St. Barth's Insider

Some places are photographed so often or otherwise overexposed that they can disappoint when visited for the first time. But certain locations, like Paris and St. Barth’s, live up to their legend and continue to delight the first-time traveler. The small French island in the West Indies has been called the St.-Tropez of the Caribbean, but that doesn’t do it justice because it’s not an imitation of any place. St. Barth’s has a rhythm of its own that mixes l’art de vivre with a laid-back tropical ease.

The heady recipe for St. Barth’s charm was revealed to me on two mornings on a recent trip there. On one I woke up at the Eden Rock hotel and went down to the beachfront restaurant to get my morning latte. As a photographer shot two models in flowing white on the beach, a bronzed couple of a certain age arrived. Both were fantastically fit; she wore a white bikini and dark glasses, he had on bathing trunks with a bright-green-and-pink print and under one arm carried a Yorkie with barrettes in its hair. They were spending two months at Eden Rock, and their tans revealed their primary daytime activity. Meanwhile, from behind his camera with a large telephoto lens, the photographer shouted instructions at his obliging beauties; the motto on the back of his tank top summed up the moment, at least I imagined it did, for the couple, with the words: “successful living.”

The previous morning, I had followed the advice of a friend and taken a path away from the chic and into the wild. After stopping for croissants at the La Petite Colombe bakery, I headed to Saline Beach. With the road to myself, I passed marshlands, heard a rooster crow and smelled the smoke of burning brush. I left my car by the marshes and hiked a sandy path under of canopy of dune trees. An aging French surfer, still muscled but with gray streaks in his longish hair, trotted by with his board under his arm. “Salut,” he said. The locals race here to catch waves or swim naked before going to work. But for one lone walker and a couple at the far western sweep of the beach, I had the vast expanse to myself. Those two differing mornings captured the contrast that makes the island so magical. On two different beaches, only a few miles apart, you can find glamour in its most stylized form or you can exult in raw natural beauty. As one friend said, “It’s not a vacation; it’s a lifestyle that you adopt for a while.”

It’s easy to miss the quieter side of St. Barth’s, but its existence is a key to the allure for all visitors—even the bronzed and the brash who descend over the holidays. Because I’d argue that if the island didn’t have this savage, unspoiled side left, so many of the locals wouldn’t stay and be so happy. And their enthusiastic hospitality, almost giddiness, are part of what makes visiting here so great. I often get the feeling that the islanders have the smiles of those who share a secret. One friend said to me, “Yeah, it’s knowing how much cash they’re taking off you.” But I think it’s that we remind them of how lucky they are to live on St. Barth’s when we only get to visit. They should be smiling: they have a permanent address in a true paradise.

When to Go

The high season starts with Christmas and New Year’s, which is packed with A-listers. Hotels and villas are booked a year in advance, and have up to two-week minimums (and the highest rates of the year). The rest of the winter can be crowded, too, but nothing is as crazy as the frantic last week of December and the first week of January. Many homeowners flee then and rent out their houses. Holiday weekends in January and February can be busy as well, and the weeks of U.S. school spring vacations and Easter are very popular. From April through mid-August, rates go way down, and many Europeans come for the summer, as the island is similar to the South of France but quieter and less expensive. Last summer, most luxury hotels were close to full in August. May can be quiet, and August is the hottest month; most everything shuts down at the end of August until mid-October. It’s the most likely time for hurricanes. In September and October, islanders take their vacations and get ready to recharge for the upcoming season.

Getting Around

The roads are windy, hilly and narrow—and given how often you pass drivers juggling cigarettes and cell phones while they drive, it’s amazing that car accidents don’t happen more frequently. The best resorts and villas all offer airport transfers, but if you plan to explore or eat out often, you will want to rent a car. Prime choices are the Minis and Smart Cars, as they are easier to maneuver on the narrow roads and to squeeze into parking spots. You can call taxis but as they are not plentiful, you’ll end up waiting for them to arrive.

Dress Code

Warnings about sun damage seemed not to have reached St. Barth’s. Men and women alike sport bronzed skin and fashions that make the most of it. Women wear bikinis (regardless of their figure) and cover-ups, from the super clingy crocheted to flowing caftans with embroidery or sequins. For men, the daytime uniform tends to be brightly printed bathing trunks of the Vilebrequin variety, or longish shorts with linen shirts. Evening dress remains casual and sexy. You’ll see women in white pants and flirty tops or filmy dresses with strappy sandals or wedges. It’s linen shirts or printed cotton ones for men with long pants and flip-flops or leather moccasins, preferably from Laurent Effel. The aim is a kind of natural, effortless beauty that looks seductive just off the beach and freshly showered.