St Barths & St Martin
The Caribbean's glamour twins: Gustavia's superyacht-lined harbour, Colombier and Saline by day, Nikki Beach and the New Year's Eve fleet muster by night.
Twelve nautical miles apart, these two islands run Caribbean superyacht season between them. St Barths is the draw — Gustavia med-moored (stern-to the quay, anchor out ahead) gunwale to gunwale, Colombier and Saline empty and turquoise by day, Nikki Beach and Eden Rock lit up by night. St Martin, minutes away by air, supplies the deeper berths, the private-jet runway, and Grand Case's restaurant row when the fleet needs more than Gustavia can give it.
Signature anchorages
Five named holdings between the two islands, from the harbour scene itself to the quietest reserve.
- Gustavia Harbour & outer roadsteadMed-moor at the quay or anchor off; the main event — scene rather than shelter, especially New Year's Eve when 150–225+ superyachts over 24m gather.
- Anse de Colombier“Rockefeller's Cove,” boat- or trail-access only on the northwest tip; calm, protected marine reserve, the island's classic overnight holding.
- Anse de Grande SalineSouth-coast anchorage on calm NE-wind days; the island's most celebrated beach — no buildings, no restaurants, bring the tender and the picnic.
- Île FourchueUninhabited nature-reserve islet roughly 4nm off St Barths; free mooring balls, turtles and rays, one of the region's largest brown-booby colonies.
- Grand Case Bay, St MartinWide, protected bay off the restaurant town; dinghy moorings, no watersports restrictions — the fleet's dinner-ashore anchorage.
- Tintamarre, St MartinSmall uninhabited island 2 miles off St Martin's northeast coast; turquoise water and a good snorkel stop en route to Orient Bay.
The scene
Beach clubs, a classic-yacht regatta, and the single biggest date on the superyacht calendar.
Nikki Beach & Eden Rock
St Jean Bay packs Nikki Beach (white teepees, Rosé Fridays, since 2002), Eden Rock Beach Club and Le Ti St Barth's cabaret dinner-show into a few hundred metres of each other.
St Barths Bucket
Invitation-only classic-superyacht regatta, ~30–40 sailing yachts over 30m. 2026 edition 12–15 March, with a new optional fourth race day.
The Gustavia muster
The fleet's biggest night — 226 superyachts over 24m recorded for 2025–26; fireworks over Fort Oscar at midnight while the harbour sounds horns in unison.
The billionaire migration
An annual magnet for owners and celebrities alike, drawing a shifting cast of billionaires, musicians and film stars to the harbourside each New Year.
Bagatelle St Barth
French-Mediterranean waterfront dining with the island's liveliest late-evening room.
Gustavia, the free port
Ceded to Sweden in 1784, sold back to France in 1878; street signs still run bilingual French and Swedish.
Table & stay ashore
Bonito, Gustavia
Hillside over the harbour; French Pan-American seafood from chef-owner Laurent Cantineaux.
L'Isola, Gustavia
Authentic Italian in the heart of town, ingredients flown in from Italy, a noted wine list.
Grand Case, St Martin
The Caribbean's “food capital” — L'Auberge Gourmande, La Villa and the beachfront lolo grills in one strip.
Eden Rock — St Barths
The island's original hotel, St Jean Bay; 37 rooms, suites and villas, founded in the 1950s by aviator Rémy de Haenen.
Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France
Flamands Beach; LVMH's most polished address on the island, white-on-white interiors, Guerlain spa.
Le Barthélemy
Grand Cul-de-Sac lagoon; the quieter, more modern address.
A week, sketched
Gustavia
Clear in, med-moor or anchor in the outer roadstead (the open anchorage beyond the harbour); walk the harbour and the Wall House Museum; dinner at Bonito over the anchorage.
St Jean
Short hop to St Jean Bay; Eden Rock or Nikki Beach by day, Le Ti St Barth by night.
Colombier
Round to Anse de Colombier; overnight at anchor in Rockefeller's Cove, snorkel the reserve.
Île Fourchue & Saline
Morning at the Fourchue nature reserve — turtles, rays, the booby colony — then Grande Saline for an afternoon beach anchorage.
Cross to St Martin
12nm crossing to Marina Fort Louis or Isle de Sol; clear customs; evening ashore in Marigot.
Grand Case
Round to Grand Case Bay via a Tintamarre snorkel stop; anchor off, dinghy in for the restaurant row.
Orient Bay & return
Beach morning at Orient Bay, then back across to Gustavia ahead of departure.
Five days, one island
St Barths alone, at an unhurried pace, without the crossing to St Martin.
Gustavia
Clear in and med-moor at the quay, or anchor in the outer roadstead; an afternoon at the Wall House Museum, first dinner at L'Isola in the heart of town.
St Jean
A short hop round to St Jean Bay for Eden Rock or Nikki Beach by day, Le Ti St Barth's cabaret by night.
Anse de Colombier
Round to Rockefeller's Cove for a calm overnight at anchor inside the marine reserve, boat- or trail-access only ashore.
Île Fourchue & Grande Saline
A morning at the Fourchue nature reserve among turtles, rays and the brown-booby colony on free moorings, then Grande Saline for the afternoon — best held on a calm NE-wind day.
Return to Gustavia
Back round to close the loop; a helicopter shuttle to St Maarten (SXM) under fifteen minutes covers the onward flight, since Gustaf III's runway takes STOL turboprops only.
The long table
St Martin's kitchens first, then St Barths' anchorages at a slower pace — both islands' full roster of names across eight days.
Cross to St Martin
Clear in at Marina Fort Louis or IGY Isle de Sol, Simpson Bay, which takes yachts to 97m; an evening ashore in Marigot.
Grand Case
Round via a Tintamarre snorkel stop; dinghy in for the Caribbean's 'food capital' — L'Auberge Gourmande, La Villa and the beachfront lolo grills in one strip.
Orient Bay
A beach day on the way back toward the St Barths channel.
Gustavia
The 12nm crossing back; med-moor or anchor in the outer roadstead, an evening at the Wall House Museum, dinner at Bonito.
St Jean
Eden Rock by day, Nikki Beach or Le Ti St Barth by night.
Anse de Colombier
Overnight in Rockefeller's Cove, boat- or trail-access only, for a snorkel through the marine reserve.
Île Fourchue
A morning on the free moorings among turtles, rays and the brown-booby colony.
Anse de Grande Saline & Gustavia
An unhurried beach afternoon on a calm NE-wind day, then back into Gustavia for a late table at Bagatelle before departure.
Pair with
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Sea °C | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
| Wind, peak kt | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
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