St Barts cruise vacations are an excellent way to reap the best of the little, eight-square-mile island and get a taste of St Barts as most regular visitors do, aboard a yacht or small cruiser. St Barts cruise port is called Port de Pleasance and is located in Gustavia, which is both the gateway to St Barts and the island’s capital. While much of the best shopping is within Gustavia and the surrounding area, and the port is a significant part of any visit, there are many places to explore during a day on the mainland.

A St Barts cruise vacation means a trip across the Atlantic from North America, a passage that often means stops in nearby St Kitts and Nevis. While many opt for a Caribbean cruise that includes several Caribbean ports of call, others head straight to St Barts. One of the main reasons that a St Barts cruise isn’t a common offering is because of the island’s size, receiving an influx of visitors becomes too complicated. While the runway is so small it can only accept charter and inter-island flights, the pier is also diminutive, requiring cruise passengers to be tendered in via small boats rather than debarking off the main ship. St Barts cruise port in Gustavia is a convenient location for renting cars, enjoying a meal, and browsing the many specialty shops, some housed in pretty, historic buildings.

During a St Barts cruise vacation, some of the other popular ports of call could be St Thomas, St Maarten, and Guadeloupe. Thoroughly looking over a Caribbean cruise map lends many ideas of which ports are more desired than others, which is helpful when planning a St Barts cruise. If exploring the island via a St Barts cruise vacation is most ideal, then choosing a cruise that offers the longest onshore break will be an important feature.

St Barts Map

Though St Barts is small and can be seen in a full day by car, exploring a little more in depth reveals there are many things to do that can occupy a week of your time easily. More than twenty beaches each have a different look and feel, and are some of the most relaxed in the Caribbean. Diving and snorkeling is a celebrated pastime, and with an entire coast brimming with coral reefs, you could snorkel during your entire vacation and never see it all. Exploring the island’s epicurean delights is a favored pastime of the island’s wealthy inhabitants and visitors. Of all the islands in the Caribbean, St Barts offers some of the finest food, spas, shops, and villas.

Shopping around for a St Barts cruise is ideal. There are an abundance of cruise lines offering itineraries that either exclusively involve the island, and others that include it along with a list of other ports such. Once you’ve found the perfect cruise, you can begin planning out your day on St Barts. Once arrived, expect to see plenty of taxis for hire around the St Barts cruise port. Taxi drivers offer lifts to anywhere on the island as well as private tours of the most popular lookouts, beaches, and other attractions. If you’re lucky enough to have an overnight included in your St Barts cruise, a beachfront hotel might be the best way to enjoy the short time, admire the coast, and eat some of the finest food in the region.