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When people think of the Caribbean, several destinations come to mind. People think of sipping cocktails and eating the local cuisine in Old San Juan. They think of the pristine playas of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic (in part, no small thanks due to a multi-million dollar multi-national ad campaign that has been running forever). Or sometimes they think of the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands etc. They may even think about carnival in Trinidad. But here are several advantages to having your next vacation in St. Barts, and I want to do a little comparing and contrasting here, so that you can see exactly what I’m talking about.

First and foremost, when you go to an island for a vacation, you are almost always looking for one thing over all others: simple tranquility. You want a place to relax, without distractions, without problems of any nature. You have all that back home, and you are actively running away from it.

St. Barts has less than 8000 people living on it, and the tourism practiced in the island is heavily geared toward the high-end, which means more amenities and LESS PEOPLE! This is key. You are in no danger of sharing the island with tons of other people, even in peak season. You will never feel crowded or pressured in St. Barts in any way. This factor alone puts it head and shoulders above most of the rest of the region for tourism and vacationing. If you are one of the many of us who live in very dense areas and find yourself shoulder to shoulder with what feels like half of the rest of humanity all the time, there really is no price tag on this. This alone is easily a great reason to choose St. Barts.

And if beaches are your thing (if you are looking at the Caribbean they almost certainly are), the island of St Barts has plenty to go around for everybody. There is Shell Beach, Grand Cul De Sac, Petit Cul De Sac, St. Jean Beach, Grande Saline Beach among a few other honorable mentions; all of St Barts beaches come with slightly different vibes and flavours; some are pristine beaches where you have to bring everything, others are more built-up and feature restaurants, shopping, etc. right on the beach.

St Barts is also a premium destination for those of you who like snorkeling. People who are serious about snorkeling and have a passion for it frequently name St. Barts among their top destinations. In a world where unfortunately many of the coral has disappeared or been reduced in size and quality over the past decades, St. Barts remains a haven of purity and nature still abouts in and around that place.

It’s also very worth mentioning that St. Barts is full of natural pools, for when you are tired of the salt water and also tired of the chlorine. There is nothing quite like the natural pool experience, being surrounded by absolutely fresh drinkable water, no salt and no chemicals present. In case you are wondering, natural pools (if they don’t already exist as such in nature, which is sometimes the case) are created by diverting a natural watercourse and allowing it to form a pool, but keeping the water moving so that it stays fresh, naturally.

For those of you who like museums, you won’t be disappointed. St Barts does pride itself on having a few museums, among them the Municipal Museum, the Inter Oceans Museum, and the Wall House museum. There are also a couple of art galleries dotting the island. As a matter of fact, such a small island is quite well-endowed on the cultural end of things,  especially when you consider its small population and out of the way location.

And if you’ve had your fill of tranquility and ocean walks and soaking yourself, St. Barts is still ready for you. You can go into town and partake of its excellent nightlife, featuring great cuisine, high-end cocktails, and world class entertainment. When I say world-class entertainment, I’m referring to people who play Times Square on New Year’s Eve, or people who do the half time shows at the Super Bowls type of world class. There will be no disappointment here. St Barts lives up to its own extremely high standards for satisfying its guests no matter where your  mood may shift. They are ready for you.

So, when you are ready for that next ultimate Caribbean vacation, you should definitely keep St Barts at the top of the list. Ask anybody who truly knows the Caribbean from front to back, and the name St Barts invariably pops up. This is for a reason, or rather, this is for a variety of reasons, all of them previously discussed in this article and more. St. Barts truly goes above and beyond as a vacation experience. Come see for yourself, if you haven’t already.