Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Our Flight from Sint Maarten to

Nevis, West Indies

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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We have visited Nevis many times over the decades.

Our first introduction to the island was through the cruises we took in the 1980s on a 256 foot sailing ship, The Mandalay of Windjammer fame.

Nevis holds a special place in our hearts because we began our freedom adventures here when we retired in 1991. We lived on the island for 6 months.

Most recently, we visited Nevis twice in 2023-24.

The photos below combine the two flights we took, because the photos of during the daytime flight were too good not to include.

Our second trip to Nevis was a night flight.

Map showing Sint Maarten in relationship to Nevis/St. Kitts Federation

 The airport servicing Nevis is called Vance W. Amory International Airport and is just outside the village of New Castle.

Before this airport was built, one had to arrive on the island of St. Kitts (SKB) and take a ferry to Nevis.

So arrival was like this: Flight to St. Kitts, land taxi to Reggie Beach dock, water taxi to Nevis, land taxi to the hotel.

Trying to coordinate these methods of transport plus the times of planes and ferries can be a challenge, especially when everything is on "Island time."

Not to mention there are currency changes between islands (US Dollars usually work) and sim cards in our cell phones don't always translate from one island to the other.

This last visit, we were able to arrive at Nevis Airport, and a friend arranged for Ozzie, our driver, to pick us up and take us to our villa at The Hamilton Beach Villas and Spa.

Billy with a plane landing -  Maho Beach on Sint. Maarten

In this case, Billy is standing in front of an impressive photo of a jet landing in Sint Maarten. 

Fer real, we saw this in person on Maho Beach on St. Martin - quite a famous beach for exactly this. Jets fly over the beach at low altitude in order to land at Princess Juliana International Airport. To view a video of this, click here.

The flight schedules and gates

This schedule shows our flight to Nevis on WinAir, WM 327 at 18:20 pm.

You also see many of the other islands listed, as well as Amsterdam and Paris. 

Several islands in the chain have historical and current connections with the Netherlands and France. The residents on these islands are Dutch or French citizens and make visits to the "home country" freely.

Akaisha with her Nevis Tee-shirt holding a local Carib beer

Here I am with a locally made Carib beer, waiting for our plane to board.

Carib is a regional beer of the islands, and carries a distinct Caribbean "vibe".

Passengers boarding the flight

These flights don't allow a lot of baggage. Some luggage is placed into a side compartment of the plane, but most of your items are placed under the seat in front of you (haha!) or on your lap.

It's tight quarters inside.

Crowded inside the airplane

Our WinAir flight sat about 20 people and we were full!

These small planes are nicknamed "puddle jumpers" and take passengers from island to island.

As you can see, there are no overhead bins, and there are about 4 inches under the seat in front of you to place... well, maybe a sandwich.

The seats are truly small, and on this flight, one woman easily took two seats to sit down. No one thought twice about it

Take a look at the passengers' shoulders extending past the seat they are in. This gives you an idea.

Billy and Akaisha inside the "puddle jumper"

I am wearing my sunhat because there is no place else to put it. It extends beyond my shoulders, so I am clearly invading Billy's allotted space on his seat.

My daypack is smashed at my feet, as is Billy's.

Our small carry-on rollies are inside the side bin of the airplane.

Of course, to get into the plane, one has to scrunch down - there is no standing straight up in these things.

Leaving St. Martin's Princess Juliana International Airport

Isn't this a great shot?

It plainly shows you Sint Maarten as we lift off, headed to the St. Kitts - Nevis Federation.

Looking back at the runway Princess Juliana International Airport

Another sunny shot of the runway and the beach. The runway is about 7,500 feet long.

Boats are in the cove, the weather is great, and all is well with the world.

Flying over St Kitts with Nevis in the background

Here you see the two island nation as we flyover St. Kitts..

Our final destination on this trip is Nevis, the last "bump" of an island in this photo.

Even though these two islands form one nation, they are markedly different in several ways.

St. Kitts is larger, more developed, has a lively social scene and a bustling port in Basseterre, the national capital. It's more diverse and urbanized, with a mix of African, European, and other ancestries.

Nevis is smaller, more rural and tranquil, with Charlestown as its quieter capital. It is predominantly of African descent, with a close-knit, small-town feel. It's less crowded, appealing to those seeking a peaceful retreat and a neighborly mix.

Online immigration form

When we were preparing to enter this 2 island federation from Sint Maarten, we needed to fill out this online Customs Entry Form at the website listed above.

No problem, we had time and did our best in Sint Maarten to fill the form out. Except... that the site didn't work.

We tried several times, but the government site would not take our entry and exit information.

This has happened many times around the world with online government sites, and usually when we arrive at immigration, those there will give us assistance.

With the form not completed, we had to take our chances.

We were the first to get off the plane, but - because the sim cards of Sint Maarten did not work on the islands of St. Kitts/Nevis - we had no public internet to be able to fill out the form at the immigration desk.

People were scrambling to show their forms to the agents, and we couldn't get the internet to work on our phones. We had to wait our turn at the desk where he also, had difficulty with the site on his computer.

The long story short, even though we were the first ones off the plane, we were literally the last ones to leave the customs area.

This was cluster F&^K as each of us had to fill out this 4 page form on the immigration agent's computer and we were struggling with slow internet (island time, Mon).

Meanwhile our driver was waiting for us outside the area, we had no way of contacting him or our friends who arranged for our ride. If Ozzie, our driver were to give up waiting for us, we'd be stranded there at the airport with no way to contact another means of transport.

It. Just. Took. So. Long.

And needlessly.

I, personally, could not deal with the inefficiency of it all, and had to defer to Billy to get us through this situation.

Finally, after 40 minutes,  the custom agent received what he needed for the both of us and we passed through the gate.

Thank GOD Ozzie had waited for us.

His BIG island smile and large handshake welcomed us into the taxi and we took our seats.

We were on our way to a much needed relaxing months at Hamilton Beach Villas.

WinAir Flight SXM - NEV was $230USD pp one way

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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