Island Travel Interviews- Caribbean Islands, Take 10 (St. Barts)

Hi there! In my opinion, you can never plan too far in advance for a Caribbean Island getaway, especially if it is to a dreamy place like St. Barts. Two of my neighbor couples (plus one additional couple) recently traveled to St. Barts on a couples’ trip. Read on to learn more about what to do on St. Barts.

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Name and Blog Name/URL – Kathy kathysisson.com

Which Island Will You Be Talking About and Why Did You Choose This Island?

Saint Barthélemy. We visited St. Barts on a couples trip celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversaries.

How Many Days Would You Recommend Staying on This Island?

One week was the perfect amount of time to explore the beaches, restaurants, and shopping. We visited the week after high season ended, so had an easy time booking restaurant reservations and had the beaches mostly to ourselves.

What Was Your Favorite Thing About/Memory From Your Trip to This Island?

We did a private full day sailing excursion through Jicky Marine Service. The boat was beautiful. Jicky had a three-person crew, who served us a fantastic, fresh lunch, and bottomless rose, beer, and cocktails. We were able to snorkel with sea turtles and nurse sharks at the an island preserve and were able to spot a pair of dolphins and flying fish in our wake. We also visited Columbier beach, which is accessible only by an intense hike or by sea. David Rockefeller used to own property with a house still perched atop a rocky cliff. We chose the sea.

 

What is Your “Can’t Miss” Activity on the Island? What activities/opportunities does this island provide?

The beaches and the food. We explored at least one new beach each day; there are 14 on the island. Our first stop was Shell beach, with perfect waves to swim in while holding a strong margarita from the Greek restaurant Shellona, right on the beach. The bravest of our group swam out to a cliff to jump off.

Salines was our other favorite, and the only one we visited twice. A short hike opens to a spectacular view. The water is really as aqua blue as it is in these pictures.  

Best Restaurant/Place to Eat?

Now the food. By luck, we bookended our trip with two restaurants that turned out to be our favorites: Bonito and Le Tamarin.

Bonito was originally a private home and is decorated like a beautiful, laid back seaside beach house with rattan light fixtures and whitewashed furniture. The open air porch and the view can’t be beat and we loved everything on the menu! We even came back one night for drinks, when the men in our group decided to order their filet entree again for “dessert”.

Le Tamarin is set in a swanky, gorgeous garden. The food was unbelievable, from more fresh seafood to black truffle gnocchi.

Wahoo, a local fish, was our other favorite discovery. We ordered it at multiple restaurants in ceviche, in sushi, and even purchased our own from the market and grilled it at our villa. (We called our local fish market at home Fish Lads, to see if they carried it. So if you live in Grand Rapids, they can ship it in!)

Good wine at the markets was very reasonable, so we stocked up and packed our own cooler of cocktails and Rosé for each beach day.

Also, the Black Ginger cucumber margarita was the best drink I’ve ever had. Ever.

If you have a Jimmy Buffet fan in your group, as we did, you must say you’ve visited Le Select in Gustavia, where Buffet was allegedly inspired to write “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. But, if you want an even better burger, head to Le Piment, a more local establishment in Salines and get Le Burger Formidable (as the name suggests, it’s a massive double stack, double cheddar, double bacon delight).

What Surprised You About this Island?

The island exudes luxury; a combination of Caribbean vibes and sexy French flair. So although it was pricey, if we let ourselves rationalize it as two trips in one, it mitigated anxiety about the spend.

Devastation from Hurricane Irma was still apparent, but not nearly as apparent as it was in St. Maarten, where the airport is still under construction and abandoned boats and shipwrecks dot the shoreline. But just like this recent Conde Naste article mentioned, “St. Barts is back in business” for the most part.

Any Travel Advice for those considering this island as a destination (e.g., where to stay, ease of getting there, how best to get around, language, money)?

Accommodations
We couldn’t have been happier with our villa and the service through Eden Rock. With a private pool, four bedrooms, open kitchen, and superb view that was walkable to St. Jean beach, we felt thoroughly spoiled.

Shopping

Local boutiques and the very chic (Chanel, Hermes, Richard Mille) come together in St. Barts. We did one day of shopping in Gustavia and Salines (we did not go into Chanel, Hermes, or Richard Mille). Some of us spent a little, some of us spent a lot, but either way, it was very fun to browse!

 

Getting Around

A car rental is essential for exploring. We were able to get cabs through Eden Rock, but drove a car during the day. Also essential, Dramamine if you are taking the ferry from St. Maarten. The seas can be ROUGH!

If my readers want to hear more about your island, do you have a link to your full article?  https://kathysisson.com/2018/05/7-signs-youre-ready-to-travel-with-your-couple-friends/

Thank you so much for your collaboration, Kathy! Everyone should definitely head over to read all about Traveling with Your Couple Friends– it’s a great and fun read!

And here are some ideas for how you can Get the Look inspired from St. Barts.:

Straw Bags like that seen in the  in the first photo can be found at Francesca’s… just click here. 

St. Barts Inspired Swim coverups (white lace, bright colors, etc.) can be found here or here or here.

Kathy shared that Bonito’s style reminded her of the Beach Cabin, white furniture with rattan light fixtures. You can read the latest about the Beach Cabin here. And get the rattan light fixture from IKEA by clicking here. 

Kathy also shared that Eden Rock’s staff were all in super cute red bathing suits (this or this would definitely help give the vibe), the guys wore red pants (maybe something like this?) and crisp white shirts (perhaps like this), and their beach furniture was beautiful teak with red cushions (something like this from World Market would be amazing! And lounger cushions like this would add a great finishing touch!).  You can check out more Eden Rock loveliness on their Instagram here. 

Want to save these shopping tips and amazing travel information for the colder months? Here is a pin 🙂