Saint Barthélemy (often referred to as St Barts) is about as exclusive as you can get in the Caribbean before you gain access to one of the private islands. It is an overseas collectivity of France and is fully part of France but not the European Union. It is best known for its luxury yachts, high-end hotels and insane prices.
St Barts is a beautiful island with large hills rising out of the sea and white sand beaches to be found in the coves. These hills are mostly covered in private luxury villas and the small towns feature designer stores, high class dining and extraordinarily expensive accommodation.
I visited the island while I was staying on Sint Maarten. I’m glad that I did, if only so that I know that I won’t be going back!
Basic Travel Information
- Location: Leeward Islands
- Country: Overseas collectivity of France
- Languages: French, English
- Currency: Euro
- Route there: Ferry from Phillipsburg or Marigot on Saint Martin
- Recommended: No, its a millionaires destination where everything is appallingly expensive
My Story
I really, really didn’t like St Barts! It’s pretty but it has no soul at all! It was by far the most expensive island on my trip so just had nothing going for it from my perspective.
The first of many annoying steps was getting there. After my successful day trip from St Martin to Anguilla I had assumed I would be able to do something similar for St Barts. However, the ferries were nowhere near as regular so having narrowly missed the last morning boat I had to spend the day in Phillipsburg waiting for the mid-afternoon ferry, destined to only have a short time on the island before getting the last boat back.
The return ticket for a foreigner should have cost $115 which would have been insane for a day trip but having got chatting to the lovely woman in the office, she decided to give me the local price of $70 instead. So just expensive rather than ridiculous.
Gustavia is a beautiful little town, with forts overlooking the small harbour and boats spilling out of the town into the ocean. But it felt dead, empty and soulless. Designer fashion stores and bars where only a select few can really afford to drink do not make for a thriving vibrant place. I wandered around a bit and went up to the forts and viewpoints for sunset but got very little from it and wasn’t sad to leave.
The most interesting part of the island for me was the airport. Like many other islands, St Barts had to design an airport where the land wasn’t suitable for one at all. In this instance the runway has to start part way up a hillside and slope down to finish abruptly, right by the sea. Only small planes can land on it and if the wind is in the right direction they have to make a pretty serious dive over the ridge and break very heavily to do so without ending up in the sea. There is a road right at the top of this ridge where I headed in the hope of seeing this in action but sadly the wind was not on my side and the planes landed the safe, undramatic way, such a shame.
Having spent a lot of time in Monaco for work I normally recommend that people only do it as a day trip from elsewhere in the South of France. Well St Barts is the Monaco of the Caribbean and I genuinely wouldn’t even recommend wasting a day on it unless you have all the time and money in the world. I will definitely not be going back.
Brief History
I was completely unaware of any of the history of the Caribbean Islands when I visited. While travelling around and writing these articles I became curious and decided to include a brief history of each. I hope you find it interesting.
The island was historically inhabited by the Taíno and Arawak peoples before being settled by the French in 1648. The island was geographically unsuitable for the plantations established on most territories so a period of unsuccessful development and attacks by the British it was traded to the Swedish in 1784, becoming their sole colony in the Caribbean. St Barts was returned to the French in 1878 after a hurricane and fire destroyed much of the island and it became part of the territory of Guadeloupe. The people there gained French citezinship in 1946 and became an autonomous territory in 2003
St Barts was historically one of the poorest islands in the Caribbean as the hillsides were ill-suited to the plantations which were the soutce of most islands wealth. However it has now become one of the wealthiest thanks to its specialisation in high-end tourism. It is a highly popular destination for private luxury yachts and for the private villas of the ultra rich.
Logistics
Saint Barthélemy only has a small airport so you cannot fly there except via nearby Caribbean islands which is very expensive.
There are regular ferries three times a day from Marigot Ferry Terminal on the french side of St Martin, generally in the morning. The journey takes about 75 minutes.
There is also a regular ferry from Phillipsburg three times a day – SEE PICTURE
Places Nearby & Trip Planning
This group of islands are well connected so it is definitely worth including trips to the nearby islands:
- Anguilla
- Sint Maarten / St Martin
- Saba
- St Eustatius
Also see my main article: Travelling in the Caribbean
When to Visit
Saint Martin can be heavily affected by the hurricanes that hit the Caribbean between July and November
High season is December – March and Saint Martin is much busier and even more insanely expensive in this period.
The best time to visit is between April and June
Further Information
These websites were my favourite sources of general information for this location:
You can also find the ferry details for St Martin to St Barts here:
Last Updated: May 2020
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