Hi all,
Having used this forum a lot to research the island, and posting a few times to get some recommendations, I wanted to post a quick write up of our short, but wonderful stay. We split a week between St Barths and Anguilla for our 10th anniversary and absolutely loved both islands for different reasons! Having a resource like this forum is invaluable for someone like me who likes spend time gathering recommendations and research to ensure (as much as possible), and unforgettable vacation. So a big thanks to those who post and share their thoughts.
Day 1
Arrived SXM at 2pm from Toronto, we had carry-on only and were met by a rep from St Barths commuter who directed us to the gate and moved us onto an earlier flight. The St Barths flight was comfortable and uneventful, albeit exciting as we came over the hill. We landed at around 4pm, picked up our Suzuki Jimny from Gumbs at the airport and drove to our rental in Gutsavia. Our rental through Airbnb was a loft that backed onto the harbour affording amazing views of the boats. We were hungry so we had a quick turnaround and went to Le Select for some beers and cheeseburgers (in paradise). Some crew members who were in town for the Bucket Regatta were enjoying some drinks, the bar was busting, and the burgers went down a treat.
Day 2
We’re typically early risers so after seeing the sunrise from our deck we headed out for some breakfast and an early morning walk around Gustavia. We stopped in at Boulangerie Choisy for a croissant and coffee, which we thought was only ok, but still a nice start to the day. We walked all around the small town, up to the lighthouse, Fort Karl, the clocktower, Wallhouse and Fort Oscar enjoying meandering through the streets seeing the beautiful and historic buildings. After getting back to our accommodation, we got ready and headed to Nikki Beach for lunch where we shared some sushi rolls and sushi pizza. The food and service were both great and we had a nice view of the beach. After lunch we lounged and swam for a while, walked the beach to watch the planes, and had an afternoon cocktail at the Remy bar at Edan Rock before heading home. That evening we walked to Bonito for a sunset dinner. The views were great. We really enjoyed the starters of a ceviche taster and grilled octopus but felt a little underwhelmed by the mains of steak and pork. We shared a desert and went back to our rental.
Day 3
For breakfast we stopped into Gloriettes for smoothies, then drove to the Colombier area. I’d read about (on this forum) a loop hike to the beach we wanted to try, so we parked near La Pigeonnière and walked the road about 10 mins to the start of the upper path and walked that to the beach seeing goats, tortoises, and lizards on the way. We arrived at the beach around 10am and it was very quiet, aside from a few families at one end. We found a nice spot in the shade and spent some time lounging, swimming, and snorkeling. This was our favourite beach on the island, however the beach was starting to get busier as lunchtime approached with some yacht crews arriving to set up large, elaborate, and ostentatious area with inflatables, marquee tents, dining tables and chairs. This was clearly annoying to other visitors on the beach and really took away from the beauty and isolation of the area. We left via the lower path and walked past Flammands, up a very steep hill back to the car. On the drive out we saw some amazing views of the sailing yachts practicing for the regatta with Saba and Statia as a glorious backdrop. We picked up some delicious food from Edan to Go and went back to the apartment and spent the afternoon relaxing on the deck watching the sailing yachts coming back in after their practice. For dinner we went to l’Esprit. The food was great, we had frogs’ legs and foie gras to start and for main we had grilled calamari and lobster ravioli. The service started out great, but it felt like we were forgotten about towards the end of the meal and had to wait a long time for the bill and then again to pay.
Day 4
Started out at Gloriettes for a smoothie again. This day for our morning activity we went to the Grand Fond natural pools. The hike was fairly easy, but we needed to watch our footing in a couple of areas that had sheer cliffs. There was another group just leaving the pools, meaning we had them to ourselves. We got down to the pools which were beautiful and clear and we hung out there for a while. After the pools we went to Ti Coreil for lunch. We shared a coque truffle sandwich and the lobster roll which were both delicious. The Bucket race started that day so we got a great view of boats crossing the horizon in front of us. A lovely spot. After lunch we visited Saline and the Gouverneurs beaches. Saline was completely empty other than one couple who soon left. We had the entire beach to ourselves and swam a little, but there was no shade and it was very hot so after a while we left to check out the second beach. Gouverneur was very busy, so we decided not to stay and left to go back to our accommodation. Again, we lounged on the deck watching the boats come back in after a day of racing. For our evening meal we went to Ocean Club. We had an amazing table overlooking the harbour and were there for sunset. This was the best restaurant we ate at during the trip. We had some amazing bread, then grilled octopus and lobster ravioli to start, for our mains we shared a wagyu steak and a truffle risotto and had the tree of life for a side. We then shared an amazing desert called the illusion of caviar, which was a cheesecake with tapioca, but looked like caviar, even being served in a caviar tin. We were visiting the island for our 10-year anniversary, and despite mentioning this when booking all our reservations, the Ocean Club was the only establishment to recognise that and brought out an extra desert in celebration, a great way to end a great evening and a great trip.
