Saint-Barthélemy, North America (2017)
| COUNTRY: | Saint-Barthélemy (St.Barts) |
| CAPITAL: | Gustavia |
| CONTINENT: | North America |
| LANGUAGE: | French |
| CURRENCY: | Euro |
| INHABITANTS: | 7 184 (2017) |
| TRIP DURATION: | 1 day |
Why did I go here…
Saint-Barthélemy, or St. Barts, is not just another tiny gem in the Caribbean. This French-speaking Carribean Island is a green, white sandy beaches and luxury resort.
I went there for a day trip back in 2017. From Sint Maarten it is easy to do some Island hopping to, for example, Saba or Anguilla. So a nice opportunity to visit a new country and so we decided to go to Saint-Barthélemy. By ferry it is only a couple of hours to get from Sint Maarten to St. Barts.
Gustavia
You can reach the Island by air (there is a small airstrip on the island for small planes) or by sea. Like I said, we went by boat. If you choose to go by boat, you will enter the island through its capital Gustavia. Obviously not an bustling metropolis, but a very small town build around the harbor, which is filled with these beautiful luxury yachts.
Once you disembark the boat you’ll find yourself in the harbor station. Which is the customs ass well. In reality it is really nothing more than some sort of a post office. But it gives you the idea you’re entering a new country. Which is, technically, correct obviously.
They don’t stamp your passport automatically, but if you ask nicely you will be rewarded with a unique passport stamp. Which is pretty cool if you ask me!
Gustavia it self is really small. But there are some Coll landmarks you can visit. For example, like I think almost all Caribbean islands there is an old fortress. Which was build to protect the city/harbor from invaders or pirates in some centuries ago. There is a small lighthouse on top of the mountain and a small picturesque church in the centre, overseeing the harbor.
Since St. Barts is more or less inhabited by wealthy (and famous) people, you will find all kinds of luxury/designer shops and famous brandstores across town. Doing some fun shopping in Gustavia is, let’s just say, not cheap!
Touring the Island
Since we had only one day on St. Barts we had booked a mini van tour in advance. It is not hard to get around the island by your self, especially when you know your way around. It is certainly not dangerous and obviously in a days time you’ll be able to see most parts of the island. I would recommend to rent a car, because public transport may not be what you are used to. Anyway, we booked a mini van tour see some parts of the island.
One of those interesting things you will see is this tiny but, in my opinion, very cool airport: Gustav III airport, and especially its runway is most spectacular.
It is a very short runway, only small airplanes can land or take off from here and it’s very close to the public road.
Located in the southeastern part of the island you will find Grand Fond. This place, sometimes called The Washing-machine, is surrounded by cliffs and drought terrain. Maybe not for swimming, but on top of the hill you will get a nice view over the bay.
During the tour we have seen some very idilic beaches, high end resorts and massive vistas. In my opinion a day trip to St. Barts is enough to get an idea of what this Caribbean Island is all about.
luxury resorts 
cemetery 
beach villas
Back in Gustavia we went for a well deserved lunch. Now, it was at this point where I began to understood why people said that St. Barts is for the rich and famous. Ok, all goods and food need to get shipped in, which obviously makes things more expensive. But we were told that things are even more expensive because of the wealthy people living and visiting the island. It is some sort of way to keep ‘certain’ people away from the island and keep it exclusive I think
. Anyway we went to a simple Italian restaurant to either have a common pizza or a simple pasta.
Turned out that prizes were indeed a bit higher than we were used… I mean 45 euros for a pizza Margeritha??
