day trip to St Barts worth it?
 

Hi all,

We will be spending a week in St. Maarten in April. I am curious about St. Barts and debating whether to go for a day trip (by plane since I get seasick and have already read about the "St Barfs" ferry!).

Is it worth it? We did a day trip a few years ago to Anguilla and really enjoyed it.

thanks very much.

lisa

Whether it's "worth it" depends on your definition.

St. Barth's is "very French", very upscale. Lot's of high end shopping (fashion, jewelry, art), superb restaurants, interesting beaches, hilly but somewhat arid island.

We've taken friends/relatives to St. Barths for day trips on numerous occasions and all have enjoyed the visit.

hi lisa,

we are going to st baarts for a week at the end of february, so i could give you a better review of it after that. for what it is worth now, my boyfriend, who went to school on Saba for two year, planned this trip and much prefers st baarts to st maarten.

erin

We've done day trips to St. Bart's 3 times off of sail boats.

All 3 times we rented a car for the day and loved driving the island stopping at the different beaches and resorts for lunch etc.

The views on this hilly island are very beautiful.

We particularly liked the town of St. Jean and St. Jean beach, Grovourner's(sp?) Beach, and looking at all the gorgeous yachts in Gustavia Harbor.

If you stop at a resort for luch it can get expensive. A less expensive alternative is "Le Select" in Gustavia. Jimmy Buffet's "cheeseburgers in paradise".

If we were ever in the area again, we would do the same thing.

As far as St. Martin goes, one of the things we enjoyed was sailing the "America's Cup Boats". They take novices, give them a job, and race 2 boats against each other. What a blast, if you like that sort of thing. They sail very fast and close to each other, and you wonder how they don't crash when there are only afew who know what they are doing.

We did it and loved it. We actually flew to St. Barth with St. Barth Commuter. Trip report: http://www.nbptravel.com/StMartin.html

caribtraveler

I loved the way you presented your report with the photos in between I wish I had the skills for that, but sadly I don't.

Also loved the food pictures. MDH always laughs when I take a photo of food.

Thanks TPAYT. I enjoy putting it together. It's really not that hard. Believe me. I'm no internet whiz. :-) My husband made fun of me the first time I took pics of the food. Now he's the one who reminds me to take them!

Thank you all for your posts. I am really intrigued and want to check out this island!

Erin: I look forward to hearing about your trip.

Caribtraveler: you mentioned that you flew from Grand Case airport. Is that the only airport to fly to St. B? Is it closer to fly from the French side than the Dutch side (we are staying on the Dutch side).

If you're staying on the Dutch side, I believe it's best for you to leave out of SXM. It would probably be a long drive (think traffic) if you flew out GC airport while staying on the Dutch side. We flew from GC airport because our hotel was right next to it. You can fly to St. Barth from SXM too. At the time of our trip, St. Barth Commuter offered the best rate. I don't know if that's still the case. They do fly out of SXM. Winair is another carrier option. There are lots of mixed reviews about that airline. However, I just flew with them from SXM to Saba and had absolutely no problems.

I highly suggest it. I'd rent a jeep or mini moke - then drive to the store (by the airport if you fly) and get a bottle of wine, some cheese, pate, and bread and have a picnic on St. Jean's beach - then I would go to Saline and Governour's Beach (no facilities but BEAUTIFUL Beaches - by going to these 3 areas - you'll see a great deal of the island..... and I'd finish my day trip with a visit to LeSelect - a bar in Gustavia- for a cheeseburger in paradise - a fantastic bar where you can sit and watch the beautiful locals drive by. I just got back from St. Maarten (and have been there a dozen times) - if you have any question on SXM -let me know!

Great advice. After visitin St. Martin, you will be in for a shock on St. Barts. It is a beautiful island and the short flight is so much fun! The beaches mentioned are excellent. Loved visiting Gustavia and the shops there. The food is amazing. Lunch at Eden Rock is nice, although pricey. Worth a day trip for sure. If taking a taxi and not renting a car for the day, be sure to arrange for specific pick up times since some drivers are not willing to make a commitment past the drop off location. We always take taxis on our trips and while there rented a car within our first hour on the island. It was cheap and the island is easy to navigate.

I agree, the day trip is worth it no matter your definition. We were there for 2 nights island hopping last summer. We actually took the ferry from St. Martin and it was awesome! Besides if you're close enough to get to another island.... you have to go and get a t-shirt just to cross it off your list. That's our theory.

Just got back from St Barts! We highly recommend heading there! It is a gorgeous island with beautiful beaches. We were surprised how small the island (quick drive everywhere) - this making it very easy to check out everything we wanted to in our week there. We rented a smll jeep from TopLoc car rental at the airport for 45 euro a day and they were completely hassle free. People have already suggested the best beaches - Governour and Saline (not walking distance from the airport). St Jean is also nice and closest to the airport (walking distance). St Jean beach also has places to eat right there. The grocery store is directly across the street from the airport, so easy to grab a delicious bread and whatever else you need for lunch if you prefer. If you are flying WinAir I encourage you to double check everything with them, ESPECIALLY if you book on line. They had absolutely no sign of the reservations we made for two different flights we had prebooked with them. They can be a bit difficult to deal with if you have a problem. They just seem unable to give a straight answer.

hope that helps

I do agree with the previous poster, in that, Winair can be sticky. Having said that, book directly with them and you

I HATE THIS NEW FORMAT!!!!! AND SENSITIVITY!!

Ok, back to the answer......should not have a problem. Knock on wood, we have been lucky with Winair and expect to be late/early....It's all good when in the islands!!

Regarding St. Barth's - to each their own, we stopped there for a 4-hr stopover while on a sailing trip and all 6 of us couldn't wait to get back onto the catamaran. The island is beautiful however, prices and people we encountered were so ostentatious that we were very put off by the experience. We'd encountered nothing but good times and lovely people everywhere else we'd been and so the 'island'attitude there is totally different - it's for rich folk, no doubt about it!!