The Caribbean travellers finest resource

Email this page to:

Close

St Barthélemy / Island Hopping

St Barths is well positioned for island-hopping. It is close to a number of other islands which are completely different in character, so there is easy access and pleasure in the variety. Good options to combine with St Barths are Anguilla, for its superb beaches, good hotels and excellent restaurants, and Nevis, which has an unutterable, slow, small island charm and a lushness about it that the other islands in the area do not have. Anguilla has hotels of a similar standard (if rather larger) to those in St Barths. The hotels in Nevis are also small, but have a less sophisticated charm.

A little farther afield, the British Virgin Islands are spectacularly beautiful and quite developed. They are also less sophisticated than St Barths, but they have some good hotels and of course some of the finest sailing in the whole Caribbean.

St Barths is also good to visit by yacht. It is an easy run across from both the French and Dutch sides of St Martin and there are good day anchorages on the offshore cays between there and St Barths.

For Day Trips by boat to offshore and nearby islands, see Day Sails/Boat Trips and for inter-island boats, see Ferries.

Airlines

Several regional airlines run a schedule of flights to St Maarten/St Martin, from where you can make connections all over the region, and to the other French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. It is worth remembering that some of these airlines also offer “shared charters”, from St Maarten or from Antigua.

Charter Airlines
You can charter a small plane from any of these companies, but there are also many small charter airlines that operate out of other islands in the area. Of course it is possible to arrange the charter with a company that originates at your destination island. Only certain companies are able to fly into St Barths, however, as pilots need a special licence to land on the strip.

Regional and charter airlines that are permitted to land in St Barths include:

St Barth Commuter - A local airline based in St Barths, which offers scheduled flights to St Martin/St Maarten and private charters to islands all over the Eastern Caribbean. They have a fleet of five twin-engine planes and five specially trained (STOL) pilots with permission to land in St Barths.

By ferry

A number of ferries make the crossing from St Maarten (usually originating or stopping on the Dutch side).

Voyager, St Martin - Voyager makes the crossing twice daily, sometimes from Oyster Pond, otherwise from Marigot.

The Edge, St Maarten - The Edge makes a day trip from Simpson Bay five times a week, leaving St Maarten in the morning and returning from St Barths in the afternoon.

Great Bay Express, St Maarten - Daily service from Phillipsburg.

Browse Island Hopping on other islands

Anguilla | Antigua and Barbuda | Barbados | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada & Carriacou | Jamaica | Nevis | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad

Or read our other island guides

Anguilla | Antigua | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Bonaire | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Curacao | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada and Carriacou | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Nevis | Puerto Rico | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad | Turks & Caicos Islands | US Virgin Islands

island_map View on map

St Barthélemy’s weather

St Barthélemy weather chart

When to go and weather

Looking for inspiration?

  1. Head to St Jean beach where the hip, beautiful people go to see and be seen
  2. Indulge yourself in some designer retail therapy
  3. Sample the delights of fine French wines and dining
  4. Get pampered at one of the many island spas
  5. Experience a night of cinema under the stars during the annual St Barth Film Festival

St Barthélemy Events

View calendar