St. Barths Airport

St. Barths Airport
Gateway to Paradise

St. Barths. Short for St. Barthelemy, St. Barths was settled by Norman fishermen and has developed its very French personality, but with beautiful beaches in addition to excellent cuisine as well as paparazzi seeking visiting celebrities.

Airport. The Gustaf III Airport (SBH) (0590/27-75-81) receives no private planes and only day time local flights, mostly from St. Maarten/ St. Martin, but also flights from San Juan and St. Thomas. Return flights should be confirmed upon arrival and any delayed luggage will be picked up later by your hotel (photo: wiol.com).

Taxis and Rental Cars. Taxis are available at the airport, but are expensive and often hard to arrange, especially in the evening. Rental cars, the most economical way to get around, are available at the airport.

Local Carriers. Flights leave at least once an hour during the day. Most flights connect St. Maarten's Queen Juliana International Airport (see arrivals live here). Local carriers and charterers include Winair, St. Barth Commuter, Tradewind, Air Antilles and Air Caraibes (which connects the French West Indies). Passengers with carry-on luggage only (or checked through luggage) may avoid immigration at St. Maarten airport. Luggage may be flown later if aircraft weight limits are reached by the passenger load, so carry on an Overnight Bag.

Ferry Service. Ferry service is available from St. Martin (and Saba as well) on Voyager and from St. Maarten on Rapid Explorer. Conventional ferries ($60) take about 75 minutes for the trip, while fast catamaran ferries (75 euros) take about 40 minutes.

Gustavia and Port de Pleasance. Gustavia, the capital of St. Barths, offers an elegant ambiance and its Port de Pleasance is an attractive cruise port destination.

St. Barths Cruise Port

Due to the small size of Port Pleasance, cruise passengers are tendered in by launches and other small boats (photo: CruiseTimetables).

Destination Cruises. Holland America's Maasdam (see info and rates) visits St. Barths from Fort Lauderdale. The Maasdam is a smaller ship with two-tier Rotterdam dining room and other excellent dining choices. Seabourn's Sojourn (see info and rates) visits from Fort Lauderdale and Seabourn's Spirit (see info and rates) visits from St. Maarten and Barbados. Lavishly-appointed, these all-suite Seabourn ships offer ultra-luxury cruises limited to 104 couples for the ultimate in romance.

Accommodations. With a 12 room limit on new hotels, St. Barths has the ambiance of an tropical French village on the Riviera (see info and rates). See highly rated Hotel Guanahani and Spa (see rates-low price guarantee) as well as Le Manapany Cottages & Spa (see rates-low price guarantee.

Multi-National Archipelago. The nearby islands of St. Maarten/St. Martin, Anguilla, St. Eustatius (Statia) and Saba are well worth a day trip or side excursion. Sharing St. Maarten/St. Martin's dual Dutch/French, multi-national personality, Saba and Statia are Dutch and Anguilla is British, while St. Barths is French.

Delays and Overnight Bag. Luggage and flights may be delayed so carry on an overnight bag with a day's necessities, including medicines, clothing and a bathing suit as well as reading material and snacks if desired.