and returned none to a plain fetch, so the sailing interval is still unconfirmed.
- 08
An earlier draft cited a quote, 'within the Caribbean Hurricane Belt', to Wikivoyage's Saint Kitts and Nevis article and built hurricane-season warnings on it in three options. That phrase is not on the page – the word hurricane appears nowhere in either the Nevis or the Saint Kitts and Nevis article – so the quote and the claims resting on it were removed. Nevis is in the Atlantic hurricane region as a matter of geography, but no source used here documents how the season affects these ferries; ask NASPA or the Charlestown ticket window.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Nevis is this.
- Y
- Scheduled flightsBasseterre (SKB), 22 km
- N
- Trains and coachesno timetable feed known for this country
- Y
- FerriesCharlestown Ferry Pier, 1 km, ferry.mniaccess.com; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known. Nearest place with more: Saint John’s, 83 km.