St Barthelemy Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

A luxuriant villa and an immaculate beach. Leisurely dinners alongside movie stars and supermodels. A vacation could be worse.

But wanting a vacation on St. Barthelemy and having one are different things. This island's beauty, luxury and exclusive company come with a steep price tag. And should you have what it takes for a holiday on St. Barthelemy, a word of warning: If you are lucky enough to recognize a celebrity behind a pair of sunglasses, don't expect to collect an autograph. Those breaking the island's law of studied nonchalance will likely be deported.

St. Barthelemy (better known as St. Barts or St. Barth) first came into the spotlight back in the 1950s when David Rockefeller and a few other prosperous individuals built holiday homes there. Slowly but surely, jet-setters from two continents followed suit, and St. Barts was on its way to becoming the fashionable getaway for the rich and the famous.

They don't choose St. Barts for the company, though that's certainly part of the allure: The beaches are secluded, the water is warm, and the landscape of hills and ravines is lovely. The island is sophisticated yet laid-back, with a decidedly French ambience. The people of St. Barts are adept at providing comfort, quiet and security to their well-heeled visitors.

Must See or Do

Sights—The Columbier Lookout Point; the Swedish Clock Tower in Gustavia; Forts Gustaf and Karl.

Museums—Island history and geography at the Musee Municipal de St. Barthelemy (the Wall House Museum) in Gustavia; souvenirs of earlier times at Museum le P'tit Collectionneur, also in Gustavia.

Memorable Meals—Gorgeous food served in a garden oasis at Le Tamarin; fresh seafood at Bonito; a cheeseburger in paradise at Le Select.

Late Night—Baz Bar for tapas, sushi and fun; Casa Club St. Barth for after-hours parting; Le Ti St. Barth for its scantily clad table dancers.

Walks—Around Gustavia for views, churches, shops and historic buildings all swaddled in charm; to the villages of Colombier and Corossol; the goat path down to Anse de Colombier.

Especially for Kids—Painting ceramic items at The Blue Gecko Studio in St. Jean; viewing the underwater world from a semisubmersible.

Geography

St. Barts is a small and hilly island, with an area of just 8 sq mi/20 sq km. It has an arid climate that favors cacti and other low-profile plant life. You won't find any volcanoes, but numerous small coves line its shores, many of them cradling exquisite beaches. Gustavia, the principal town, is tucked into the southwest shore, and several other villages are scattered around the island, including Corossol, Public, Lorient and Colombier.

History

Christopher Columbus is believed to have sailed by the island in 1493, naming it for his brother Bartholomeo. (Another theory has it that Columbus never saw the island and that later explorers bestowed his brother's name upon the land). The island's strategic position and protected harbor lured determined French settlers beginning in the 1640s.

After the Europeans moved in, Carib Indians found the island more attractive. (Previously, they had avoided the island because it had no fresh water.) The Caribs massacred large numbers of settlers and forced the remaining Europeans to flee the island. The French soon returned, however, and won it back.

In 1784, France traded St. Barts for other interests, making it the only Swedish holding in the Caribbean. It prospered until the 1800s, when a series of natural disasters brought commerce to a halt, and Sweden gave St. Barts back to France in 1878 after island residents voted 251-1 to reunite with France. Remnants of the Swedish legacy can still be seen on the island, however.

Today, St. Barts remains a French holding, and its 7,000 permanent residents are mainly French-speaking descendants of early Norman and Breton settlers. This, plus the historical near-absence of plantation slavery, makes St. Barts a strikingly white island in the Caribbean context. The entirety of the island's population is largely of European descent.

Tourism has become the chief industry. Each year, about 160,000 visitors descend on the island, but local officials take great care to preserve St. Barts' intimate, unspoiled character. Construction is strictly regulated, and the island has concentrated on developing a lucrative but low-volume tourism industry.

Snapshot

St. Barts' foremost activities include beaches, sunbathing, leisurely dining, shopping, boating, windsurfing, diving, snorkeling, relaxing, and seeing and being seen.

Those seeking high-class food and accommodations, relaxed elegance and lovely tropical surroundings will enjoy the island. Also, women can feel free and secure in the absence of male harassment that is sometimes a feature of Caribbean vacations.

Although there are some hot spots for cabaret and dancing, travelers seeking fast-paced nightlife and things to do away from the beach will probably find other Caribbean islands more to their liking. Those on a tight budget, Francophobes and those irritated by lavish lifestyles should steer clear.

Potpourri

St. Barts is the only island in the Caribbean with Swedish connections. Sweden was involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and made an additional profit by collecting an export tax on slaves shipped out of St. Barts, which it owned between 1784 and 1878.

The village of Lorient is sister city to Lorient on the southern coast of Brittany. St. Barts itself has twinned with Pitea, Sweden.

A number of island leaders share the last name Magras (pronounced ma-GRAH). They are known as "the Magrasfia." It's not a term of endearment.

Volleyball is the most popular sport on St. Barts, with hundreds of players and tournaments that draw crowds of 500 or more. Both beach and hardcourt games are common.

When locals refer to a case, they're talking about one of the island's original structures, a simple building often capped with a colorful roof or shutters.

St. Barts has no rivers or streams. A desalination plant, rainwater and imported bottled water are the island's only sources. As a result, islanders take water consumption very seriously and frown upon this scarce commodity being wasted.

One of the world's oldest people, Eugenie Blanchard, was born in St. Barts and spent much of her life there. She died in 2010 at the age of 114.

Location

Your first up-close look at St. Barts will be the main town of Gustavia, named for the kings of Sweden. Cruise ships, which are limited to a certain number, tender passengers to the Quai de la Republique in the middle of Gustavia. Shops, restaurants and Shell Beach are all within walking distance, and the beach at St. Jean is a short taxi ride away.

The tourist office, located on Quai du General de Gaulle, is open Monday-Friday 8 am-6 pm, Saturday 8:30 am-noon. Reduced hours in low season. Phone 590-278-727. http://www.saintbarth-tourisme.com.

Shore Excursions

Typical tour options may include an orientation tour by minibus of towns and sights around the island, catamaran rides to a remote beach for snorkeling, or a tour of the island's beautiful flora and fauna by horseback. Another option is to simply rent a car or Jeep. The simplest thing to do is explore Gustavia on foot—the stylish will want to shop, too—then walk to Shell Beach for a swim.