Saint-Jean
The bay where St Barth’s small planes touch down, a hotel raised on a rock in 1953 by the aviator the airstrip is named after, and the harbour a few minutes over the hill.
- Arrival
- Princess Juliana, St Maarten · SXM
- To the bay
- About 15 minutes by air from SXM to the airstrip
- Private jets
- Jets stop at SXM; small aircraft fly on
- Best time
- December to August
The city
Between the airstrip and the rock.
Saint-Jean is the bay in the middle of St Barthélemy, with the runway at one end and a rocky headland at the other. Both carry the mark of Rémy de Haenen, artist and aviator: the airstrip bears his name, and on the headland he built a hotel in 1953 whose early guests included Greta Garbo and Howard Hughes.
The beach hotels share the bay between them, Eden Rock on its rock, Le Village and Pearl Beach on the sand, the Tropical on the slope above. Gustavia is about six minutes’ drive from the airport, and the lagoon at Grand Cul-de-Sac and the north shore at Flamands are close by.
Arriving
Jets to St Maarten, then a short hop.
The island’s only airstrip, Rémy de Haenen, sits at the head of Saint-Jean bay, run by the Collectivité with an AFIS service. Its runway is about 650 metres long, no jets use it, and pilots need a specific qualification before landing there.
- San Juan 50 min
- Barbados 1 h 10
- Mexico City 5 h 15
- São Paulo 6 h 40 long-range jet
- Nice 9 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
December to August.
Afternoons on the bay stay between 29 and 31 °C in every month, and the water from 26 to 29 °C. December to August is the drier run, February and March the least rainy of all. Autumn is wetter, with September to November each over 100 mm, inside the June to November hurricane season.
- 29° J 63 26°
- 29° F 43 26°
- 29° M 43 26°
- 30° A 65 27°
- 30° M 95 27°
- 31° J 62 28°
- 31° J 76 28°
- 31° A 100 28°
- 31° S 129 29°
- 31° O 109 29°
- 30° N 126 28°
- 29° D 89 27°
What to see and do
Days in and around Saint-Jean.
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Landmark
Baie de Saint-Jean
A long curve of sand between the airstrip and the headland, with the island’s beach hotels along it.
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Landmark
Eden Rock
The promontory Rémy de Haenen bought in 1953, rebuilt after Hurricane Irma and reopened in 2019.
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Landmark
Gustavia
The old Swedish harbour town, about six minutes by road from the airport.
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On the water
Grand Cul-de-Sac lagoon
Sheltered by a coral reef and mostly one to three metres deep, the lagoon is the centre for kitesurfing, windsurfing, paddleboarding and snorkelling over seagrass.
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Nature
Grande Saline
Behind the second largest beach of the island lies a former salt pond, worked until 1972, where shorebirds and Little Terns gather.
Official site -
Nature
Morne de Vitet
A footpath from the old village of Vitet climbs to the summit of the island, 286 metres up, looking over the bays to Saint Martin.
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Culture
Wall House Museum
Since 1995 the restored Wall House has held the territorial collection on island history, from the Swedish years to salt making and straw work.
Official site -
On the water
Réserve naturelle de Saint-Barthélemy
Divers and snorkellers explore this 1,200 hectare marine reserve, set up in 1996 around the islets off the west coast.
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Opera & music
Saint-Barth Music Festival
Opera, ballet, chamber music and jazz come to the island churches and an open-air stage in Lorient for about ten days every January.
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Food & wine
Saint-Barth Gourmet Festival
Each November chefs from abroad join the kitchens of island restaurants for a week of guest dinners.
On the calendar
A date to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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17–21 Mar 2027
Sailing
St Barths Bucket
Regatta for large sailing superyachts based in Gustavia harbour, with four days of racing from 18 to 21 March 2027.
Port of Gustavia, Gustavia, about 2 km away
In 4 months
Where to stay
On the bay, and a short drive beyond.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France A Palace on the Baie des Flamands and the island’s three-Key address in the MICHELIN selection.
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Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa Two MICHELIN Keys, on the sheltered lagoon of Grand Cul-de-Sac.
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Tropical Hotel St Barth On the slope above Saint-Jean bay, five stars and one MICHELIN Key.
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Le Sereno Christian Liaigre interiors beside the beach at Grand Cul-de-Sac, with one MICHELIN Key.
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Fouquet’s Saint-Barth Once Le Carl Gustaf, above the port of Gustavia, now with one MICHELIN Key.
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Eden Rock – St Barths De Haenen’s 1953 hotel on its promontory, owned by the Matthews family and run by Oetker since 2014; in the MICHELIN selection without a Key.
- Le Village St Barth A four-star hotel on the bay of Saint-Jean.
- Pearl Beach Hôtel Four stars, on the sand of Saint-Jean bay.
Where to dine
The best tables near the bay.
No MICHELIN Guide covers St Barth. These are Fodor’s Choice restaurants, all in Fodor’s top price band.
- L’Esprit Fodor’s Choice French $$$$ Grande Saline, about 2.5 km south-east
- Bonito Fodor’s Choice Franco-Peruvian $$$$ Gustavia, about 2 km west
- La Case Fodor’s Choice French $$$$ Cheval Blanc, Flamands, about 3.5 km north-west
- Abyss Fodor’s Choice French $$$$ Le Barthélemy, Grand Cul-de-Sac, about 4 km east
Elsewhere in Saint Barthélemy
More reasons to come.
Flying to Saint-Jean?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.