Getting to St. Barts / Getting to St. Barth
Getting to St. Barts means going through St. Maarten. St. Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is one of the largest airports in the Caribbean and is extremely easy to get to. US Airways, United, American, Continental, Delta, and Northwest all serve St. Maarten. SXM opens a brand new, fancy, terminal in Fall of 2006.
(Please note: folks with large wallets can also chart a flight out of San Juan. Wimco, the villa rental company, offers a chartered service from San Juan to St. Barts.)
To get from St. Maarten to St. Barts, you have a choice of boat or airplane:
By Airplane
Luckily, St. Barts performed a large reconstruction project on the island airfield in September of 2005 because it's an interesting place to land. You are landing on the side of a mountain. Overshoot... you're in the water. WINAIR and Air Caraibes serve St. Bart's SBH airport.
Warning... both St. Maarten in general and Winair in specific are pretty lax about times and reservations. Arrive early and if there is not an attendent maning their booths, search out a Winair representative. Don't wait for them to find you!
Charter flights by airplane and helicopter are expensive but more convenient. St-Barth Commuter can be chartered.
The landing at SBH is kind of scary... but it's done with such regularity that there's no need to have fear. (See photos on the right).
By Boat
There's a fast catamaran ferry from Chesterfield Marina called the HC Katia. The trip takes about 35 minutes to St Barth.
The MV Voyager leaves from Marigot and makes two daily trips to St. Barths. The editor of this website most scary ordeal of our lives aboard the Voyager during a storm with huge seas. The crew handled it impecibly, however I feared for our lives.
Our recommendation is to take Winair or the new high speed ferry. Don't be afraid to stay a day in St. Maarten if there's any sign of a storm.
Airfare Prices to St. Barth
Typical, off-season round trip to St. Martin is approximately $500 from the States. We used a 2-stop, mid-March (high season) itinerary from Chicago (ORD) to St. Martin (SXM) and used Expedia. We found 610.90 as the cheapest. You can click here to do your own search.
Getting Around St. Barth:
St. Barts doesn't really have resorts. There are some, to be sure, but most visitors stay in Villas. That means you need to be able to get around and visit all of the great beaches.
Our suggestion is to rent a car. Your hotel or Villa provider can arrange this for you. The cars are actually Japanese brand small jeeps. It's nice because St. Bart's roads are pretty hilly and it's helpful to have 4x4 (but not essential).
Learn more about traveling to St. Barthelemy: Getting to St. Barts, staying in St. Barts, attractions (beaches), photos, weather and news.