sbgoddess

The issue with St Barth is not that they do not want the money of the cruiser. It is that the shop owners believe that the presence of cruisers chases away the real big $ customers, and that as a result they as store owners end up with less money in their pocket. They feel that when a cruise ship is in town, the big spenders stay away. And then they don't sell that one of a kind $25,000 alligator carry-on suitcase or that $40,000 watch. They feel that selling 5000 t-shirts at $50 each, or 2500 lunches at $100 each is not really an alternative given the size of their store.

Plan to spend the day at the Cheval Blanc Hotel on Flammands beach -- great lunch, drinks, loungers. From there you can walk to the end of the beach, and from there get on the path to Colombier beach. Great hike. No amenities at Colombier. Probably ~45 mins one way from Cheval Blanc.

Nothing specific to do

- drive around and enjoy the sights

- go to lunch in a beach side restaurant at St Jean of Flammands

- Rent a lounge chair on the same beach and have a cup of champagne while suntanning topless -- the ultimate st barth experience

- go skinny dip at Colombier, Salines or Gouverneur if you dare

- shop in Gustavia and buy a fabulous dress or the watch you have always dreamed of

Enjoy

I was reading somewhere that said if you go into sunset bar at Maho topless you will get a free drink. True? Anyone confirm? [emoji57][emoji15]

It used to be true (and the trademark of the place) but the management changed a couple of years ago. I believe it non longer is true.

Le Repaire is basically across the street. French bistro.

Le Select is down the street, about a quarter of a mile away. Burgers. Less expensive.

Some car rentals say they at the harbour ferry others at the port of Gustavia which would be closest to the tender pier?

It is all the same. There is only one (small) port, and it is called Port de Gustavia or Gustavia Harbor. Within that port, the ferries and the tenders come to the same dock, as it is the only one that has customs facilities. (it isn't really a pier. It is a small dock, in town, that can only handle one boat at a time.)

None of the car rental companies are based near the dock. They are all at the airport in St Jean, about a mile away on the other side of the island. All of them however will pick you up at the dock, if you request it when you make your reservation. They will also drop you off when you return your car.

They are very real. They are one of three or four boat rental or chartering companies in Saint Barth. I think the list is:

- Jicky Marine Service

- Master Ski Pilou

- Ocean Must

- Top Loc

Not all of them provide all services, i.e. some are more focused on the higher end private charters, some on snorkeling cruises. Check their web sites.

You may want to steer clear of Master Ski Pilou. One of their captains on a charter speed boat rammed a sailboat at Fourchue Island a couple of months back (he apparently was checking his iphone while on autopilot on his way to Saint Martin). Sank the boat, injured several and killed at least one, a school teacher in Saint Barth that was celebrating her birthday on a rental sailboat. Word on the island is that they were known to be reckless, not respecting speed limit in the harbor for example. Anyway, this is all word of mouth. This is in front of the French judiciary now.

It's a perfectly respectable outfit.

Note that restaurants do not close at lunchtime in Saint Barth. Only shops do. The French head to restaurants.

Your best bet is indeed to rent a car, and have lunch on a beach (Flammands, St Jean, Grand Cul de Sac) or near a beach (Salines). You will see the real Saint Barth.

...

From the ferry to the left was a sidewalk that stopped after a few blocks ... I'm not sure where one walks to go to a beach.

....

We stopped toward the end of the street and had some lunch and beer - It wasn't fancy, but we sat outside and people watched. We were told it is the location where the song "cheeseburger in paradise" was written. (The cheeseburgers were very good) It was also close to an small courtyard ladies room.

...

Jan

You would have needed to keep walking along the harbor past the restaurant to get to Shell beach. About half mile further. Get to the end of the harbor, make a right, get to the other end and make a left towards the school / hills.

It is not the best beach, but it is nice and accessible on foot from the ferry dock, perhaps 3/4 of a mile away altogether. St Jean (glamour) and Salines / Gouverneur (unspoiled, nude beaches) are more interesting.

St. Maarten. We've booked a guide for a very small group and she plans to custom tailor a tour of St. Maarten based on our wishes. So I'm compiling a list!

 

What would you do, go see, etc. ?

 

Thanks in advance!

Spend the day on the beach at Club Orient on Orient beach! Lunch at Papagayo's, drinks at the Perch!

