St Barths
Saint Barthélemy better known as St Barths is often referred to as the St Tropez of the Caribbean due to its beautiful beaches and the clientele that frequent both destinations.
Here you can find chic clothes shops, shops selling exquisite jewellery and excellent restaurants and cafes.
There are two main anchorages for luxury crewed charter yachts in St Barths. The main port is called Gustavia Habour. Here you can moor stern to the dock in the main harbour or anchor outside the harbour, which means that you will have a short ride in the yachts tender to visit the town. In St Barths you are charged a fee even if you anchor, however it is considerably less expensive than mooring in the port.
From the anchorage of Gustavia you are able to visit the main town where you can spend time shopping in the excellent stores, or simply enjoying a morning coffee in one of the many French Cafés, here you can people watch for hours. Our favorite Café is Le Bar de L’Oubli positioned on the main street it’s the perfect spot to enjoy a drink and watch the passers by, you might spot someone famous!
Take a short stroll around the harbour to Shell Beach and you’ll find the perfect lunchtime spot called Do Brazil. Sit in the elevated dining area and you will enjoy both a fabulous gastronomic French lunch but also a great view of this pretty shell lined beach.
If you want to venture further afield and explore the whole island of St Barths you can easily rent a car in Gustavia or negotiate with one of the taxi drivers to take you on an island tour. With transportation you can visit the famous Eden Rock Hotel or Nikki Beach, or one of the fabulous luxury Spas.
The second anchorage is called Anse de Colombier otherwise known locally as Rockefeller’s Beach, this is because the house on the headland which sadly has seen better days, used to belong to David Rockefeller. This bay is located on the north shore of St Barths, however this anchorage is totally untenable if a winter northerly swell is running. This bay is incredibly pretty with a beautiful crescent shaped white sandy beach. Part of the seabed in the anchorage is covered with turtle grass, which means that you will often see turtles swimming in this bay, and if you snorkel in this area you can enjoy watching the turtles feed on the bottom because the water is crystal clear. If you like hiking you can take the trail at the back of Colmbier Beach, this winds around the rocky headland until you come to the beautiful wild beach called Flamands Beach.
Diving is great off St Barths, however because it is a small island you can encounter fairly strong currents.
To experience St Barths to the full you really want to allow a 3 or 4 days to visit this wonderful French Caribbean Island. Your St Barths yacht charter will usually commence in Sint Maarten (Dutch side), you will still have time to explore St Martin on the French side and also visit Anguilla as well as spending some quality time in St Barths.
St Barths is also famous for it’s Sailing Regatta held during the last week of March called the St Barths Bucket. This regatta attracts superyachts, yachts that are over 100 feet in length that will race around the island for the prestigious winners cup. At night Gustavia Harbour comes to life with bands playing live music during this event.
Local Language: French
Currency: Euro. USD is also accepted.
