St. Bart beach with chair umbrella rental?

[Jayrrrrrrr]

Riviera march 28 ,....any suggestions for a taxi to a calm beach where I can rent a chair and umbrella for shade? Just want to be there for an hour before lunch? Shell beach I was told can cut my foot bottoms...I know it's expensive on st Bart's

..just want to keep costs down...will eat on ship...

Thank you for any info!

Jeffrey

[Breakwater]

There's is a nice beach cove within a short 15 minute walk from the harbor which has a restaurant and open air bar overlooking and immediatly adjancent to the beach. Don't know the name of it but having been there, is very nice. Very scenic and the water is inviting and easy to swim in. Ken

[Jayrrrrrrr]

Thank you..walking that long is a problem...if anyone knows the name of that beach, I can gt a taxi to it...thank you, Ken

[Fleuve51]

I believe you are referring to shell beach.

It's a bit if a walk, especially if its really hot.

There is a very expensive beach restaurant . We had a small cafe au lait for 5euro.

There is no shade there at all .

We wear water shoes as there is barely any sand there- it's all shells.

We have rented a car many times and driven to all the other beaches. Taxis are expensive as is everything else there.

[Jayrrrrrrr]

Thank you...not going to rent a car..and cannot walk to, or on, she'll beach...if I cannot get a beach on st Bart's with shade, I will stay on the ship and enjoy...will beach on the other islands...

[Baz-t]

Try Nikki Beach (also known as Saint-Jean). Around 15 minutes by taxi and VERY close to the airport. Therefore, a fair bit of noise from landing aircraft but very spectacular view of the aircraft. Small turbo props generally.

 

The beach is perfect good beach restaurants, bars and sun beds. At one end is the Eden Rock Hotel.

 

Its our beach stop every time in St Barts.

[Jayrrrrrrr]

Thank you very much...will go to Nikki Beach/St Jean Beach...by taxi...are the taxis as expensive as people say?

as long as it's easy to get a taxi back to the ship....for lunch...

[Really Irish]

Been to shell beach and had no problem walking on it - gorgeous shells and had fun digging through them!! Very, very tiny and beautiful.

[ShaSha121]

Saint-Jean beach is heavenly, we highly recommend! It is a short taxi ride, has calm, clear water and the small planes are fun to watch taking off from the nearby airstrip. We did not seek out chairs so I cannot advise on that, however we found there was plenty of shade from trees and we just put towels on the soft sand - and stayed in the water, mostly! We took a look at Shell Beach also, but much preferred St. Jean. Enjoy!

[Cotton Ginny]

Taxi from tender area to Saint Jean was 25-30 E each way (about $50 each way). The taxis have a set rate to get you to different parts of the island. Very expensive to get to Saint Jean, but nice shops, restaurants and beach once you are there. I also found nice snorkeling on the right side of the beach as you are facing the water.

[Jayrrrrrrr]

thank you Ginny for the info...I wanted to go to that beach, but...WOW...$100. for us for the taxi alone, plus chair rental...thats A LOT of money to me....I'll have to think about it...

thank you again...

jeffrey

[samom]

Thanks for the info on taxi cost. However, does anyone know if one can rent beach chairs and umbrella on St. Jean beach. I have looked at the restaurants on St. Jean but not sure if we could get the beach chairs with lunch. Your advice is much appreciated.

[sunfl0wer]

Were at St.Jean in 2011 and did not find chairs or umbrellas for rent. I will be returning on Nov.26 (counting the days). Trip Advisor said that Do Brazil restaurant on Shell Beach has chair/umbrella rentals. Photos seem to support that. We plan to walk there and check it out. Rentals on other islands are typically $20-$30 for 2 chairs with umbrella. If it's much more than that in St. Bart, we will sit on the sand. Will post our findings upon return in early Dec.

[beachseeker]

Were at St.Jean in 2011 and did not find chairs or umbrellas for rent. I will be returning on Nov.26 (counting the days). Trip Advisor said that Do Brazil restaurant on Shell Beach has chair/umbrella rentals. Photos seem to support that. We plan to walk there and check it out. Rentals on other islands are typically $20-$30 for 2 chairs with umbrella. If it's much more than that in St. Bart, we will sit on the sand. Will post our findings upon return in early Dec.

 

Will be there on New Years Eve so look forward to any info you can provide.

[sunfl0wer]

Do Brazil rents 2 chairs and umbrella for 20 euros. US$ is not accepted. You will need to have euros. Find an ATM before going to beach. After being dropped off at pier, walk to the right, to the end of the marina and then a bit further to the road. Turn right. Shell Beach is on the South side of the marina. Follow signs to 'plage'. Don't make the left turn to walk up a big hill as you will only need to walk back down after reaching the top. Following the sign to plage keeps the walk flat. Beach and chairs looked good. Facilities available. Weather was not great, so we shopped instead of sitting at the beach.

[CaroleSP]

We'll be there in a couple of weeks and appreciate the information posted here. I haven't checked the ship excursions yet, do they typically have something for St Barths? That may be our best bet. Three of us will be touring and one has mobility issued.

