Wanted to provide a brief recap of our most recent trip.
First time back on the island since 2018. Arrived via AA thru Maimi and then SBC. We rented an 5-door Ignes through Gumps, which we were happy with. (Strong enough to get up hills, roomy for 4 plus beach gear but still thankfully small). Also, thankfully not a ton has changed on the island as we saw it, though an increase in vehicles/traffic/over aggressive drivers was very evident (I can't imagine driving there during the height of the season!). I've driven all over Europe and driving around this trip was definitely more stressful than I would have liked. Plus plenty of road construction around.
We rented Villa Rosebud in our favorite area, Anse des Cayes. It's central to everything but on the way to no where so pretty quiet. The villa was very nice and had everything we could have wanted. 2 bed/2 bath, beautiful pool, ocean front view, private. Very comfortable for family of 4.
Over our trip we hit all our favorite beaches except Colombier. We took the path from Petite Anse but the trail has degraded significantly and there came a point where we couldn't go forward without some pretty death defying maneuvering, which we would just not up to. But after bailing out of that we did enjoy our first time swimming and snorkeling at Petite Anse and a (rare for us) tranquil day for wind and surf at Flamands so it ended up more than making up for the arduous trek to and from Colombier.
We did notice signs of sargassum around but it was not pronounced at any beach, even Anse des Cayes, which always seems to act as a collection basket for flotsam, even at the best of times. There was one night where it did build up on that beach but the authorities were out the next morning with a bulldozer to take most of it away. So we swam in all beaches without any issues throughout our stay.
Turning to the all important area of restaurants, we enjoyed 2 dinner at Les Bananiers but alas they were closing for all of June so we only had the two nights. We also ate twice at La Langouste and thought their sea bass was probably the best meal we had on the island. We tried Nyama for the first time and we especially enjoyed the tuna and foie starter and the duck entree literally fell off the bone, it was delicious. We had a long luxurious lunch at Ti' Corail. It was lovely but the lobster rolls were a disappointment - very little lobster. And the reservation and need to confirm over and over was a bit odd. We also ate at Eddy's twice (we love the aesthetic there) and we enjoyed our meals (though this was on of the few places were they asked for an extra tip). We discovered Chez Gus and really enjoyed that experience as well. It was packed with young French every night and we loved the very French-inspired menu, which offered some options like Veal stew, etc not seen elsewhere.
We miss Santa Fe so much as nothing was better than the food and view there. We tried to contact Le Grain de Sel almost every day but no one ever picked up and unfortunately Kiki e Mo was closed June 1-June 13 so missed that. Le Select was as expected. We ate a lot of things at Le Petite Colombe and while their attitudes have improved we think the food quality has gone down.
We did most of our food shopping at the Super U, which was usually crowded but had plenty of parking up on top.
We had pretty good weather throughout with only a bit of rain here and there mostly at night. We discover a great little street market the 1st Sunday of the month on Rue du General de Gaulle, which we would recommend if you are around at that time.
We of course had a great time and we can't wait to get back. We've been all over the Caribbean but once we discovered St. Barth in 2006, it ruined us for every where else. Glad to answer any questions. Cheers!
First time back on the island since 2018. Arrived via AA thru Maimi and then SBC. We rented an 5-door Ignes through Gumps, which we were happy with. (Strong enough to get up hills, roomy for 4 plus beach gear but still thankfully small). Also, thankfully not a ton has changed on the island as we saw it, though an increase in vehicles/traffic/over aggressive drivers was very evident (I can't imagine driving there during the height of the season!). I've driven all over Europe and driving around this trip was definitely more stressful than I would have liked. Plus plenty of road construction around.
We rented Villa Rosebud in our favorite area, Anse des Cayes. It's central to everything but on the way to no where so pretty quiet. The villa was very nice and had everything we could have wanted. 2 bed/2 bath, beautiful pool, ocean front view, private. Very comfortable for family of 4.
Over our trip we hit all our favorite beaches except Colombier. We took the path from Petite Anse but the trail has degraded significantly and there came a point where we couldn't go forward without some pretty death defying maneuvering, which we would just not up to. But after bailing out of that we did enjoy our first time swimming and snorkeling at Petite Anse and a (rare for us) tranquil day for wind and surf at Flamands so it ended up more than making up for the arduous trek to and from Colombier.
We did notice signs of sargassum around but it was not pronounced at any beach, even Anse des Cayes, which always seems to act as a collection basket for flotsam, even at the best of times. There was one night where it did build up on that beach but the authorities were out the next morning with a bulldozer to take most of it away. So we swam in all beaches without any issues throughout our stay.
Turning to the all important area of restaurants, we enjoyed 2 dinner at Les Bananiers but alas they were closing for all of June so we only had the two nights. We also ate twice at La Langouste and thought their sea bass was probably the best meal we had on the island. We tried Nyama for the first time and we especially enjoyed the tuna and foie starter and the duck entree literally fell off the bone, it was delicious. We had a long luxurious lunch at Ti' Corail. It was lovely but the lobster rolls were a disappointment - very little lobster. And the reservation and need to confirm over and over was a bit odd. We also ate at Eddy's twice (we love the aesthetic there) and we enjoyed our meals (though this was on of the few places were they asked for an extra tip). We discovered Chez Gus and really enjoyed that experience as well. It was packed with young French every night and we loved the very French-inspired menu, which offered some options like Veal stew, etc not seen elsewhere.
We miss Santa Fe so much as nothing was better than the food and view there. We tried to contact Le Grain de Sel almost every day but no one ever picked up and unfortunately Kiki e Mo was closed June 1-June 13 so missed that. Le Select was as expected. We ate a lot of things at Le Petite Colombe and while their attitudes have improved we think the food quality has gone down.
We did most of our food shopping at the Super U, which was usually crowded but had plenty of parking up on top.
We had pretty good weather throughout with only a bit of rain here and there mostly at night. We discover a great little street market the 1st Sunday of the month on Rue du General de Gaulle, which we would recommend if you are around at that time.
We of course had a great time and we can't wait to get back. We've been all over the Caribbean but once we discovered St. Barth in 2006, it ruined us for every where else. Glad to answer any questions. Cheers!