Going to St. Kitts in December for the first time. Whats the best airline to take from Wash, DC? And what are the good places to go....thanks, Ed

I don't know which airlines you have at your disposal, but if there is a direct flight, I'd take it. Otherwise you are probably stuck going to Antigua or Puerto Rico and then using LIAT.

As to where to go: Brimstone Hill fortress is one of the best in the Caribbean. And make sure to have one of the locally bottled Carib Beers. Totally different from the Trini beer.

There are no non-stop or direct flights from the Washington, DC area to St. Kitts. You'll have to take a connecting flight. You best options are: 1) USAIR via Charlotte, American Airlines via Miami or Delta via Atlanta. Which one is best for you depends on day of week you are traveling as USAIR and delta usually only fly on weekends.

Other options are to fly from DC to St. Martin or Antigua (if you can do that non-stop) then take either a Winair or Liat island hopper flight to St. Kitts but keep in mind that the local commuter airlines don't always keep "on schedule" so it's best to connect through one of the US airports I mentioned and fly from either of them non-stop into St. Kitts.

As for what to do/see on St. Kitts consider visiting the following:

The Fortress at Brimstone Hill
The Batik Factory & Gardens at Romney Manor
The Sugar Train
The Petroglyphs
The Black Rocks Lava Flow
Go Scuba Diving
Do a day sail snorkeling trip
Visit Nevis for a day

Thanks...is it best to rent a car for the week?

Hard to say if it's "best" to rent a car for the entire week - it all depends on how often you plan on leaving the resort.

For me, I always rent a car when I travel and I don't mind "paying" even though the vehicle might sit in a parking lot all day. I like the idea of coming/going whenever I please.

For what it is worth, taxi fares can mount up quickly. Two round trips a day to almost anywhere on the island in a taxi will cost you more than a rental car and in many instances one round trip to some of the more distant places will exceed the cost of a rental car. You can rent a car for around $45US to $50US per day and a minimum one-way taxi fare is going to run you $10US to $15US - longer rides will be in the $25US to $40US range. YOU MAKE THE CALL.

It also depends if you are comfortable driving in the English manner. It sometimes takes a bit of getting used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

Taxi's are plentiful, but make sure you pre-arrange your return before getting out at your destination. Other than the cruise port, downtown Basseterre, and the Marriott, taxis do not sit around waiting for fares.

Here is a bulletin board for the island My Island You can expect to get lots of information there.