[Really Irish]

Anyone know if it is easy to walk to St Jean's beach on St Barts then? We always go to shell beach but wouldn't mind seeing the beach on the other side - would enjoy seeing the planes coming in for landing. Taxi ridiculous so thought we might just walk it..............

[sbgoddess]

In response to a couple previous posters:

 

Getting beach chairs in Saint Barth is very difficult. Very few hotels offer them, and since many weekly visitors stay in private villas and not on the beach, there is really high demand for those chairs. The going rate in high season is somewhere in the 30-50 euros per person per day, and you will need to have lunch at the corresponding hotel restaurant to get them, which will cost you an additional ~100 euros per person (at Eden Rock, Nikki Beach, Ile de France, Le Sereno or La Plage). In low season, expect to pay 30 euros only for chairs (!). People tend to book chairs for the week. In the highest season, the hotels are fully booked with their own guests and no chairs are available as a result.

 

Walking from Gustavia to Saint Jean is not possible. The distance is not long (less than 2 miles) but the road is narrow, up a very steep hill, with no sidewalks, twists and turns, and locals drive very fast. It would be highly dangerous to attempt to walk.

[Skytrooper]

Walking from Gustavia to Saint Jean is not possible.

 

Really? I've been to St. Barts on several cruises and walked from Gustavia to Saint Jean (and more distant beaches) and back without the slightest problem. So has my wife and one of her brothers. I wish I had a dollar for every person who's walked from Gustavia to Saint Jean without regarding it as "highly dangerous." What you describe as a "very steep hill" shouldn't faze anyone in reasonably good physical fitness. People routinely walk (even jog) alongside this road.

[Really Irish]

yours is the first positive response to St Jean's beach! Thank you. By map it only looks 1mile but so many negative in walking and taking taxi! Will just walk it this time and see :) Not in for very long this time so will be very careful so I can return with no problems - how long would you say it was there and back? Thanks! Shell beach is gorgeous and just wear your flipflops as it's covered with shells, but then I love that - have walked it with no probs.

[Skytrooper]

how long would you say it was there and back?

 

It's been quite a few years since my last visit to St. Barts, but I think it took around 40 minutes or so to walk from Gustavia to St. Jean beach. The actual time, of course, will depend on how fast a person walks. From the top of the hill, you get a great view of the airport and beach.

 

I've also walked from Gustavia to Colombier and Grande Saline beaches which are substantially longer distances. Grande Saline is a gorgeous beach, but there's no shade or amenities (at least not when I was last there in 1997).

[sbgoddess]

Skytrooper, you must be in an amazing shape! Most people find the walk from the parking lot in Flammands to Colombier beach to be strenuous. I have never heard of someone walking from Gustavia. And you walked to Salines also over the two hills! Good for you!

 

I think an ealier poster, Eilleen, even found the walk from Gustavia to Shell Beach to be strenuous. And that is a comparatively short walk, in town, over essentially flat ground. Each to its own I guess.

 

I am puzzled though by your statement that people routinely walk from Gustavia to Saint Jean. As someone who lives in Saint Barth for part of the year, I must say I don't know anyone,local or visitor, who walks. Jog yes, as there is no flat altenative. But walk? Routinely? Perhaps we are there at different times of the year.

 

Thinking of it, it must be feasible. And probably manageable during the day. I would be super careful at night though, for fear of being hit by a car in the dark, curvy, hilly road.

[Skytrooper]

Skytrooper, you must be in an amazing shape!

 

This will come as news to my wife. :) She accompanied me walking to St. Jean Beach, twice, when our small cruise ship, Renaissance III, docked at Gustavia for two days in the summer of 1993.

 

I have never heard of someone walking from Gustavia. And you walked to Salines also over the two hills! Good for you!

 

My obese brother-in-law made the same walk with me to Grande Saline Beach in 1997. The next person who thinks he's in "amazing shape" will be the first.

 

As someone who lives in Saint Barth for part of the year, I must say I don't know anyone,local or visitor, who walks. Jog yes, as there is no flat altenative. But walk? Routinely?

 

If it's manageable for people to jog (and it is), how can it possibly not be feasible for them to walk the same routes? Perhaps I'm overly "frugal," but I'm not about to pay the exorbitant taxi fees on St. Barts when I'm perfectly capable of walking. On my last visit to St. Barts, as I was returning from St. Jean, I encountered an elderly couple from my cruise ship who asked if they were on the right road to St. Jean. After explaining the distance and (more importantly) the hill to them, they turned around and I escorted them to Shell Beach on the other side of Gustavia.

 

I would be super careful at night though, for fear of being hit by a car in the dark, curvy, hilly road.

 

It would naturally be more dangerous at night. But this isn't a concern for day visitors off a cruise ship. If people are willing to pay St. Barts taxi fees, that's swell; I'm not. I'm still in shock over what it cost to get three rolls of film developed on St. Barts in 1993.