I've decided I'm going to fly over so I can stay the whole day - 2.5 hours just isn't enough time. Flights are only Aussie $100 more than the RC excursion and I figure I'll spend almost that back in St Martin for the afternoon. I'm coming from Australia and St Barths is the #1 Caribbean island I've always want to go to. I've dreamt about it for years and it's very high on my bucket list. So a flying I shall go! And before anyone says anything, I was in St Maarten 2 years ago so I've ticked that box already.

Renae, I agree with your choice. Do rent a car. Smallest you can find will do fine. I would suggest the following itinerary:

Drive around the island, check out the beaches and vistas. Stop at either Salines or Gouverneur for an hour or two

Lunch at Eden Rock (Sand Bar) -- very glamorous

Hang out on saint jean beach

finish the day strolling through Gustavia

Go back on your plane.

If you have 2.5 hours in Saint Barth on a Sunday morning, you have essentially 5 choices:

1- Walk in Gustavia (most shops closed) and find a restaurant that is open. There will be some. Although possibly not many that early.

2- Walk to Shell Beach, hang out there for the couple hours, including brunch at the beach side restaurant. Will be nice.

3- Take a cab to Saint Jean beach and do the same. Larger, more iconic, more glamorous beach, but essentially the same as 2- above. Cab will be ~40-60 euros each way. 5-10 mins ride

4- Take a cab to Salines or Gouverneur (nude) beaches. Hang out there and see why some people think that Saint Barth is special. Large, semi-deserted beaches. No facilities. 15 mins ride by cab. ~60 euros each way.

5- Rent a car and drive around. Seeing all the above and more. ~100 euros for the day.

Papagayo at the far end of the beach will be open late. It offers drinks and then moves into dinner. Because it is part of a hotel (Club Orient) it has a stream of guests who don't go "back home" but stay there for happy hour and dinner.

The vast majority of shops in Gustavia and Saint Jean are closed on Sundays.

If you want to shop on a Sunday, head for the fancy hotels (Ile de France, Guanahani, Toiny, Tom Beach). Most of them have small shops on location with very nice (and very expensive) clothes and related items. These will be open.

Note that these shops cater to the clientele of the hotels. So think 400 Euro bikinis, 600 Euro sundresses, and 1000 Euro sunglasses.

A full day at shell beach will run you

- 30 Euro per chair (including parasol)

- ~50 euros per person for a simple lunch with 2 drinks (more like 75+ if you want to go appetizer lunch desert and fancy drinks)

So count 160 euros +

If you are lucky and it's a slow day in low season, you may get a discount on chairs.

I have never heard of such a thing. "Free or inexpensive" and Saint Barths are not words that you often see together. There used to be an internet access provider upstairs from the Marine Reserve office, on the port, but it was expensive. I think I recall ~30 Euros for 30 minutes, 10+ years ago. I am not sure if it still exists.

Your best shot is probably to use the email or browser on your cell phone.

My guess is that most stores in Gustavia and Saint Jean will be closed, although some may elect to stay open.

Restaurants never close.

Taxis are very reliable. No issue.

Note that you HAVE TO book your return in advance. You will not be able to call a taxi at the last minute. There are few taxis on the island and they get booked.

This was discussed at length recently, with differing opinions. The walk is about 2 miles, over a high and steep hill, with limited sidewalks and local drivers who go very fast. It is certainly possible if you are in a good shape, but is very seldom done by island residents.

See the post about "beach chairs" for more details.

google maps walking directions estimates it at 31 minutes. They also state: "Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths."

This one is tough to answer. Depends on what you mean by "best"? Best food? Best crowd? Cheapest? Best ambiance?

I would say "Le Select", a bar and burger joint in the middle of Gustavia is probably the most famous. You can't miss it. Jimmy Buffett's song, cheesburger in paradise, was composed after it. Cheapest you'll get in Saint Barth. with ~20 euros for burger and fries.

If you want "best ambiance", I would go to "La Plage" on Saint Jean Beach, or perhaps Eden Rock or Nikki Beach on the same beach. All very casual, beachside "shacks", with barefoot, beautiful people crowd, also with definitely the best food, but very expensive (count 100 -- 150 euros per person for lunch at those places). Many people would say these are some of the best casual lunch places in the world. People come from all over the world on mega yachts to eat there.