Day 5
This morning, we were up early to catch the ferry to Marigot in St Martin (and then catch another ferry to Anguilla). The wind was up this morning, and it made for a few areas of rough seas, but on the whole the ferry was great and allowed for great views of St Barths and St Martin. Once on St Martin, we had about an hour until our ferry to Anguilla left, so we grabbed some delicious pastries and coffee, and got ready to board the 20 minute ferry to our next island paradise.
A few of other general observations
1. driving on the island was fine. Some of the roads are a little daunting but we didn’t have any issues. Parking was a bit more of a challenge, but we always got lucky and got a good spot close to where we wanted to be.
2. Smoking culture seems to be alive and well on the island, living in Canada we barely see anyone smoking (we're non-smokers), but it seems to be common in St Barths, with some establishments allowing smoking on their patios. It didn't really bother us, but we could imagine some people would get annoyed/offended by it.
3. Tipping was very confusing to us. I’d read previously that tips/service were included, and it was customary to leave a small tip. Our experience was that it was never indicated on the receipts that service was included and that a few establishments were very proactive in asking for or highlighting the tip section on the bill. This led to us over tipping in a couple of restaurants at the beginning of the trip (namely Nikki Beach and Bonito) after speaking with some regular visitors we changed tact, both Ocean Club and Ti Coreil highlighted that service was included on their menus. We can’t remember for L’esprit, but they didn’t ask for a tip and there was no tip section on the check.
Having used this forum a lot to research the island, and posting a few times to get some recommendations, I wanted to post a quick write up of our short, but wonderful stay. We split a week between St Barths and Anguilla for our 10th anniversary and absolutely loved both islands for different reasons! Having a resource like this forum is invaluable for someone like me who likes spend time gathering recommendations and research to ensure (as much as possible), and unforgettable vacation. So a big thanks to those who post and share their thoughts.
Day 1
Arrived SXM at 2pm from Toronto, we had carry-on only and were met by a rep from St Barths commuter who directed us to the gate and moved us onto an earlier flight. The St Barths flight was comfortable and uneventful, albeit exciting as we came over the hill. We landed at around 4pm, picked up our Suzuki Jimny from Gumbs at the airport and drove to our rental in Gutsavia. Our rental through Airbnb was a loft that backed onto the harbour affording amazing views of the boats. We were hungry so we had a quick turnaround and went to Le Select for some beers and cheeseburgers (in paradise). Some crew members who were in town for the Bucket Regatta were enjoying some drinks, the bar was busting, and the burgers went down a treat.
Day 2
We’re typically early risers so after seeing the sunrise from our deck we headed out for some breakfast and an early morning walk around Gustavia. We stopped in at Boulangerie Choisy for a croissant and coffee, which we thought was only ok, but still a nice start to the day. We walked all around the small town, up to the lighthouse, Fort Karl, the clocktower, Wallhouse and Fort Oscar enjoying meandering through the streets seeing the beautiful and historic buildings. After getting back to our accommodation, we got ready and headed to Nikki Beach for lunch where we shared some sushi rolls and sushi pizza. The food and service were both great and we had a nice view of the beach. After lunch we lounged and swam for a while, walked the beach to watch the planes, and had an afternoon cocktail at the Remy bar at Edan Rock before heading home. That evening we walked to Bonito for a sunset dinner. The views were great. We really enjoyed the starters of a ceviche taster and grilled octopus but felt a little underwhelmed by the mains of steak and pork. We shared a desert and went back to our rental.
