Officially part of France, Saint Barthélemy is a small and exclusive island known best as a winter resort for celebrities and the very wealthy. French is the main language, but English is also widely spoken here as many Hollywood stars and other rich Americans and Brits choose to escape the riff-raff here.

There are excellent beaches and the usual selection of scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, and other water sports. The restaurants here are known as some of the best in all of the Caribbean, with traditional French cuisine being the most prominent since even more permanent residents are of French decent.

Saint Barthélemy is known as the most expensive island in all of the Caribbean and probably the best place to see celebrities as well. If you can afford it and you don’t mind having to switch planes at least once in the Caribbean to get here, it’s hard to beat this place.

Where to stay

Saint Barthélemy has about 30 hotels, almost all of which are small, and most of which are very expensive, even for the Caribbean. However, this island is known more for rental villas than hotels, and those can range from modest to mansions. It’s a small island mostly catering to the super-rich so it would be a poor choice for those that need to keep expenses low.

Getting there

Saint Barthélemy has one small airport, which is not large enough for long-haul planes from North America or Europe. All visitors without a private plane will have to fly into the Caribbean first and then hop a small aircraft for a short flight to Saint Barthélemy.

Nonstop flights from:
San Juan, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe, St. Thomas