St Barths confuses you ahead of something else, due to the fact of the various spellings of the exact same title. Have you ever wondered no matter whether St Barths, was in fact the same as St Barts, or for that matter St Barthelemy. Effectively in that case be reassured that all are one particular and one are all.
St Barthelemy is element of the French West Indies just north of the lesser Antilles near St Martin/St Maarten and St Kitts and Nevis. St Barts is a small island becoming only eight square miles in dimension, but like several other little issues this kind of as treasured stones it is extremely prized and high-priced which is why it has become a retreat for the rich and renowned., rock stars, pop stars, and even royalty.
This shouldn't prevent you from going since it is a beautiful tiny island with beautiful white sand beaches, turquoise sea, and pristine coral reefs, and however is quite much much more akin to the South of France than the Caribbean.
The explanation of program for this is the truth that St Barts and France have been closely connected for centuries and until finally this day it is even now portion of the French overseas region of Guadeloupe. Oddly ample St Barths was when a single of Sweden's couple of overseas outposts practically 3 hundred many years in the past, but other than the title of its red roofed capital Gustavia few reminders continue to be.
The principal factor to do on a St Barths Getaway is to loosen up on the beach, and despite the minute dimension of the island there are much more than twenty spectacular beaches. These range tropical family vacations (http://felixcouch.blog.com) from the bustling St Jean and Grand Cul de sac to the much more private Grand Saline, Gouvernier and Flamands. If what you are hunting for is totally secluded bliss then go to Anse Colombier which can only be reached by boat or a half hour hike. You will discover topless sunbathing, right after all this is France in the Caribbean, so if it embarrasses you, then stay away from Shell and Marechal Seashores.
The robust French connections also signifies that site visitors would do properly to be in a position to converse in French, and the currency is not the US dollar but the Euro. Apart from the language the most obvious signal of the French influence is in the cuisine, and it is impressive to discover it has a lot more than 60 gourmet dining establishments. An additional surprise is that several of the population is white and most residents are French Citizens.
There are considerable restrictions now imposed on hotel developing, so no hotels can now be created with more than 12 rooms and so the most significant hotel which is the Guanahani with 76 rooms won't ever be noticed yet again. There are no big chain hotels on St Barths, and many folks go for the extremely upmarket villas.