The Caribbean, in French
St Barths
Twenty-five square kilometres of hills, coves and villas, a harbour full of the largest yachts in the world at New Year, and the best restaurants in the Caribbean by a distance.
French West Indies, France
St Barths is France with better weather: the food, the wine, the manners and the tax status all come from the mainland, and the beaches, Saline, Gouverneur, Colombier, come from the Caribbean. The island is small and steep and almost entirely made of villas, which is how we work here: a house in the hills above Gustavia or on the beach at Flamands, with a car, a cook and a boat on call.
New Year is a spectacle and a logistics problem. Every villa is booked a year ahead, the harbour fills with 100-metre yachts, and a dinner table on the 31st is arranged in the spring. Outside the three peak weeks the island is calm, and February and March are its best months.
Getting in is the adventure: the runway is short, the approach is steep and the flight from St Maarten takes ten minutes. We arrange the jet into St Maarten and the hop across, timed so nobody waits.
Best months
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air °C | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Sea °C | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
Worth knowing
What we arrange
St Barths, day by day
The experiences the desk actually books here, tagged by what they are for. The itinerary builder turns them into a plan.
Saline beach
A walk over the dune to the island’s best beach, no restaurant, no beds, an umbrella carried in.
seaLunch at the beach clubs
Nikki or Le Sereno on Grand Cul-de-Sac, or a quieter table on Saint-Jean, the car waiting.
diningBoat day to Colombier
The cove reachable only by sea or on foot, the anchor down at ten, lunch aboard, a swim.
seaDinner in Gustavia
One of the island’s serious kitchens above the harbour, the yachts lit below, seated at nine.
diningHiking to Colombier at dawn
The path from Petite Anse, forty minutes, the beach empty, a swim, the walk back before the heat.
activeGustavia and the fort
The Swedish harbour town with a guide, the fort, the shops, coffee on the quay.
cultureSurf lesson at Lorient
A morning in the small waves of the north coast with an instructor, for teenagers and adults.
familySpa at the villa
Two therapists to the terrace at five, the sea going pink, dinner after.
wellnessA night at the harbour bars
The bars along the quay, the table, the walk between them, the driver up the hill.
nightlifeThe calendar
By the numbers
From the collection
Houses in St Barths
St Barths
A week in St Barths, planned to the hour.
A first answer within the hour, a full proposal within 48 hours.
The Sunday note
One short letter a week, on a Sunday
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