See more pictures - Here
St Barths map
|
Carnival
Carnaval in St Barths is small but in typical French Caribbean style, with street parades culminating on Mercredi des Cendres (Ash Wednesday). Most of the festivities and parades take place in Gustavia, where the proceedings start with the schoolchildren’s parades a week before the main event.
The main parades are held on Mardi Gras and Mercredi des Cendres. Costumed revellers dance through the streets to accompanying bands, blowing whistles and thumping drums. Where the carnivals in the British Caribbean tend to stop at midnight on Mardi Gras, in the French Caribbean they continue into Mercredi des Cendres. On this final day of celebrations, the revellers dress in costumes of black and white. Vaval, the spirit of French Caribbean Carnival, is taken in a procession of revellers to a seaside location where he is burned (hence the ‘Ash’ in Ash Wednesday), to be banished for another year. |
| ^ back to top |
Casinos
There are no casinos in St Barths. Anyone desperate for a turn on the slots will find everything to satisfy them in St Maarten, though it has to be said that the island does not have the sophistication of St Barths. |
| ^ back to top |
Charity Support
St Barths is a very wealthy island and charity funds raised by the St Barthians themselves tend to be sent off island, to places in greater need. To Haiti, for instance, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, which also has a historic French connection, and recently to nearby Montserrat, which has been devastated by the eruption of its volcano. For this reason Definitive Caribbean’s charity receipts (to which each member of the site contributes) will similarly be donated to a charity in another island. We have chosen a charity called Safe Haven on the nearby island of St Maarten.
Safe Haven is a non-profit organisation in St Maarten that provides free shelter and support to women who have suffered domestic violence. The Haven is able to offer housing for up to 24 victims and their children on a short term basis and to give them professional counselling and other support. In addition Safe Haven has been working through education across the island to prevent violence in the home.
Please read our review of Safe Haven which is currently being updated. |
| ^ back to top |
Check In/Check Out
Unlike most Caribbean islands, where the taxi drivers and associations hold domain over arrival and departure transfers, when you arrive in St Barths you will be collected by the hotel in which you are staying, or by the villa rental company. This will usually be at the airport, but they would be just as happy to pick you up at the dock in Gustavia (just let them know when you are arriving or wish to be collected). Private villas have managers, and so in that case you will be collected too. If you are travelling with a tour operator or travel agent, then they should have told the hotel your arrival time. If you are travelling independently, then let the hotel or villa agent know.
You may of course have booked a car for your arrival. In that case simply turn right as you exit the Arrivals section of the airport and you will find the car hire booths.
As a general rule, check out is at noon (for hotels and villas). This is because arriving guests from both Europe and the States tend to appear in the afternoon. It also works well for departing guests, who need to be in St Maarten some time after midday to check in for their international flights. If you are arriving earlier from elsewhere in the Caribbean or leaving later on in the afternoon then let your hotel know and they may be able to fix a day room for you. In a villa it will depend on whether there is an incoming rental. |
| ^ back to top |
Children
St Barths is very safe, but there are not that many facilities for children. There are not even any playgrounds. Hotels in St Barths tend to be quite sophisticated. They tend not to have a no children policy but there are no programmes laid on especially for children.
Grand Cul de Sac Beach is suitable for families with small children because the water is extremely shallow. It is also home to Windwave Power, who can hire out watersports equipment. Another good option is horse-riding, which is available though St Barth Equitation.
A good option for families travelling with children is to stay in self-catering accommodation or in a villa. It is possible to hire nannies (talk to your villa manager or rental agency) and of course if you have taken a chef then he or she will be able to prepare meals for them specially.
Baby-sitters are also available through your villa manager, the villa rental agency or through the Tourist Board, t 590 27 87 27, odstb@wanadoo.fr.
