The St Barts beaches aren't numerous, but what they lack in quantity, they more than make up for in quality. There are fourteen main beaches in St Barts, as well as some smaller unnamed beaches, and they all feature the powdery, white sands that so many of the top Caribbean beaches feature. The bulk of the St Barts beaches are rarely crowded, which lends to their overall quality, and all of them are free. Being that St Barts has ties with France, topless swimming and sunbathing is tolerated. Nudism is generally prohibited, however, though there are a couple of beaches here that allow it. At any rate, finding a beach that suits your fancy in St Barts will be an easy task. Some of the beaches here are backed by beach hotels if you want to stay close to the sand on your St Barts beach vacation.

Of all the beaches in St Barts, St Jean Beach is the most renowned. This long beach is essentially two beaches in one. The Eden Rock promontory separates them. Lush, green mountains rise up around the beaches at St Jean, and the white sands mix with turquoise waters. It's a visually stunning beach that is ideal for relaxation. When you're not relaxing at St Jean Beach, you can enjoy some water sports. Snorkeling is one of the most popular water sports in the area. Heading west of St Jean Beach, you will eventually come to Flamands Beach, which is usually less crowded than St Jean Beach. Flamands Beach is long and wide, and like St Jean Beach, it is home to a few good hotels. These hotels aren't the sprawling resorts that you can find at other Caribbean destinations like the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas, which is what some travelers will prefer. The surf can get rough during the winter months at Flamands Beach, though more often than not, it is a good place to go swimming.

Explore as many St Barts beaches as possible if you have the time, and you might include a stop at Saline Beach when doing the rounds. This is an especially good beach if you are a nudist, as it is one of the two beaches in St Barts that allows it. Another good beach that you might add to the agenda is Marigot Beach, which is popular with locals. Being that Marigot Beach is close to a road, some visitors choose to pass on a visit. The beach is beautiful, however, and deserves a look when in the area. Should the fact that a road passes near the beach at Marigot Beach be a bother, you can seek tranquility at Gouveneur Beach, which is visually stunning.

Caribbean Map

Renting a car on your St Barts beach vacation is worth considering, as it will allow you to make a break for the harder to reach beaches whenever you please. Gouveneur Beach usually requires a relatively long drive, but the drive is well worth it. Remote and uncrowded, Gouveneur Beach is simply divine. Steep cliffs surround Gouveneur Beach, and these cliffs offer views of nearby islands, such as Saba, St Kitts, and St Eustacius. Gouveneur Beach is one of the beaches in St Barts that allows nudity, and interestingly enough, it's often advertised as having the most comely nude beachgoers. Should you prefer to pass on the nude beaches in St Barts, you can definitely do so. Colombier Beach is one of the St Barts beaches that leans towards the more conservative side.

Colombier Beach is also known as Rockefeller's Beach, as one of the Rockefeller family members laid claim to the area surrounding it. One view of this splendid beach, and you'll understand why David Rockefeller wanted to buy land here. This curved beach boasts dazzling, azure waters, and the hills that rise up around it add depth to the overall scene. It's easy to see why locals like to picnic at Colombier Beach on Sundays. While Colombier Beach might be ideal for picnics, Lorient Beach is the place to go if you want to do some surfing. The waves at Lorient Beach don't generally rival the kinds of waves that you can hit in surfing hot spots like Hawaii, thanks to an offshore reef, but you can usually find some relatively big breakers on the beach's western end. Lorient Beach is a quiet beach that offers shady areas that are ideal for escaping the midday sun.

These are just some of the beaches that you can visit on your St Barts beach vacation, and when you're not hanging out at the beach, you can visit historic sites and go scuba diving, among other things. Since St Barts is known to be a playground for the rich, the shopping opportunities are good. Should the relatively exclusive nature of St Barts not be what you have in mind, there are other Caribbean islands that offer a more down-to-earth experience. Cuba certainly offers a contrasting experience on the whole, and you don't have to be a member of society's elite to enjoy destinations such as the Dominican Republic or St Vincent and the Grenadines. That's not to say that these Caribbean destinations don't offer luxurious amenities for well-heeled travelers. They just aren't as ritzy on the whole.