Beautiful St. Barth's

Day 5 aboard Windstar Cruise's Wind Surf (Barbados Northbound).

It’s about 4:00 p.m. and the Wind Surf leaves St. Barth’s in its wake in about half an hour. This was another fantastic day.

St. Barth’s is beautiful! It's also an enclave for the rich (make that super-rich) and famous. Just walk along the dock at Gustavia (where the Wind Surf tender drops off visitors) and you'll see mega-yachts from all over the world. This is a French outpost, but most locals also speak English. (Learn more about St. Barthelemy here.)

Yachts moored at Gustavia, St. Barthelemy.

Gustavia is a cute little village with lots of restaurants, duty free boutiques, and specialty shops.

We had originally planned to rent a car, but thankfully changed our minds. The roads are incredibly narrow and steep! The mountainous terrain can be intimidating to drivers, especially the areas that lack guardrails. Here's the type of car you can rent (see below).

Instead of renting a car, we opted to ride the shuttle. For $15 per person, you can hop on and hop off the small minivan and visit different parts of the island. The trip provided a great overview and we were able to get off the van whenever we saw something of interest.

Here's a photo of the airport which is affectionately called "La Torment." I'm so glad we sailed here instead of flying!

The beaches are lovely but a few are tougher to reach than others. For example, you'll need to hike a bit to get to Colombier (but we heard it was worth the effort; we'll head there next time).

Many Wind Surf passengers walked to nearby Shell Beach to enjoy some snorkeling. Others went to La Saline, Gouverneur beach, and Grand Cul de Sac lagoon.

We visited Saint Jean Beach so we could also check out Eden Rock Hotel (below).

The sails should unfurl at any minute, so we’re heading topside to watch. Tomorrow we visit Basse Terre and Ile des Saintes, Guadeloupe.

Photos © Leonard Hospidor. Please do not use without permission.