Yacht charter in St. Barths and St Martin.

If you’re looking for the perfect blend of tropical climate and European luxury, the French Antilles (including St. Barths and St Martin) are some of Caribbean's most sophisticated and civilised places to charter a luxury sailing yacht.

Guadeloupe is the largest island - just south of Antigua, it's the perfect size for a week's sailing - and further north the leeward islands of St Barths and St. Martin are just a short sail away from each other. The airport on the Dutch side of the island (Princess Juiliana Airport, Sint Maarten) is well served by international flights and offers easy access from Paris or Amsterdam. Conveniently, it is close to the main marinas, so the transfer to your yacht takes only a few minutes. On the French side, Marigot Bay makes an attractive location for dinner and its many boutiques are filled with French designer goods - its free port status adds to the attraction of a shore excursion before you cast off!

Sailing in St Barths (Saint Barthélémy).

St Barths is a tiny island with more than just a hint of St. Tropez about it. Sophisticated yet easy-going and friendly, the island is unspoilt and offers a level of service rarely found elsewhere in the Caribbean. Only 8 miles long, its convoluted coastline provides many anchorages with stunning beaches. Unusually, the population is largely white and, as you’d expect, the island boasts a wide selection of excellent restaurants - the French would never neglect their stomachs!

"Where else, in the Caribbean or otherwise, can you find such a unique combination of sophisticated restaurants, cool boutiques, pristine beaches and beautiful people...?" Harper's Bazaar, September 2007.

The capital, Gustavia, is chic and pretty with plenty of boutiques to browse and a quayside lined with yachts that you'll recognise from St Tropez. Sailing around the rest of the island you'll find beautiful beaches and elegant restaurants - it's the perfect place to sail out to lunch each day.

St. Barths is for lovers of peace and tranquillity; no-one particularly comes here for the night life - although there is a Nikki Beach! There are no large resorts and no package tours. Instead, a strict approach to planning has restrained development to preserve the island's natural beauty and crime is virtually non-existent. You would probably struggle to entertain yourself here for more than a few days, but St. Barths makes an ideal stopover as part of a longer cruise to the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe or Antigua for example.