<br>This is a report of the week my wife and I spent on St. Barth's in June, 2000. It also appears on Caribbean Travel Roundup, so if you have seen it there, this will not be new. This was our 4th trip, the last 3 years ago. We arrived from St. Martin via Winair around noon after flying in that morning on AA from Peurto Rico in what must have been the world's coldest commercial airliner. We did an overnight on Peurto Rico because of an inconvenient one-day schedule and splurged at the Windham El San Juan Resort - overkill, but we had a discount and it is quite convenient to the airport. Because we got in a bit late and it was raining, we couldn't take advantage of it the way we might have, but it is a lovely place with very friendly staff. <br><br>Even though we had only carry-on we had to go through the immigration/customs line on St. Martin and then check in at the Winair counter which is placed as far as possible from the arrival and departure areas. This is a step backward from previous trips where we were able to go directly to the in-transit area. However, Winair did its usual good job of getting us down on the interesting St. Barth's landing strip.<br><br>We picked up a car at the airport from Quesnel rentals. This was included in the package deal with our hotel, and although I don't know much about this company, they seemed very anxious to be helpful. The car, a small jeep, was OK but I would have preferred an automatic and recommend that to anyone who hasn't had much practice driving a stick shift on hilly roads. Incidentally, 4-wheel drive is not necessary anywhere you are likely to drive, although a lot of people opt for this.<br><br>We stayed at Village St. Jean hotel, which we recommend as a reasonably priced place with a lot of value. It is not on a beach, if that is important; they claim to be a 5 minute walk from St. Jean beach, which may be technically correct but there is a hell of a hill coming back. Drive it. Most of the rooms are individual cottage style units. Ours had been redone recently; simple but comfortable. A king size bed, bureau, 2 bedside tables, a chair, 2 closets (but limited drawer space), ceiling fan and air conditioner (which we rarely needed), bathroom with shower (no tub), hair drier. No TV. These rooms have a large, partially covered patio with chairs, table and loungers and with a small but well equipped kitchen on it. Nice for breakfasts and snacks. The hotel also has a pool (doesn't have much shade) and a Jacuzzi; also a good lending library. A supermarket at the airport and another in Gustavia provide a good selection of things if you want to make any of your own meals.<br><br>We spent a lot of time just driving around taking photos. Roads are narrow, steep and twisting. Driving takes a bit of getting used to; some locals pass in what seem to be suicidal places until you realize that what seems to be high speed is really rather slow. Kamikaze motorcycle riders are more disconcerting, especially when they travel in squadrons on Saturday night. People park anywhere big enough to hold your car and still leave room for another to pass, but don't be surprised if you get blocked in by a double-parker. Some roads have been improved since last year's hurricane, but a section of the old main road into Gustavia had dropped several feet as the earth slid and it is still closed. <br><br>We visited the usual beaches, which are mostly as we remembered them. Of them, Saline, one of the best, still requires a significant walk from a good (paved!) parking area on a path that is part soft sand and part a rocky hill; not difficult but you do need shoes. There is construction of what looks to be a resort at Gouverneur . It is back from the beach, but it may change the character of what has been a fairly secluded area. For the first time we also got to Toiny beach, where they have created an entry path since our last visit - not that this is a great beach, but it seems to be used by surfers. None of these beaches have any facilities; bring your own refreshments.<br><br>As we are not aficionados of French restaurants, we mostly tried other types, which also turn out to be moderate in cost. One of our favorites is Chez Domi, a Creole restaurant in Gustavia. The complementary flavored rums are good, as is their home-made hot sauce and complementary accras. Le Route des Boucaniers is another Creole place in Gustavia that is a bit more up-scale and more expensive. Le Patio at Village St. Jean is an excellent Italian restaurant. Vietnam has good (surprise) Vietnamese food. We were not impressed by <br>Paradisio; the food didn't seem as warm as it should have been. Perhaps an off night; complementary flavored rum and confections were good. Although we usually do our own thing for lunches, we had a couple at La Creole in the St. Jean shopping area; a pleasant place. We had the obligatory beer (no cheeseburger) at Le Select; the Bar D'Oublie across the street is a little nicer and also a good place for a drink or an espresso. Incidentally, we noticed that many restaurants are still giving an exchange rate of 6 francs/dollar (French St. Martin is closer to 7); mostly we paid in francs.<br><br>The island was dry and as brown as I remember it. Reduces the visual attractiveness, but cuts down on the mosquitoes. We did a fair amount of photography even so. If you want photographs to compete with those of the 747's at Maho, climb Le Tourment hill; the planes are much smaller, of course, but somehow its a more impressive sight when you are looking down on them as they come in. The island was not very crowded, which is another advantage of a June vacation. Even so, parking in Gustavia is a problem. There is a large parking area on the waterfront that is the best bet.<br><br>We ended with 9 days on St. Martin. We enjoy St. Barth's enough to go every 2 or 3 years; we find it a bit small for more than a week, or more frequently. <br><br><br><br><br><br>