Day trip: Planning for St. Barths
You’ll remember me talking all about Trans Anguilla Airways’ offerings last week, including their services to St. Barths, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis. When I found out there were flights from AXA, I made it my personal mission to get some things scheduled so we could explore the region a bit more. I’ve learned an important travel lesson: if you don’t book your travel, it will never happen. You can be very well-intentioned, but life has this funny way of getting in the way; there’s always something more important than a getaway to consider. However, if you book the trip, you plan your commitments around it and realize that it is possible to escape for a day — or even a couple of days — without the world falling apart. We’ve had so many commitments in the US over the past year that exploring the Caribbean hasn’t been the most feasible endeavor. With day trips and weekend getaways now being an option from Anguilla, we’re slowly but surely getting our calendars set up with regional getaways.
Our first trip? St. Barths.
I had long been talking about visiting our little neighbor the south but we never quite got around to it. I always think Anguilla is a small island (33 sq. miles, pop. <15,000) but St. Barths’ population is roughly half that of Anguilla.
We booked this St. Barths excursion so we could experience the flight into SBH and get a little taste of the island. I had eschewed the idea of a day trip, figuring that a weekend trip would be more reasonable to sightsee and experience the island. However, when I gave it a bit more thought, I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what I would do with a weekend in St. Barths.
Beaches? Yeah, we have those in Anguilla and they’re pretty hard to beat. Food? Yeah, again, we have some great dining here and the prices aren’t as frightening as those in St. Barths (which is saying something since dining in Anguilla is generally far from affordable). Shopping? As much as I want to explore St. Barths’ shopping scene, something tells me that my wallet doesn’t feel the same. Glitz and nightlife seem like the main draw to me. Getting dressed up in Anguilla feels bizarre. Since the island is so casual, getting dolled up for an evening out is not the norm. Even for the nicest outings, I can get away with shorts and a blouse (a simultaneously wonderful and sad reality). That minidress that’s been sitting in my closet unworn since our move? St. Barths seems like a good place to put it to use.
During this trip, we won’t be experiencing the nightlife, of course, but we will get to scope out the shopping, the beaches, the food and the general scene in a quickie 6-hour stint. The island’s so small that getting around is really a simple task. We’re opting to cab in lieu of renting a car (for time and simplicity’s sake), but if St. Barths is anything like Anguilla, renting a car probably makes financial sense for getting around. Right now our biggest question is lunch at Nikki Beach, Eden Rock or Le Toiny?
Check back on Wednesday to see pictures from the flight, our day, and how we spend six hours on the glitzy isle of St. Barths.
xoxo from Anguilla,
