As a general rule, opening hours are Monday through Friday 8am-noon and 1-4.30pm, with some banks closing around 3pm earlier in the week. Shops and services tend to stay open later when there's a cruise ship in town, but essentially close up altogether on Sunday, when the only places operating are hotel restaurants.

The main public holidays celebrated throughout the Caribbean, during which virtually all shops and offices close, are:

January 1 New Year's Day

Good Friday

Easter Monday

May 1 Labour Day

Whit Monday

Dec 25 Christmas Day

Dec 26 Boxing Day

St Kitts and Nevis also observe the Queen's Birthday on the second Saturday in June, August Monday on the first Monday in August, and Independence Day on September 19.

In addition to closures on holidays, businesses on St Kitts often shut down during festivals, the biggest of these being Carnival , which runs from December 24 to January 3, with calypso performances and costumed street dancing. June brings the four-day Music Festival , a showcase of headlining calypso, soca, reggae, salsa and gospel acts. Nevis' main festival, the weeklong Culturama takes place in early August, with music performances and beauty pageants; the end of the month is Carifiesta time, a ten-day affair attracting artists from around the Caribbean.