St. Barts....Who Goes There?

[TCF]

Other than Oceania do any other companies stop at St. Barts?

We are stopping there next March and we have been looking for some "ordinary folks" things to do for the day.

So far it looks as if we are supposed to spend the day on the beach looking at the "beautiful" people! There are some excursions, but it seems like someone really worked hard to put a couple of hours together on a bus or a boat to get us off the ship. One of the "highlights" of one of these excursions is a trip to the airport to watch the planes land!:eek:

I guess we could also experience what it is like to spend 22 Euros on a cheese burger and fries...mind you the cheese is Swiss!:rolleyes:

 

Anyone been there and done "ordinary" folks things?

 

Tom and Deb:)

[CharlesDC]

Seabourn also stops there.

It is beyond beautiful there. Everything about it is pristine. Seeing the planes land is actually quite exciting. The runway is very, very short making it quite difficult to land there. Check out photo's of it on webshots and you will see what I mean. If you are Buffet fans have a cheeseburger at Le Select and then just wander around the harbour and "window shop" at the fabulous stores and mega yachts. There was an inside out crocodile coat for 40,000 euros :eek: in the window of Hermes when I was there in December. It is an experience like no other island in the caribbean. Enjoy.

[luvs2cruzga]

I'll be stopping there on Crystal in November. Still researching things to do.

[Blue Eyes]

I'm looking for things to do also. We will be there on the Prinsendam in early Dec. and will be docked for 11 hours. I am researching for maybe a long snorkel/sail excursion.

[Laoghaire]

Hi..We have been to St. Barths several times. Usually we take the walk up the hill and watch the planes come in right over our heads. Then down to Baie St. Jean, for an afternoon of beach fun...Helen

[m steve]

Those who get the ROBB Report free!

[lilrod]

I will be visiting St Maarten 2 times on December 06 and there is a tour to St Barts. I would like to take it to see something different.

 

So I see that some of you are going before me I would like your impressions about the island.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Blue Eyes]

Thanks Lillian....we are going to be there for about 12 hours on our HAL cruise...I think I am going to try for a full day sail and snorkel....look around if you get the chance for any promising tour groups....we will also make a stop in San Juan...DH and I have never been there, so we look forward to just taking our time seeing the old San Juan...I think we are only docked for about 6 hours, so not much time to do alot...DH wants to see the fort...

 

Well after I posted the above note...we will be there at the same time as you.....so maybe we can help someone else later...

[The Islander]

Hello Tom & Deb,

 

Ordinary folks things to do :). There are several beautiful beaches there... beautiful in scenery - if you want to people watch you can do that too. St. Jean is close to town and so is Shell Beach. The airport is in St. Jean and as was mentioned the runway is very short and the planes that land are small ones, the runway ends right at the sand/beach. So laying on the beach and watching small planes come into a small airport so close to the beautiful blue water is exciting, not something to do a whole tour of but neat to see. There are restaurant across the road and on the beach. If you wanted to spend some time walking through Gustavia (the main town) you could do that and also walk to Shell Beach and there are lunch options in Gustavia; Select being one of the most famous because of their cheeseburgers in paradise (and they don't cost 22Euros but I am sure you could find such prices at other restaurants ;) ). You could do an island tour, it’s a tiny island but very picturesque and there are beaches further from town that are very pretty, like Saline. And there are fishing charters, sail boats, kite-boarding, windsurfing and other watersports if those things interest you, you might research operators that offer them. There is a horseback riding outfit in the Flamands area... which also has a very pretty beach by the same name.

 

Enjoy,

 

--Islander

http://www.*****

[mlleach]

This is a port of call for the Wind Spirit. We are looking for something to do while we are there.

ML

[5668200]

We were there about 10 years ago on NCL. We loved St. Bart's. It's one of our favorites. We rented a car (very small one) and spent the day touring the island. It was very easy to get around and felt very safe. We had a blast. :)

[mlleach]

Any recommendations for a local tour guide?

ML

[Blue Eyes]

Sorry ML, unfortunately my DH got sick 3 days before we were to sail in Dec. We had to cancel cruise....

[sceptic]

a bit more info about St. Barts, from our early April visit (on easyCruise, so we could be in port til 2 AM!). WONDERFUL ISLAND. We rented a car from Tropical - they met us at the ferry dock (for tendering), drove us over to the airport (!!!) and I picked up a nice, newish 4WD auto for $70 total for the day, we went to Lorient beach for a while, then got lunch at a grocery store/boulangerie - 16 euros for four of us, then toured the island and stopped at Gouverneur Beach for several hours - truly a glorious beach, with water as clear as gin. BTW, the roads are incredibly vertical and curvy in places, sort of like Lombard Street in San Francisco. I loved driving them, but others might gasp. Then back to Gustavia for window shopping, getting a few almost classy t-shirts, and returning the car.

 

We were in St. Barts during the Bucket, a regatta of mega-sailing yachts that were all docked in Gustavia - it was beautiful seeing them sail around the island. They had a party that evening and night on the dock, and basically everyone was invited. It's interesting to see about $500 million worth of beautiful sailing vessels all lined up in a row, with the owners/crew members just shooting the breeze with anyone who comes along.

 

My son insisted on getting a Le Select Cheeseburger (a la Jimmy Buffet) - the tab, including a few beers for DW and moi, 4 huge burgers and 4 huger piles of fries - was under $60 US. So yeah, you can eat cheap on St. Barts, if you want to. and they were really good!

 

Maybe it's our attitude. Maybe it's them. But I love the French islands in the eastern and southern caribbean. I hear that others are turned off by snootiness or prices. We had a great time on this island and would love to return. Hopefully by plane, so we can all say our prayers when landing on that air field.