Day 3
For breakfast we stopped into Gloriettes for smoothies, then drove to the Colombier area. I’d read about (on this forum) a loop hike to the beach we wanted to try, so we parked near La Pigeonnière and walked the road about 10 mins to the start of the upper path and walked that to the beach seeing goats, tortoises, and lizards on the way. We arrived at the beach around 10am and it was very quiet, aside from a few families at one end. We found a nice spot in the shade and spent some time lounging, swimming, and snorkeling. This was our favourite beach on the island, however the beach was starting to get busier as lunchtime approached with some yacht crews arriving to set up large, elaborate, and ostentatious area with inflatables, marquee tents, dining tables and chairs. This was clearly annoying to other visitors on the beach and really took away from the beauty and isolation of the area. We left via the lower path and walked past Flammands, up a very steep hill back to the car. On the drive out we saw some amazing views of the sailing yachts practicing for the regatta with Saba and Statia as a glorious backdrop. We picked up some delicious food from Edan to Go and went back to the apartment and spent the afternoon relaxing on the deck watching the sailing yachts coming back in after their practice. For dinner we went to l’Esprit. The food was great, we had frogs’ legs and foie gras to start and for main we had grilled calamari and lobster ravioli. The service started out great, but it felt like we were forgotten about towards the end of the meal and had to wait a long time for the bill and then again to pay.
Day 4
Started out at Gloriettes for a smoothie again. This day for our morning activity we went to the Grand Fond natural pools. The hike was fairly easy, but we needed to watch our footing in a couple of areas that had sheer cliffs. There was another group just leaving the pools, meaning we had them to ourselves. We got down to the pools which were beautiful and clear and we hung out there for a while. After the pools we went to Ti Coreil for lunch. We shared a coque truffle sandwich and the lobster roll which were both delicious. The Bucket race started that day so we got a great view of boats crossing the horizon in front of us. A lovely spot. After lunch we visited Saline and the Gouverneurs beaches. Saline was completely empty other than one couple who soon left. We had the entire beach to ourselves and swam a little, but there was no shade and it was very hot so after a while we left to check out the second beach. Gouverneur was very busy, so we decided not to stay and left to go back to our accommodation. Again, we lounged on the deck watching the boats come back in after a day of racing. For our evening meal we went to Ocean Club. We had an amazing table overlooking the harbour and were there for sunset. This was the best restaurant we ate at during the trip. We had some amazing bread, then grilled octopus and lobster ravioli to start, for our mains we shared a wagyu steak and a truffle risotto and had the tree of life for a side. We then shared an amazing desert called the illusion of caviar, which was a cheesecake with tapioca, but looked like caviar, even being served in a caviar tin. We were visiting the island for our 10-year anniversary, and despite mentioning this when booking all our reservations, the Ocean Club was the only establishment to recognise that and brought out an extra desert in celebration, a great way to end a great evening and a great trip.
Day 5
This morning, we were up early to catch the ferry to Marigot in St Martin (and then catch another ferry to Anguilla). The wind was up this morning, and it made for a few areas of rough seas, but on the whole the ferry was great and allowed for great views of St Barths and St Martin. Once on St Martin, we had about an hour until our ferry to Anguilla left, so we grabbed some delicious pastries and coffee, and got ready to board the 20 minute ferry to our next island paradise.
A few of other general observations
1. driving on the island was fine. Some of the roads are a little daunting but we didn’t have any issues. Parking was a bit more of a challenge, but we always got lucky and got a good spot close to where we wanted to be.
2. Smoking culture seems to be alive and well on the island, living in Canada we barely see anyone smoking (we're non-smokers), but it seems to be common in St Barths, with some establishments allowing smoking on their patios. It didn't really bother us, but we could imagine some people would get annoyed/offended by it.
3. Tipping was very confusing to us. I’d read previously that tips/service were included, and it was customary to leave a small tip. Our experience was that it was never indicated on the receipts that service was included and that a few establishments were very proactive in asking for or highlighting the tip section on the bill. This led to us over tipping in a couple of restaurants at the beginning of the trip (namely Nikki Beach and Bonito) after speaking with some regular visitors we changed tact, both Ocean Club and Ti Coreil highlighted that service was included on their menus. We can’t remember for L’esprit, but they didn’t ask for a tip and there was no tip section on the check.
your posts. We have been “on island” 10+ days and depart Sunday. We wish you a fabulous time…….short form trip report is that we LOVE St Barths (as do all on this forum). Will try to formulate better report when we are back in NYC…..
