We're thinking of spending a few days in St Barths before SXM. Looking for suggestions on the best area of the island to stay. Wondering if it is best to stay close to town for the shops and restaurants and venture out daily to one of the beaches or if there is another area we should consider. Want to be close to good restaurants and good beaches...any C/O options on St Barths?
Thanks!

St Barth is only 8 square miles, so you're never more than 20 minutes from anywhere. What time of year will you be there, for how long, and are you thinking villa or hotel?

While nudity is technically illegal on SBH beaches, it's not uncommon on Saline beach.

We're planning a trip during high season...maybe 3 or 4 nights. We don't have a preference between villa or hotel, whichever is the least expensive option.

For 3-4 nights, don't even think about trying this over Christmas/New Years. For the remainder of high season, you may run into minimum stay requirements. For the least expensive hotels, look at the Sunset in Gustavia, Hotel Le Village (aka Village St Jean) in St Jean, perhaps the Tropical in St Jean, and Tom Beach or Émeraude Plage in St Jean. Gustavia has more restaurants, St Jean is one of the main beach areas. Neither are more than 20 Minutes from anywhere else on the island.

For a short-stay villa, reach out to one of the mainstream agencies, either WIMCO in Newport, RI, or St Barth Properties in Franklin, MA. You will run into minimum-stay requirements, but they may be able to slot you into an available opening between two longer stays.

All of the above hotels and agencies can be found on the Internet. The two agencies can help with booking hotels as well as villas.

I would recommend doing St Barts after your SXM stay rather than before your stay. It works better in that regard.
St Barts tends to be a slower and more relaxing pace with refinement which is a nice finish to a vacation. St Martin can feel a bit jarring after a St Barts stay since it is a completely different feel.
I tend to stay on both islands.
For a 3 to 4 night stay, a hotel will likely be your route since villas will want at least 5 nights. With that being said, some villas such as villa kaloo on St Barts would be considerably less than hotel.
For hotels, it depends on budget. Tom Beach Hotel would be a good choice due to it's location in St Jean and I love their La Plage restaurant.

I second the recommendation to do SXM first, then SBH. At least that's what we did our first trip, and loved it. The poster above's reasoning makes sense.

Our favorite place to stay is Tom Beach on St. Jean beach. You're not too far from anywhere on the island. Definitely well worth it to rent a car.

All the beaches are fantastic. C/O was very common primarily toward the ends of Saline and Gouverneur.

Thank you all for the information. Our plan was to spend 3-4 nights on St Barth and 10 days on SXM. Well, as the saying goes 'the best laid plans...'
Work is absolutely crazy so we're considering ourselves lucky to be able to get away for a week.<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />

we usually stay on SXM 4-5 nights, then SBH 4-5 nights, then SXM for the last 4-5 nights <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Another vote for Tom Beach. You are within walking distance of shopping and restaurants and on the best beach.

Talk with St. Barth's Properties. I personally know them. Their son is my dentist. They have been in business for years, just recently teaming with Sotheby Real Estate. Peg Walsh gets awarded year after year for her personalized service to her clients. http://www.stbarth.com
Peg and her staff know everything about the island.