One Day in St. Barthélemy
St. Barth (or St. Barts), the beautiful, upscale, French island in the Caribbean. I was recently staying in St. Maarten, and was dying to get over to St. Barth, even if it was just for a day. So that’s what I did. My Mom and sister opted out of this adventure, so I went on my own, on my birthday, and it was perfect.
There’s a lot to see there, including so many great beaches, restaurants and hotels. Immediately upon arrival I decided that I need to figure out a way to come back and and spend a month or two, renting a scooter, learning the language, like I did in Tulum (read more about that here). Since I only had one day, here’s my suggestions/what I did:
Getting to St. Barth
St. Barth has one of the shortest airport runways in the entire world. Because that is the case, travelers typically have to fly into St. Maarten (SXM). From SXM, you can either fly via a very tiny and quick, 15 minute flight (on WINAIR), or you can take the ferry. I took the ferry which is a rough ride, but only 45 mins and $85USD round trip. I took the Great Bay Express out of Philipsburg. It departs at either 7:15am or 9:45am and the last boat back from St. Barth to SXM is 6:45pm. You will need your passport and to arrive at the ferry ~40 mins before departure to check-in. The voyage to St. Barth is rough, they even have a large garbage can next to the seats for those that may need it. I visited St. Barth once before with my family and we have since referred to the boat as the “Barf Boat” because my Mom and sister did not do so well on it. With that said, the ride home is usually much smoother.
My Itinerary:
9:00am: Arrive at the ferry port to take the 9:45am boat. I would have been on the earlier boat, but I thought I needed a COVID test in the morning - turns out you do not. Check-in was quick and easy - I’d recommend calling ahead to see how much time you will need in case it’s a busier day or season.
10:00am: Grab a croissant and walk through town. St. Barth is known for their high-end shopping like Dior, Louis Vuitton, etc. as well as some great boutique brands like Sunday St. Tropez. Like everything on the island, it’s not cheap, so be prepared to spend some money or practice serious self control.
Make sure you also hit an ATM in town to take out Euros. You will definitely need this for taxis and it’ll come in handy for other things as well.
10:30am: Pop by Shellona to check out the restaurant and Shell Beach. If I had arrived earlier, I would have likely stayed for a morning cocktail or sat on the beach for a bit. Shell Beach could also be a great place to spend the day.
11am: Stop for a bite to eat or have a cocktail at one of the cute hotels like Cheval Blanc, Christopher, Le Sereno, Le Toiny, Eden Rock, etc.
Although boutique hotels are my absolute favorite thing to explore, I unfortunately skipped this so that I could get in a full day of sun at the beach.
11am: Spend the day at Nikki Beach. You have to call at 9am the day of to reserve a bed on the beach. It will run you $100 Euros (but can fit 2 or more people) and you have to arrive by ~1pm (I think) to claim it. There’s only one row of seating on the beach so all of the beds are right on the water/along the restaurant. It’s a narrow beach and you can sip cocktails all day long while watching planes fly over Eden Rock in front of you.
Taxi from town to Nikki was 20EUR and less than 10 mins
1pm: Have lunch or a cocktail at GypSea, the restaurant next door. I heard the food was better at Nikki, but I had planned to at least make it there for a cocktail.
2pm: Meet friends and change all of your plans. At Nikki, I ended up meeting a really amazing group of guys. They invited me to have lunch with them at the restaurant and when I mentioned I had to leave shortly to catch the ferry back to SXM, they convinced me to stay in their empty bedroom at their villa. I didn’t hesitate to take them upon their offer, and it was way too much fun. We drove in their Mini Cooper to the beautiful villa, watched the sunset, and had a night of a few too many beverages.
6pm: Arrive at (or skip) the ferry back to SXM
If you stay, there are so many great places to grab dinner like Bonito, La Petite Plage, Tamarin, etc. and then go out for a night at Bagatelle (on Fridays).
This was a short trip (that was meant to be even shorter), but it was unreal. I highly recommend this island if you can swing it for a vacation, or even just for a day. Go with friends, your partner, or on your own like me and maybe you’ll get lucky and meet some awesome new people too.
xx Emily in St. Barth