Accommodation happy to accept children in St Barths includes: | Hotel LeVillage St Jean
A friendly, family-run hotel set on the hillside above St Jean Bay, at the heart of fashionable St Barths. Hotel Le Village has mostly (one- and two-bedroom) self-catering cottages with just a handful of hotel rooms, all nicely decorated in bright and bold tropical style. It is well priced for St Barths and close to the centre of the action. | Hotel LeVillage St Jean
A friendly, family-run hotel made up of cottages and villas (with a handful of hotel rooms) set in St Jean Bay, the heart of fashionable St Barths. Set on the hillside above the small town, the cottages at Hotel Le Village are nicely decorated in bright tropical style and are well priced for the island. | Eden Rock
A small, stylish, lively and extremely fashionable hotel set around its own rocky promontory on St Jean beach, right at the heart of St Barths’ north coast. Glitzy atmosphere. | Isle de France
A small, gracious hotel tucked away in Flamands on St Barths’ north shore, set on a superb stretch of sand. Its setting is exquisite, half on Flamands Beach and the rest in a very pretty tropical garden tucked into a steep sided valley. | Les Ilets de la Plage
A small and stylish villa retreat tucked away at the quiet end of St Barth’s liveliest beach, St Jean. Les Ilets has eleven simple and elegant one, two and three-bedroom villas directly on the sand and on a hillside behind. Very low key, but easy access to the best of the action. | Emeraude Plage
Emeraude Plage is a small enclave of self-catering bungalows and cottages that stand ranged around a sandy garden fronting onto St Jean beach. They are quiet and private, and relatively simple, but also within a shout of the action of St Jean. |
|
| ^ back to top |
Complementary Health
Despite its generally hedonistic atmosphere, St Barths has quite a few individuals who offer alternative healing and you will also practitioners at the spas. There are two reiki specialists at the spa at the Isle de France, which also offers reflexology and Thai massage. Yoga classes are also held at Forma Form, the gym in Gustavia, a couple of times a week. And, as ever in St Barths, there is a number of independent operators who hold one-to-one sessions at their own premises or will come to your hotel room or villa.
Diana Bourel, 590 27 98 10, 690 49 99 21, Diana.bourel@wanadoo.fr
Offers yoga and healing including regression therapy. She also holds retreat weeks at Cap Juluca in Anguilla.
Carole Cousin, 690 58 77 26, mail@carolecousin.com
Carole has a degree from the BRU University and offers treatments in the following massage and healing techniques - Ayurvedic massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, aromatherapy and traditional Thai massage.
Glenn Black, t 590 27 75 27, swamirub@aol.com, winter season (Nov-Apr)
A trained orthopaedic therapist, who offers a daily yoga session for all comers and private sessions including Bodytuning. He has taught Iyengar yoga for many years. |
| ^ back to top |
Conservation
There is a big marine conservation effort on St Barths, with five protected areas in some of which there are regulated mooring areas (ie buoys so that you do not drop anchor on the corals). Divers are asked to pay a €1 fee per dive in the Marine Reserve. This may or may not be added on top of your bill by the scuba company (see scuba diving).
Sub-Protect, t 590 52 88 69, is concerned with the protection of the underwater environment and St Barth Cétacé records details about large underwater fish including whales.
On land there has been a campaign to stop people dropping cigarette butts on the beaches. You will see series of cut-off drinks cans hanging by string from wooden stands on the beach. You are asked to put your used cigarettes into them. |
| ^ back to top |
Corporate/Incentives
St Barths is not that easy to get to of course, but it offers excellent facilities for small conferences or business retreats.
Definitive Caribbean’s chosen Local Organiser is Destination Management Services headed up by Melanie Smith Vitelli. For more information about her services for conferences and corporate travel, please see Destination Management Services.
Locations for conferences
Hotels that have conference rooms include the Christopher Hotel in Pointe Milou and the St Barth Beach Hotel in Grand Cul de Sac. However, other hotels would no doubt be glad to put a room aside for you and provide you with the services you need for small meetings. |
| ^ back to top |
Cruises
Quite a number of cruise ships do stop over in St Barths. There is usually one every other day, but sometimes there can be two or even three. They are almost always the smaller ships, though the massive new ship The World did put in on its round the world cruise.
Some of the 25 or so ships that put in during the winter season of 03/04 included:
Seadream, Seabourn Legend, Star Clipper, Windspirit, Silver Whisper and Club Med. |
| ^ back to top |
Currency/Credit Cards
The currency in St Barths is the Euro. As part of France, the island falls, unexpectedly given its location, within the boundaries of the European Community. Hotel rates are fixed in Euros, as are all prices in restaurants and shops.
Practically speaking though, it is also possible to pay pretty much everywhere in US Dollars. Restaurants will often offer a dollar rate without being prompted. The exchange rate you will be offered will not necessarily be a good one however, so it may be better to get cash in Euros in advance. There are ATMs at the banks, in Gustavia and opposite the airport in St Jean.
Credit Cards
Credit cards are accepted all over the island, much as you would expect in a metropolitan city, in the restaurants, hotels, shops, supermarkets and petrol stations.
