St. Kitts Scenic Railway

A three-hour loop around the perimeter of the island on the old sugar-cane railway, now refitted with double-decker carriages and an open upper deck. The train rolls past former plantation estates, sugar-mill ruins, small villages, and stretches of coastline where the Atlantic crashes against black volcanic cliffs.

It is unashamedly aimed at cruise passengers and the price reflects that, but the views from the top deck are excellent and the running commentary is informative about the island's sugar history. A choir often sings along on the return leg into Basseterre. Trains operate when ships are in port.

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A story
The narrow-gauge railway was built between 1912 and 1926 to carry sugar cane to the central mill at Basseterre. When the sugar industry collapsed in 2005 the tracks were saved from being torn up and converted to a tourist train — the only working scenic railway in the eastern Caribbean.

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