General Info St Barts

General Information 

Location: French West Indies (Leeward islands). Eleven miles southeast of St Martin.

Longitude: 62 50' 0" W Longitude: 17 52' 0" N

Language: French (English spoken everywhere)

Capital City: Gustavia

Population: 8450

Area: 8 square miles

St Barts Post Offices: St Barts has one main post office with two branches located in Lorient and St Jean..

Time Zone: Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-4). One hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time except during daylight savings time when the time is the same as EST.

Currency: Euros (US dollars accepted)

Electrical Current: 220 volts. Converters needed for US appliances.

Telephone code: 590 (If dialing from USA then 011 590-590 plus six digit number)

St Barts Security and Health

St Barts is known for the safety and lack of crime on the island. However, we still encourage our guests to be smart. Lock up valuables in your safe, keep the villa locked and do not leave valuables in the car.

St Barts has a small hospital in Gustavia for triage and acute care with eight resident doctors. A radiology lab also exists on the island. Pharmacies are located at La Savane Commerical (Phone: 059 027 6661) center and in Gustavia (Phone: 059 027 6182)

St Barts Gas Stations

Only two gas stations can be found on the island. The gas station near the St Jean airport closes at 5PM each night and closed Sundays. The other gas station is in Lorient. The hours are the same but this station does NOT accept credit cards.

St Barts Shopping Hours

St Barts boasts dozens of boutiques and luxury shops. The island is duty free offering a means to save some money buying luxury goods. The main shopping area is in Gustavia offering chic and haute couture shopping with stores such as Hermes, Dior and Cartier. Villa Creole in St Jean is another shopping destination. The store hours on St Barts are from 9AM until 12 noon. The stores reopen at 2:30 PM until 7PM. On Saturday, the stores are only open from 9Am to 12:30PM. Stores are closed on Sundays.

For grocery shopping and villa stocking, we would suggest the Match supermarket across from the airport.  St Barts Blue can arrange for villa pre-stocking for a cost of 60 euros plus cost of groceries.  Your villa will be stocked awaiting your arrival.

St Barts Transportation

The island has ample taxis and rental cars. We encourage guests to rent a car. The island is small and relatively easy to get around. Parking and turning around can be difficult. The island has steep hills and make sure that your air conditioning is turned off if you are struggling up a hill. The small cylinder rental cars can have difficulty climbing the hills at times. Be careful after a mid day rainfall as the roads can be slippery.