Some restaurants and shops have the option to charge dollar amounts to credit cards registered in the USA (enabling you to avoid the expense of the exchange from Euros into Dollars). They will usually offer the service if they have it, but it is worth asking all the same. |
| ^ back to top |
Day Sails/Boat Trips
Sailing and motorboat trips are an extremely popular day out from St Barths. There are a number of quiet beaches on the offshore islands that scatter the waters to the northwest. Anse du Grand Colombier and Ile Fourchue have nice protected bays with excellent sand, but trips do go as far afield as the islands off St Martin, which also have wonderful strips of sand with beach bars. Other trips go to Anguilla, where the beaches are fantastic and there are some excellent, slightly more rustic beach bars.
There are two options. The first is to join one of the daily yacht-borne excursions, usually on a catamaran. These include snorkelling gear, snacks and an open bar and cost around €60 for a half day, €100 for a full day and around €50 for a sunset cruise.
If you want a bit more privacy the second option is to hire a speedboat or a yacht for yourself. Speedboats come with or without a captain and crew. A monohull yacht costs around €500 for a half day and €800 for a full day in the winter season, though prices do rise around Christmas and New Year. Without captain a 21 ft motorboat costs around €180 (with captain €400) for half a day and €250 (€600) for a full day. These speedboats are also available for transfers to St Maarten for the airport.
Our chosen Local Organiser, Destination Management Services, knows the various companies and their boats and can tailor-make the service for you, or you can book direct with:
Marine Service, t 590 27 70 34
Offer private charter the 42ft catamaran Ne me Quitte pas at and 44 ft yacht Charivari. Snorkelling gear is included, picnics can be provided on request.
Master Ski Pilou, t 590 27 91 79
Offer several motorboats at 40 ft and above. |
| ^ back to top |
Departure Tax & Taxes
There is a small departure tax in St Barths (€4.50), but it is usually included in the price of your ticket.
Since 1st January 2008 a 5% government tax has been levied on all accommodation rates. |
| ^ back to top |
Driving & Parking
Driving is something of an issue in St Barths at the moment. The roads are narrow, winding and often steep and there are far too many cars for them. At busy times of day in season - when people are in a rush to get to the restaurants at lunchtime, for instance - the roads become clogged. Gustavia and St Jean quickly become jammed. Bear this in mind when you are leaving for the airport. You will also find that drivers, particularly motorbike riders, drive quite quickly for the narrow and winding roads, and with a certain Gallic nonchalance. Be careful. This being France, driving takes place on the right of course. Generally anyway.
The cars for rent are mostly jeeps and small cars. As elsewhere in the Caribbean, the mini-mokes that were once the standard mode of transport have now almost entirely died out. Some quad bikes are for hire if that is your thing and recently a wave of Smart Cars came onto the island (accompanied by a rumour that it was possible to change the side-panels to go with your outfit).
You will see a lot of people zipping around on scooters and motorbikes in St Barths and may be tempted to join in. When asked, the general advice given by hoteliers is don’t. Many of the roads are made of concrete, which becomes slippery when it rains. If you do decide to ride a motorbike then you are required to wear a helmet (and the police have occasional campaigns to make sure that you do).
There are just two petrol stations in St Barths, one opposite the airport (open daily except Sunday, but with a 24 hour dispenser) and the other in Lorient, which is open daily except Sunday and Thursday afternoon.
Parking
With so many cars all headed for the same beaches and restaurants, parking in St Barths can be a nightmare. In Gustavia the streets are narrow and there is barely a space left after 10am. If you don’t spot a place as you first drive through the best advice is to go to the fringes of the town (perhaps on the high road out of town), park and walk back in. St Jean, where there are both shops and a popular beach, also gets extremely crowded. On one occasion a driver, clearly in a desperate hurry to get into Nikki Beach, the hip beach bar in St Jean, simply abandoned his hire car in the middle of the road, keys and all, to hell with the traffic. There are parking regulations of course and occasionally they are enforced in Gustavia but not usually elsewhere. |
| ^ back to top |
Electricity
St Barths has the standard French electrical supply, 220 volts at 60 Hz. British and American appliances need an adapter. |
| ^ back to top |
Embassies & Consulates
There is only representation from one country, Sweden, which maintains a Consulate in Gustavia because of its historical connection to St Barths (Sweden leased the island from the French for a hundred-odd years until 1878).
Representation for the US and for European countries is normally through Guadeloupe. |
| ^ back to top |
|