St Barths confuses you before anything at all else, since of the different spellings of the exact same name. Have you ever wondered whether or not St Barths, was in truth the same as St Barts, or for that matter St Barthelemy. Effectively in that case be reassured that all are a single and a single 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 getting only eight square miles in dimension, but like several other small things this kind of as valuable stones it is very prized and costly which is why it has become a retreat for the rich and popular., rock stars, pop stars, and even royalty.
This should not prevent you from going due to the fact it is a spectacular tiny island with lovely white sand beaches, turquoise sea, and pristine coral reefs, and but is extremely much far more akin to the South of France than the Caribbean.
The reason of course for this is the fact that St Barts and France have been closely linked for centuries and till this day it is nevertheless component of the French overseas area of Guadeloupe. Oddly sufficient St Barths was as soon as one particular of Sweden's handful of overseas outposts virtually 3 hundred years in the past, but other than the identify of its red roofed capital Gustavia couple of reminders stay.
The principal point to do on a St Barths Trip is to relax on the beach, and regardless of the minute size of the island there are more than twenty spectacular seashores. These selection from the bustling St Jean and Grand Cul de sac to the far more private Grand Saline, Gouvernier and Flamands. If what you are searching for is entirely secluded bliss then go to Anse Colombier which can only be reached by boat or a half hour hike. You will locate 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 strong French connections also implies that visitors would do nicely to be capable to converse in French, and the currency is not the us vacation spots (felixcouch.blog.com) dollar but the Euro. Apart from the language the most clear signal of the French influence is in the cuisine, and it is remarkable to find out it has a lot more than 60 gourmet eating places. An additional shock is that a lot of of the population is white and most residents are French Citizens.
There are considerable restrictions now imposed on hotel creating, so no hotels can now be built with more than twelve rooms and so the greatest hotel which is the Guanahani with 76 rooms won't ever be observed once again. There are no large chain hotels on St Barths, and several individuals go for the extremely upmarket villas.