We have booked a day trip on the Edge to St-Barts this year which gives us approximately 6 hours on the island. Any suggestions on what to do or where to go? Have done some research but looking for personal experiences. We are an active couple in our mid 30's...We will NOT be renting a car and would like to avoid spending St-Barts style money...

Thanks!

When you depart the Edge, there will be cabs that are willing to take you for a tour of the island and to see the sites. The wife and I went on a two tour that took about 2 hours and 20 minutes and we were happy with that. You will need to know that all the retail shops are closed from 12 until 3 pm. WE were dropped off at a nice cafe' on the corner of Rue du Bard de Mer and Rue Lafayette, over looking the inner harbour...which is just past Montre Bijoux Watches and Jewelers...

10 years ago two burgers and a beer on the beach cost $55.00 plus the cost of the loungers. Barts is not a cheap place to eat and be merry.

When you get off the boat go to the tourist office, get a map, and ask someone there where the locals who don't want to spend an arm and a leg go. We did that and they gave us some suggestions and annotated them on the map. We ate at one of the places and had a good meal with wine for $5. This was about ten years ago so it probably costs a little more now. Even if it is now $10 it will still will be a bargain.

That was $5 per person. The place's name was "Chez Gennete". My spelling is probably wrong.

Sorry, a whole meal with wine for $5?? On St. Barts??

The place that SXMSammy is referring to is called La Cantina. They'll have a lunch special every day, on a chalkboard outside. The jewelry store that he mentioned is the Gustavia branch of Goldfinger.

The place that January referred to, Chez Ginette, burned down a year or so ago.

Right across the street from the ferry terminal is Le Repaire. It's not the least expensive place in town, but it is consistently good. You can often find some interesting specials on their chalkboard.

The least expensive place to eat in Gustavia is Cheeseburger in Paradise at Le Select. A cheeseburger and fries will run you about $10, and a Carib or Heineken will cost another $2 or $3, so $25-$30 for two.

A block uphill from Le Select is La Crêperie, a wallet-friendly place that specializes in crêpes.

On the far side of the harbor are two restaurants that get a lot of business from locals. One, on the harbor, is Côté Port. If you like goat cheese then try the Salade Pilou, a goat cheese salad with grilled shrimp and warm bacon dressing. Order the "Demi" (half) unless you have a huge appetite. A few hundred feet down the street on the inland side of the street is Carpe Diem. It's new this season (formerly Ti Zouk K'fé), and is becoming a very popular lunch and dinner spot with a menu that features pasta and grilled items.

You can find several handy St Barth maps at https://www.sbhonline.com/st-barts-maps/

You can find menus for many restaurants at http://restaurants.alacarte-stbarth.com

You say that you don't want to rent a car, but depending on what you want to do, it may be less expensive than taking taxis. Rental cars can be delivered to the ferry terminal. It's been a long time since I've taken an island tour by taxi, but it's not going to be cheap.

On foot, you'll find that the roads out of town tend to be steep, narrow, and have no sidewalks. You might want to consider limiting your activities to Gustavia, and to Shell Beach on the edge of town.

You can walk to Shell Beach from the dock and spend a nice day there. You can take some drinks with you and some snacks and swim and snorkel as you like.

Yes. The place catered to local working people, some of which were obviously construction workers on their lunch break. The owner and staff spoke no English, but we made due on my fractured French.
A quick story. The wine bottle said,"vin table rouge". I pointed to the words and said "en l'anglais, "red table wine" while pointing to the French words in reverse. Our waiter looked up at the ceiling, hit his forehead with the palm of his hand shook his head as if to say, "These crazy Americans.". Everyone we met there were just wonderful to us.

My wife and I took the edge a few years ago and rented an ATV packed a backpack with lunch and went to several beaches Saline is beautiful we were able to do the whole island watching planes land and take off is good too

Sorry to hear that Chez Ginette burned we really liked her and her food.
When I started to type my response to Carol there were no new posts in front of mind. Now you know why I burn up key boards and have to replace them

Some time ago, I had a 30 euro burger while on St Barts. The exchange rate was 1.51 dollars to 1 euro. My cheese burger was $45.

The most expensive burger on the island is said to be at Indigo, in Le Guanahani hotel. The cheeseburger with regular fries is reported to be €36, and with Truffle fries it's reported to be €42. That information is a few years old, and prices have likely gone up.

Went last year - took the fast ferry out of Capt. Oliver's, shopped around town, Hermes is no longer in Marigot and only St Barths - great prices compared to the states (still $$$) but I was looking for something specific. Longchamp had great pricing also compared to the states. We then took a taxi to Nikki Beach - hung out there for the afternoon, ate, drank, listened to music, then taxi that dropped us off came and took us on a 30 minute tour back to the boat. My friends treated for the day so no idea prices - other than not a cheap day but well worth it!!!

I did the same thing in 1987 - a one day sail trip to SBH. We rented a cab which is the best thing we could have done. After 10 or so vacations to SBH, it is not a place you want to rent a car for a day if you have never been.

My strong advice is to rent a cab to show you the island, as I assume that is the reason you are going - to see what it looks like. The roads can be a nightmare and finding your way around isn't easy.

I wrote off SBH after our last trip in 2007. The island was no longer the laid back place I fell in love with. However someone mentioned the creperie in Gustavia - it is a real gem.

Ah, Indigo... That was it! In 2008 when we went, the price was only 30 euro. You get a choice of a 'regular' cheeseburger or a French cheeseburger. The French cheeseburger has caramelized onions, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and chipotle pepper.

Its a beautiful setting, next to the hotel's pool and beach. You can get an idea by visiting their web sie.

why not a rental car?...allows you to see more of the island and at your own pace <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />