Saint Barthélemy
TerritoryAdministered by: France
“Twenty-one square kilometres of France with the most alarming runway in the Caribbean”
Saint-Barthélemy is small — around 21 km² and 10,000 residents — and expensive in a way that is deliberate rather than accidental. It has no mass-market hotels, no cruise pier that can take the big ships, and a planning regime that keeps it that way. The result is a French island whose winter clientele arrives by yacht and whose summer is nearly empty.
It was Swedish from 1784 to 1878, which is why the capital is Gustavia and the street signs carry Swedish names alongside French ones. The airport is its other signature: aircraft clear the Col de la Tourmente by a few metres and drop onto a 650 m runway that ends at a beach, and pilots need a specific certification to fly it.
Highlights
The Saint Jean approach
Watch the landings from the wall on the Col de la Tourmente or from the beach at the runway end — the most photographed approach in the Caribbean after Maho.
Gustavia
A Swedish-founded harbour town of red roofs and green shutters, with three forts, a small municipal museum and a superyacht quay.
Colombier beach
Reachable only on foot or by boat — a twenty-minute cliff walk from Petite Anse, and the reason it stays empty.
Saline and Gouverneur
Two undeveloped bays behind dunes and hills, with no bar, no lounger and no building in sight.
When to go
JanPeak season; the harbour is full of yachts.
FebDry, breezy and very busy.
MarBucket Regatta; the island at its most social.
Getting in
Checking your passport…
Before you fly
Passport Index dataset
What it costs
A day in Saint Barthélemy
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $324
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 55 countries we have costed
Christmas and New Year multiply rates several times over and require minimum stays. September and October, much of the island is closed.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis — Saint-Barth tourism listings, ferry tariffs (2025–2026) · confidence low
Excludes international flights — they depend on where you fly from.
Regions to know
5Gustavia
The harbour, the forts, the shops and the ferry dock.
Saint Jean
The airport, the beach beside it and most of the island's bustle.
Lorient and Grand Cul-de-Sac
The quieter east: surf beach, lagoon and kite school.
Saline and Gouverneur
Two undeveloped south-coast bays behind dunes.
Colombier
The walk-in beach at the north-west tip.
Practical guide
Getting there
Gustaf III (SBH) takes light aircraft only, mostly from Sint Maarten. Ferries run several times daily from Marigot and Oyster Pond.
Getting around
A small hire car or a scooter; the island is crossed in fifteen minutes. Taxis are limited and expensive.
Money & costs
Euro. Cards everywhere. Prices are the highest in the Caribbean by a clear margin.
Safety
Very low crime. The roads are steep, narrow and the main hazard.
Health
A small hospital in Gustavia; anything serious goes to Sint Maarten or Guadeloupe. Insurance essential.
SIM & internet
Good 4G. EU roaming does not apply since the 2012 status change — check with your operator.
Driving
The island limit is 45 km/h everywhere and the hills are steep enough that small hire cars struggle two-up with luggage.
Rules change — verify with an official source before you rent.
No verified partners here yet — all 6 country seats are open.
Before you go
Saint BarthélemyFrequently asked questions
Is Saint-Barthélemy in the EU?
No, not since 2012, when it left outermost-region status to become an Overseas Country and Territory. It kept the euro and it is still France, but it is outside the EU customs and VAT area — which is part of why goods are priced the way they are.
How do I get there?
Small aircraft from Sint Maarten, San Juan or Antigua, or the ferry from Sint Maarten in about 45 minutes. The runway takes nothing larger than a twenty-seater.
Can it be done on a budget?
Not really, but it can be done cheaply as a day trip by ferry from Sint Maarten — the beaches are public, the walk to Colombier is free, and the harbour costs nothing to look at.