No worries in St. Kitts & Nevis. -- St. Kitts photos by Kenneth Bagnell, Nevis photos courtesy of Nevis Tourism.

"Every island is very distinct," a writer once said, "if that island be truly known." That's obvious with islands that are oceans apart. But it can be just as true of islands that are neighbours.

Take the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, in the eastern Caribbean. Only a short channel separates them; they have common history as sugar colonies; they're part of a single federation. But they have, as I found again when I returned on a Signature Vacations trip, characteristics making each very distinct. As an acquaintance who lives there says: "They're a study in contrasts."

ST. KITTS

In part, the contrasts come through size. For while each is small, St. Kitts is certainly larger -- about 68 sq. miles with a population of 35,000. With a larger population comes more influence from tourism.

When I went back recently, I stayed a few days in a new Marriott Resort, recently built by Toronto entrepreneurs, a place of 648 rooms and villas, seven restaurants, eight bars, enormous pools, almost 1,000 employees, a full-service spa and a casino operating into the early hours.

The Marriott as a European writer says has a touch of Las Vegas: Its lobby throbs with music, voices, energy, and if you need a cab, there's always someone at the doors to whistle one up. So for all who like pulsating life, the Marriott awaits.

I spent most of my St. Kitts days out and about, riding a steam train that took me round the island, having lunch at a history-laden inn, Rawlins Plantation, where sugar was produced for 300 years and where now, if you like privacy, you can stay in genteel cottages with no phones, radios or TVs.

I strolled the streets of the capital, Basseterre, where fashionable boutiques thrive alongside modest shops of the past. But the highlight is to be found on the edge of the capital: Perhaps the finest botanical garden in the Caribbean. It's Romney Manor with so many varieties of tropical plants and flowers no one is sure of the number.

"One reason it's so popular," said Maurice Widdowson, who has been proprietor for years, "is that I've taken an informal approach. It's natural."

Windsurfing with the beautiful setting of Oualie Beach, Nevis, as a backdrop.

Before I left I bought gifts for my granddaughters -- tapestries, on which local women practise a time-honoured Caribbean art, batik, creating exotic designs on cotton fabrics.

History abounds here. Just out from St. Kitts' glorious beaches there are at least 400 undiscovered shipwrecks, drawing divers of every level from many lands.

In the cane fields are the ruins of some 300 sugar mills, reminders of the days long ago when sugar was king.

I had, of course, memorable meals, one at the Marriott's La Cuchina, where Toronto-trained Sam Greco serves the best in Italian cuisine and teaches young Kittians how to as well. The next night, to the accompaniment the roll and crash of nearby surf, I sat in a rustic open restaurant for a dinner only locals can serve: That day's lobster, prepared by two brothers.

I ended by returning to St. Kitts' most famous site, Brimstone Hill Fortress. Here, beside walls and weapons that date back to 1690, you're in touch with a turbulent history of British and French conflict over St. Kitts.

Stroll to the water's edge at Oualie Beach Resort.

Today however, the site is one of the most spectacular pleasures the eye finds in all the Caribbean. From this vantage point, by late afternoon the red sun begins to sink and all the way to the horizon it glows upon the unending blue sea.

NEVIS

Nevis, at just 36 sq. miles, is still the Caribbean as it used to be. A sense of bygone times lingers here in towns, in villages, in old plantation inns, and certainly among the people. There are just 10,000, all known for their soft spoken courtesy.

So when I arrived this time, I chose Nisbet Plantation Inn, which is part of that Nevis of the past. Its beautiful Great House has stood on the northeast coast since 1778.

The inn is spread out over 30 acres, divided by a corridor of coconut palms, with just under 40 cottages on either side. Mine was not far from a white sand beach so that by day the main sounds were birdsongs and at night I fell asleep to the slow hiss of endless surf.

The Nevis Tourist Centre in Charlestown.

Nisbet's manager, Canadian Don Johnston, was not dreaming when he told me over dinner: "No matter where I've been, when I come back to Nevis and the Nisbet I feel I'm truly away from it all."

Now, to draw people who are in search of the old Caribbean, the Nisbet has teamed with another nearby plantation inn to offer a Plantation Experience. You stay three nights at Nisbet, then three at the beautiful Montpelier, where several years ago, I had a whole week of escape.

This time, I had dinner at the Montpelier because I'd heard it's now owned by a new family, Lincoln and Muffin Hoffman. The Hoffmans have made subtle changes, but highly tasteful ones -- fresh interior colours inspired by the foliage of the hotel's site at the foot of a rainforest.

I arrived to be caught up in the pre-dinner cocktail hour attended by guests and locals, a touch that gave true warmth to the evening. Then I sat down to a superb meal which was complimented by a red wine from a list that is as select as I remember it from years ago, but more extensive.

Nevis is a genteel sort of place, but if you seek adventure, it's always just 15 minutes away. You can, if you're up to it, climb Nevis peak, more than 3,000 feet, over trails for the novice or the hardy climber.

Cool off in the pool, at the Montpelier Hotel.

You also can stay at comfortable Oualie Beach Resort, a laid-back immaculate set of cottages, where guides will take you climbing the mountain, biking the forests, windsurfing, diving or snorkelling.

As John Yearwood, Oualie Beach's manager says: "We're relaxed here, but if you like activity we've got it, no matter what your level."

I couldn't leave Nevis without another stroll through its tiny laid-back capital, Charlestown, population about 1,200. I went with David Rollinson, another Canadian, who took me through the three or four blocks years ago.

One of the most memorable sites is the ruins and remnants of one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the entire hemisphere, a cemetery and a synagogue, dating to the early 1650s. But the most refreshing stroll was by Charlestown's fine harbour.

One of the 40 cottages at Nisbet Plantation.

I remembered it from last time as being cluttered, but now it's sparkling and the promenade spacious -- a joy to walk. When you combine it with the quiet welcome of the people, it's just one more part of Nevis I hope never changes.

BOTTOM LINE

PACKAGES: Signature Vacations comprehensive booklet on sun destinations is available at most travel agents with weekly departures throughout the coming season.

MORE INFORMATION: For more information on hotels and attractions on St. Kitts, visit stkitts-tourism.com. For Nevis: nevisisland.com. Or for either island, call 888-395-4887.

TRAIN TOURS: The St. Kitts Scenic Railway excursion leaves at 8:20 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. Adults: $89. Children $44.50.

ABOARD THE SUGAR TRAIN

The most interesting and efficient way to have an introductory look at St. Kitts is from a wide window of its new train -- The Sugar Express.

It chugs slowly for just over three hours all the way round the island, about 36 miles, over narrow gauge tracks which were laid in 1912 to deliver sugar cane.

I boarded just outside Basseterre at a station with an unforgettable name: Needsmust.

After taking my seat on the upper level, the changing scene began: Villages, fields, rainforest, mountains, old estates and backyards where people smiled as if they'd been waiting for us passing and schoolyards where children in immaculate dresses shouted greetings.

A local woman, Carla James-Astaphan, gave a helpful commentary on the leisurely trip, a trio of gospel singers came onboard and there were some reflective times when I looked to the distant water and saw the misted outlines of islands I've only heard of but someday hope to visit: Tiny Dutch settlements St. Eustatius and Saba.

But for now, the train remains the vivid memory, and its owners may only be a bit excessive when they say it's on its way to being known as the most popular excursion in the Caribbean.