St. Barths – Eastern Caribbean

• Capital: Gustavia
• Population: 7100
• Area: 8 sq mi
• Language: French
• Government: A sub-prefecture of Guadeloupe, which is an Overseas Region of France

Named for Columbus’ brother Bartolome, St. Barths as it is popularly known, reflects its charming Swedish and French heritage. This history of the island is unique. France first obtained it from the Knights of Malta and later it was sold to Sweden, acquiring the island again in 1878. A drive in the mountainous terrain of the island presents spectacular views of its coast and its 22 beaches where you can enjoy excellent swimming, snorkeling, and sailing.St. Barts offers the visitor upscale accommodations in a causal ambience.

It is renown for its restaurants and superb gourmet French food that offers such exquisite fare as ecrevisses – fresh-water crayfish.

Tiny Corossol is a fisherman’s village located about 4km to the west of Gustavia. While the men go about their fishing, the women sit on their front porches weaving baskets and hats from latanier leaves.

The picturesque Inter-Oceans Museum is the most important tourist location here. The Museum offers a fine beach front view and houses a fascinating collection of about 10,000 seashells that come from all over the world. Timings to visit – Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 12.30 pm & 2pm to 5pm; closed on Mondays.

Across the waters is the quaint Flamands village that borders along the white sandy beach of Anse des Flamands. The shoreline includes a wide bay and is dotted with latanier and banana trees.

Places to stay on this side of the island are limited.

Anse Colombier is another lovely beach at the western most point of St. Barts. The beach is accessible by a 20-min hike around a bluff. Since the beach has few facilities, it is recommended to bring your own water and food along. This part of the island has limited accommodation.

Another place to see is St Jean, one of St Bart’s busiest and liveliest places with its twin beaches. Interestingly, the area’s first hotel, the Eden Rock is perched on the quartzite headland dividing the two beaches. Tourist attractions include snorkeling, windsurfing, shopping opportunities and great dining experiences.

Lorient, located close to St Jean was the first French settlement in 1648. Lorient has its own bay that attracts windsurfers. La Banane is one of the best known places to consider staying while you are visiting here.

Pointe-Milou, lies enroute Lorient, a posh neighborhood with swanky villas spread over a scenic backdrop.

Gustavia, the capital city of St Bart’s, has perhaps one of the most beautiful harbour in the Caribbean where one can spend hours together sipping wine on a sunny day at the oceanfront. The architecture is a fine blend of villas with red roofs and grey stoned buildings, adding to the beauty of the natural scenario. Shopping is a wonderful experience at the duty free boutiques of Gustavia.

Several historical monuments stand testimony to Gustavia’s Swedish and French connection. The Swedish Wall House of the 1800s, located at the western side of the harbor, formerly used as a store house is now home to Musée de St Barthélemy. The museum exhibits a collection of tools, maps among other things. It is open Mon 2.30pm to 6pm, Tue-Fri 8.30am to12.30pm & 2.30pm to 6pm, Sat 9am to 1pm.

St Bartholomew Anglican church and Notre-Dame de l'Assomption lie to the south of the port. Towards the west is spread Ansu du Grand Galet, Gustavia’s lovely little beach with pink seashells strewn all over the sand. The lighthouse offers a stunning view of the beautiful harbor and Gustavia’s neighboring islands.

The white sandy Grande Saline beach and the beautiful Anse Gouverneur beach can be easily accessed via secondary roads from south of St Jean and Lorient.

Transportations:

The fascination for the visitors start right from their arrival when their twenty-seater planes land on a small runway that literally leads to the beach – a breathtaking start indeed! The terminal is quite modest and is equipped with an ATM. For currency exchange, one can approach the St Jean Centre Commercial across the street.

It is also usual for people on a one day visit to take a ferry from St. Martin to Gustavia.

Several Hotels in St Bart’s offer pickup services to the airport and the ferry upon request. Besides this, tourists can also hire taxies or cabs from one of the two taxi stands - at the airport, and at Gustavia's Quai Général-de-Gaulle. However there is no public bus transportation.

More Information:

Visit the Office Municipal de Tourisme on Quai Général-de-Gaulle. The office is open Mon-Thurs 8.30am to12.30pm & 2 to 5.30pm; Fri up to 5pm. Alternatively, call 0590/27 87 27, fax 27 74 47, or email :odtsb@wanadoo.fr) .

The post office is located in Gustavia on rue du Centenaire (open Mon, Tue, Thurs & Fri 8am to 3pm, Wed & Sat 8am to12.30pm). Internet connectivity is available at ANT Informatique, on rue Jeanne-d'Arc and Centre Alizés, on rue de la République.

For watersport services: Sailing Marine Service, on La Pointe (Tel 0590/27 70 34, fax 27 70 36). The service runs half and full-day sails at a cost of US$50 to72, on catamarans. For water skiing contact the Ocean Must on La Pointe, (Tel 0590/27 62 25) at a cost of about US$52 per 30 mins. The Sea-Doo rentals offers services at about US$60 per 30min.