St Barts

Lazing on the beaches or finding tranquillity in the spas. Taking a dip in the hotel pool, or showing off your latest fashions as you cruise the boutiques and restaurants of Gustavia. These are all prime St Barts activities, but there’s plenty more to do, if you’re looking.

St Barts’ beachside waters are perfect for swimming, and there are surfing options from beginner to expert levels. And, at Grand Cul de Sac Beach, you can go kayaking, kitesurfing, jet-skiing, paddle-boarding, and windsurfing. Want to discover underwater worlds? Go snorkelling or scuba diving with sea turtles and reef sharks in the beautiful Nature Reserve of Saint-Barthélemy, where you can swim among corals and shipwrecks.

Dive into the Swedish and French heritage of Gustavia, and visit Fort Gustave, Fort Karl, St Barth Municipal Museum, St. Bartholomew's Anglican Episcopal Church, or the Vieux Clocher. And feast on the finest seafood in beach cafés and restaurants around the coast, and in the fishing villages of Lorient and Corossol.

No two beaches in St Barts are more than 30 minutes apart – so it’s easy to visit them all during your holiday, wherever you’re staying.

Shell Beach in the capital of Gustavia has plenty to offer even if it is, as the name suggests, a little rough underfoot. Elsewhere, Grande Saline on the southern coast is a protected cove, tucked between rolling dunes and blue waters with a sweeping curve of light sand.

Close by is the calm, quiet Gouverneur Beach, which serves up white sand, green hills, and gentle waters ideal for swimming. You can walk by the fishermen on the shaded sands of Flamands Beach in the island’s northwest – close to some of St Barts’ most exclusive hotels – or hike past goats, iguanas and tortoises at the tip of the peninsula to find the pristine and hidden-away Colombier Beach.

Finding the right hotel is as important as finding the right location on this tiny island, where everywhere can be easily visited from everywhere else. But each town does have its own personality.

Gustavia, the capital, is the heart of St Barts and filled with energy all year round. Boutiques, galleries, and a stunning array of restaurants line every street of this harbour town, where fishing boats and billionaire’s yachts float side-by-side. Historic forts, churches and museums bring a great charm to this red-roofed town, which is also the nightlife centre of the island.

St Jean, close to the island’s tiny airport, offers dining and shopping in the shadow of a hillside, curved around a perfect crescent beach. Looking for a more exclusive feel? Head south to Gouverneur, or east to Anse du Petit Cul de Sac.

Temperatures on St Barts are pretty consistent through the year, ranging from averages of 25°C in the winter to 30°C in summer. The difference between the seasons is rainfall. The island’s peak holiday season runs from December to April, when rainfall is at its lowest and a gentle breeze keeps sunny days refreshed. May and June offer a great balance of good weather and great savings before the Caribbean hurricane season begins around July.

St Barts often suffers its worst winds in late-August and September. Some hotels and restaurants will even close at this time of year, before re-opening in October or November. St Barts hosts festivals and celebrations throughout the year, including a global music festival in January, Carnival in February, and the St Barts Film Festival towards the end of April. Hotels can become busier during these times, so we’d always recommend booking early, if that’s when you’re planning to travel.  

• Visas: British passport holders do not require a visa for stays of up to three months
• Language: French
• Currency: EUR (€)
• Time difference: GMT -4 hours
• Flight duration from London: Approximately 14 hours, depending on connections
• Capital city: Gustavia