Saint Barthelemy Beaches and Access: Gouverneur Perfection, St. Jean Airport Beach, Eden Rock Design Hotel, Flamands Calm, Swedish Colonial Heritage, and the Turboprop Arrival
The Saint Barthelemy beach and access guide covers the world-ranked Gouverneur beach in its natural enclosure, the airport beach of St. Jean with the Eden Rock design hotel, the quiet Flamands northwest beach, the Swedish colonial heritage of Gustavia, and the practical arrival logistics via the 10-minute Winair turboprop from Sint Maarten.
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Gouverneur Beach: The Secret South
Anse du Gouverneur on the south coast of Saint Barthelemy, accessible by a steep road descending from the Gustavia heights and consistently rated among the ten finest beaches in the world, is the most secluded and most beautiful beach accessible by road on the island, with the fine white sand, the enclosed natural bay backed by the green volcanic hills, and the complete absence of commercial development creating the pure natural beach experience that makes Saint Barthelemy the aspiration of the Caribbean beach connoisseur.
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St. Jean Beach: The Airport Beach
St. Jean beach on the north coast, the 800-meter beach adjacent to the Saint Barthelemy Gustaf III Airport where the landing aircraft pass at extremely low altitude over the beach in the second-most dramatic aircraft-and-beach experience in the Caribbean after Maho, combines the beach with the Eden Rock hotel, the Tom Beach Hotel, the Nikki Beach club, and the beach restaurants that create the most complete beach resort environment on the island. The reef breakwater creates the calm water section for the non-surfer.
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Eden Rock: The Most Photographed Hotel
Eden Rock, the Saint Barthelemy hotel built into the volcanic rock formation above St. Jean Bay and designed by the late artist Gail Vellacott with each room as a distinct art environment in the rock formation, is the most photographed and most written-about small hotel in the Caribbean, with its rock outcrop silhouette, the 360-degree view from the bedroom windows, and the collection of art and memorabilia that makes each room a unique cultural environment. Eden Rock is the primary reason that the design press covers Saint Barthelemy.
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Flamands Beach: The Quiet Northwest
Anse des Flamands on the northwest coast of Saint Barthelemy, the longest beach on the island at approximately 600 meters and the most family-appropriate for the calm and shallow water, provides the quiet alternative to the St. Jean beach club scene in a setting backed by the Hotel Saint Barth Isle de France, one of the most elegant small resorts in the Caribbean. The Flamands beach is the preferred gathering point of the French and European visitors who seek the calm beach over the social scene of St. Jean.
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Saint Barthelemy History: Swedish and French Colonial Layers
Saint Barthelemy was sold by France to Sweden in 1784 and governed as a Swedish colony until it was repurchased by France in 1878, creating the dual colonial heritage visible in the Swedish place names of Gustavia, the Fort Karl, and the administrative buildings of the harbor front alongside the French colonial culture, language, and cuisine that dominate the contemporary island. The island is an overseas collectivity of France with EU membership, French currency, and the French passport.
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Practical Saint Barthelemy: How to Arrive and How Much It Costs
Saint Barthelemy is accessible by the Winair or Saint Barth Commuter turboprop from Sint Maarten Princess Juliana Airport in 10 minutes, by the Voyager or Great Bay Express high-speed ferry from Philipsburg in 45 minutes, or by private charter from the major Caribbean airports. The island has no all-inclusive resorts; the minimum hotel cost during the December to April season is approximately USD 400 per night at the entry-level guesthouses, rising to USD 3,000 to USD 10,000 for the premium properties.