St-Barthélemy Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Sea

Yacht

Those arriving by yacht can clear immigration at the port office (27-66-97), on the east side of Gustavia Harbor.

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Water

Ferry

The ferry service between St-Barthélemy and St-Martin/Sint Maarten is often very choppy – it’s a good idea to take motion-sickness pills beforehand. Your accommodation can usually reserve a seat for you on the boat for a minimal deposit; you simply pay the remaining part when you arrive at the pier for departure.

The main company is Voyager (in St-Martin 87-10-68, in Sint Maarten 542-4096; www.voy12.com), which has two modern high-speed boats. One leaves Marigot, St-Martin, at 9am and 6:15pm for the 1½-hour journey; it departs Gustavia at 7:15am and 4:30pm. On Sunday and Wednesday, the boat leaves from Captain Oliver’s Marina in Oyster Pond, St-Martin, and the ride is only 40 minutes. Fares are €58 one way, €67 for a same-day round-trip and €83 for a round-trip.

Also available is the high-speed catamaran, the Edge (in Sint Maarten 544-2640), which makes the 45-minute trip to Gustavia daily from Pelican Marina on Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, at 9am; it returns at 4pm. You need to check in 15 minutes in advance. A one-way trip costs US$45, a same-day round-trip is US$65, and a round-trip US$90. The US$15 departure tax is not included in the ticket price.

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Entering the destination

Entering st-barthélemy

Residents of EU countries need only a national identity card to enter St-Barth. Passports are needed for all other nationalities. See above for information on visas.

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Air

Located near the village of St-Jean, St-Barth’s only airport, Aéroport de St-Barthélemy (SBH; 27-65-41), has the second-shortest runway in the world (the shortest is on Saba). Only teeny-tiny puddle jumpers can land on the island, ensuring the impossibility of mass tourism.

The following airlines fly to and from St-Barth:

Air Antilles Express (27-71-77; www.airantilles.com) Fort-de-Franc, Pointe-à-Pitre, St-Martin/Sint Maarten

Air Caraïbes (87-14-80; www.aircaraibes.com) Fort-de-France, Havana, Marie-Galante, Panama City, Paris, Pointe-à-Pitre, Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo, St-Martin/Sint Maarten, San José, St Lucia

St Barth Commuter (27-54-54; www.stbarthcommuter.com) St-Martin/Sint Maarten; charter flights throughout the Caribbean also available

Winair (27-61-01; www.fly-winair.com) Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis, St-Martin/Sint Maartin, St Kitts, Sint Eustatius, Tortola

Charter airlines are also available:

Carib Aviation (in Antigua 268-462-3147)

Inter Island Express (in Puerto Rico 253-1400)

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