Renting a car in Saint Barth is easy and quick. The best way is to call the rental agencies, and talk to them directly. They will deliver cars to the cruise pier, if asked. It is also relatively inexpensive.

The Christmas/New Year period is the exception. From about December 20th to January 5th, the island sells out, usually a year in advance. All of Hollywood and Russia seems to congregate on Saint Barth, with a good deal of New York, European, and South American money as well. Hotels charge 4x their normal high season rate at that time, which effectively means that you can't get a room on the island for less than 1000 euros per night. Despite these crazy rates, demand is high, and most hotels, villas and car rentals sell out, amost a year in advance.

Last year Nikki beach famously charged 55 thousand euros for a table at their new year's dinner. So that you and your best 7 friends can enjoy a nice party on the beach complete with fireworks and performances by Beyonce, Snoop Dog and Black Eyed Peas. As it always does, it sold out.

So if you are going to Saint Barth outside that time, you will have no problems in getting a car. In that period, you may have to do with taxis.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), not.

Saint Barth is part of France and as a result topless swimming and sunbathing is accepted, legal, and widely practiced, everywhere. This means beaches, but also hotel pools.

To be clear, it is not mandatory. I usually tell people that it is a bit like wearing a hat. Some do, some don't. Nobody really notices nor pays attention. But yes, you will see bare breasts on every beach and around every pool.

Nude is a different story. It is not technically legal, but it is part of the culture and tolerated on three of the beaches: Salines, Gouverneur and Colombier. These happen to be the three nicest beaches on the island. The nude sunbathers usually gather to the far ends of the beaches, away from the entrances.

I always tell people not to stress about the toplessness. Another way to think of it is to think of yourself as a muslim woman coming to the US. You grew up wearing a head scarf and you've been told that it is not moral for a woman not to wear one. What do you do if you come to the US. Well, it's your choice, either you do or you don't. Women around you won't, and you'll get used to it very quickly, even though you have never encountered this in your own country. Well it's exactly the same in Saint Barth with bikini tops. You grew up wearing one, and been told that it's not moral not to wear it. In Saint barth, it's your choice. Many women around you won't wear them, and you will get used to it. And just like the men in children in the US are used to women not wearing headscarves, the men and children in Saint Barth are used to women not wearing bikini tops. It does not bother them either. It is just a different dress code, that is all.

galeforce9, you are talking about two different walks:

1- The walk suggested by lonely planet (from the Colombier look out to Gustavia) is mostly downhill. I venture to guess it woud take ~ one hour, perhaps 90 minutes. It is feasible although it might be scary at times, because many stretches of the road don't have sidewalks, roads are narrow, and people drive fast. The one -way taxi to the look-out will cost you ~40-60 euros, depending on season. However this walk does not go through flammands nor corrosol, nor the anse of Colombiers.

2- To get to each of Flammands, Corrosol or Colombier beach, you need to walk all the way down from the look-out to each of these three sea level locations, on three different sides of the mountain. Count about one hour back and forth for each. So 4 hours in total is probably a good approximation for doing all three and then getting back to Gustavia. I don't think it humanely possible do to it in 2 hours. Perhaps 3 hours.

If you are real intent on doing this, the best route would be:

- start at colombier look out (0 hrs)

- walk down to colombier beach (30 mins)

- take the cliffside path to flammands (30 mins), walk through flammands (15 mins) back up the hill to the colombier village (45 mins)

- walk down to corossol (30 mins)

- walk back up to the main road (30 mins)

- walk to Gustavia (30 mins)

By talking the cliffside path from colombiers beach to Flammands, you avoid one of the major climbs. You go around a hill instead of up and down. It is not possible for Corrosol however. From Flammands you must go up and down to get to Corrossol. Then from corrosol you must go up and down to get to Gustavia. Lesser climbs.

Saint Barth is made up of coves/beaches/villages tucked away in between steep hills. Especially on that side of the island. There is generally no way to avoid the up and down to get from one to the other.

You are right that Saint Barth is small and they do drive on the same side of the road as in the US.

However it is NOT flat. It is mountainous, with narrow roads, lot's of twist and turns, and some very steep grades.

Also, it being French, people driver very fast (like they do in Paris). Pretty scary sometimes on these narrow mountainside roads.