St. Barths

1. ~9:00a●A French island breakfast

   A buttery croissant and café crème at a Gustavia café — St Barths is wholly French, and the pastry proves it.

2. ~10:30a→Gustavia harbour

   The pretty Swedish-colonial port lined with superyachts — red-roofed boutiques, the harbourside, and the old fort, the island's chic little capital.

3. ~12:00p◇Designer boutiques

   St Barths is a serious shopping island — the French fashion houses and jewellers of Gustavia and St Jean, tax-free and yacht-glamorous.

4. ~1:30p●Lunch at a beach club

   The island institution — a long, stylish lunch at Nikki Beach or a St Jean beach club, rosé on ice and the beautiful crowd.

5. ~4:00p✦Shell Beach & a sunset apéro

   The pink-shell beach below Gustavia for a swim, then a harbourside or clifftop bar for the sunset and a glass of Champagne.

6. 8:00p✦Restaurant at Eden Rock (or L'Isola)Anchor table

   The island's celebrated dining — Eden Rock's refined French-Caribbean (long a Jean-Georges kitchen) or top Italian at L'Isola. The marquee meal; book ahead, dress with flair.

St Barths is the Caribbean's most glamorous, most French island — Gustavia's harbour and boutiques set the tone. It runs late and stylish; lunch at a beach club is a scene in itself.

1. ~9:30a✦The wild southern beaches

   The island's most beautiful, undeveloped strands — Anse de Grande Saline and Anse du Gouverneur, reached by a short walk over the hill, no buildings in sight.

2. ~12:00p●A beach-shack lunch

   A relaxed lunch at a Saline beach bistro — grilled fish, a salad niçoise, and chilled rosé, sand underfoot.

3. ~2:00p✦Hike to Colombier Beach

   The cliff trail to secluded Colombier, reachable only on foot or by boat — once a Rockefeller hideaway, now an empty, snorkel-rich cove.

4. ~4:00p✦Snorkel & swim

   The clear water off Colombier or the reef at Petit Cul-de-Sac — turtles, rays, and reef fish in the island's quieter corners.

5. ~7:30p●Dinner in Gustavia

   A harbourside table for French-Caribbean cuisine and a Provençal wine, the yacht lights on the water.

St Barths' southern beaches (Saline, Gouverneur) are the wild, beautiful counterpoint to the glamour — no development, just sand and sea. Colombier is the island's secret, reachable only on foot or by boat.

1. ~9:00a✦A day sail to Île Fourchue

   A catamaran or yacht charter to the uninhabited horseshoe island of Île Fourchue — a protected anchorage for swimming and snorkelling, the St Barths skyline behind.

2. ~11:30a✦Snorkel the marine reserve

   The island's protected waters — coral, turtles, and reef fish in clear Caribbean blue, off the back of the boat.

3. ~1:00p●A long lunch on board

   A gourmet lunch at anchor — fresh seafood, French cheese, and Champagne, with a swim between courses.

4. ~4:00p✦Sail back at golden hour

   The cruise home as the light turns, the yachts of Gustavia glinting ahead.

5. ~8:00p●A chic dinner

   A stylish island dinner — a beach-club table or a hillside restaurant with the lights of the bay below.

St Barths is a yachting island at heart — a day on the water to Île Fourchue or the nearby cays is the quintessential experience. Charter ahead in high season, when the harbour fills with the world's superyachts.