A Private Yacht Day Around St Barths, from Colombier to Île Fourchue

Sail from Gustavia to the bays no road reaches, swim with turtles in Colombier and lunch at anchor, on a charter shaped around you.

Beyond the Reach of Roads

Sail out of Gustavia on your own yacht and St Barths transforms at once: the town’s red roofs fall behind, the hills above Shell Beach appear, and the northwest coast opens up ahead. Twenty minutes later you’re at anchor in Anse de Colombier, a bay with no road, no beach club and nobody who didn’t come by sea. The Rockefeller family once owned an estate here, and that legacy still shapes the island’s northwest tip, left undeveloped and hard to reach, so its beach stays among the quietest on St Barths. Green turtles graze the seagrass in the bay, all within the protected waters of the St Barthélemy Natural Reserve.

A day on the water shows you the St Barths the roads never will: Île Fourchue, the empty islet eight kilometers northwest of Gustavia; the southern coves from Gouverneur to Saline; and the whole curve of the coast, with the hills and the true scale of the island in view. It’s the Caribbean day honeymooners and couples dream of.

Twenty-Two Beaches and a Protected Sea

St Barthélemy is 21 square kilometers of French Caribbean, with 22 beaches and a scatter of islets and rocks around it. Since 1996 its Natural Reserve has safeguarded 1,200 hectares of sea in five coastal sectors, keeping its coral, seagrass and marine life healthy. Each stretch of coast has its own character: sheltered northwest bays like Colombier and Flamands, largely cut off from the roads; the Grand Cul de Sac lagoon to the east; and the south coast running past Gouverneur to the cliffs above Shell Beach on Gustavia’s edge. Every islet offers different conditions and a new angle on the main island.

Since David Rockefeller built at Colombier in the 1960s, the island has drawn a certain kind of visitor, and today its harbor holds some of the world’s largest yachts. The discretion St Barths is known for ashore carries onto the water, and a private charter is the surest way into it.

Why the Boat Should Be Yours

The beaches most people spend their days on, St Jean, Shell Beach and Gouverneur, are all reachable by road and busy accordingly; the bays a yacht reaches are visited only by boat. A shared charter means set times, a set route and a crew divided between groups. On your own, the day follows your pace, the route shifts with the conditions, and if lunch runs long, no one minds, because the crew is there only for you.

Snorkeling, Swimming and Lunch at Anchor

Most charters leave Gustavia between 8:45 and 9 am and return mid to late afternoon, your captain shaping the route around the weather and your wishes. A typical day heads northwest to Île Fourchue first, snorkeling among sea fans, parrotfish and hawksbill turtles, then settles into Colombier for most of the morning and early afternoon, to swim, snorkel or go ashore. Lunch is served on board, made by the crew or catered ahead from one of the island’s restaurants. Later you might stay on at Colombier or cruise along to Flamands before heading home as the light changes.

You can also spend the whole day in one bay, with paddleboards, snorkels and nothing to do but be there, a perfectly good use of the boat. Jet skis can be arranged outside the marine reserve.

A Day Built Around You

With your own captain, anchorages, timing and snorkel stops all adapt to conditions and preference: if Colombier is better later, you take the morning at Fourchue; if lunch at anchor lingers, you stay. Access decides who’s around, and in Colombier, Fourchue and the coves between Gouverneur and Saline, on a private charter the answer is usually no one. It’s the most direct way to see what St Barths looks like from the sea, something most visitors never do.

Out Of Office works with a handful of St Barths charter operators, chosen for their boats, their crews’ experience and their knowledge of these waters, and arranges catering, timing, equipment and your transfer to Gustavia in advance. Your LGBTQ+ travel specialist can pair the day with a welcoming villa or hotel on the island.