# St Barts Forums > Getting To St Barts Forum - Airlines, Ferry Service, Charters >  >  Best way to get to St Barts from St Maarten or ?

## yasuto

I'm sure this has been asked many times before but I'm new to this forum.  My husband and I have been wanting to visit St Barts for a long time.  We've been to St. Maarten many times but I'm a little afraid of flying in a small plane and can get seasick sometimes.  Any advice?  Are any of the ferries less rocky than others?  Is the flight (or the landing) as bad as I hear?  Would appreciate any suggestions.  We are planning on making it there this summer for a second honeymoon, just not sure how to get there.  Is going from another island any easier?  We are from NY so can get flights easily to any island.  Thanks in advance.

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## Dennis

The flight & landing is the most over-hyped 10 minutes since my first sexual experience.

Welcome to the forum.

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## PIRATE40

Tradewind via SJU.....

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## andynap

Welcome Yasuto. The best way to get to St Barts from NY is to fly into St Martin and fly either St Barts Commuter or Winair to St Barts. It's a 10 minute flight.

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## bto

Dennis, LOL, you're killing me.  

Yasuto, the only way is to fly or ferry over, but the flight is so worth it.  It's over before you know it.  I'm not a fan of flying, but it's my favorite part of going to the island.  If it's a sunny day, you'll be delighted over the view of neighboring islands and the sparkling turquoise water....really, DO IT.  Don't think you'll be sorry you did.

Oh, and excuse my manners, BIENVENUE, to the forum!

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## yasuto

Dennis, thanks for making me laugh so hard!  Thank you everyone for your advice.  I'm trying to get over my fear of flying on a small plane.  Have any of you taken the ferry?   I got a little seasick on a boat going to Anguilla but I hear this is much worse.

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## Dennis

Winair planes are larger than St Barth Commuter. I think 17 seats vs 6/7?

We had to take the ferry our first trip due to a late arriving flight. We never took the ferry again. 

My wife hates small planes but can put up with the 10 minutes to paradise flight.

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## KevinS

I'm with everyone else on this - take the 10-minute flight.  However, if you really want to go by ferry then look at Voyager ferry.  Their Voyager III appears to be the most stable of the ferries.  It's much larger (154 passengers) than the ferry that I remember taking to Anguilla years ago.  www.voy12.com

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## Ross&Delaine

11 years ago my wife and I had a similar discussion. She does not like small planes, since we are sailors, she felt OK taking the ferry..long story short, she got quite seasick and spent much of her first day recovering..they don't lie when they call it the vomit comet..we go every year and we fly..

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## MIke R

done both ....the boat is a crap shoot....if its calm its  a wonderful ride..if its rough its an hour and a half of hell, which in sea sick time is about ten years...the crossing can be pretty rough...combination of deep water and prevailing wind and waves hitting the boat broadside...not pretty..

the flight is a snap...if you must, take a pill..wash it down with a drink and enjoy the ride....its much less dramatic since they shaved the hill years ago making for a less violent drop to the runway....

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## yasuto

Thank you all, I think you've convinced me to fly.  I like the drink idea!  Now I just have to find a place to stay.  We want to book a villa instead of a house.  Anyone know of a good villa rental company.  Thanks again for everyone's help.

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## andynap

> Thank you all, I think you've convinced me to fly.  I like the drink idea!  Now I just have to find a place to stay.  We want to book a villa instead of a house.  Anyone know of a good villa rental company.  Thanks again for everyone's help.



Wimco is our villa agent of choice.

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## KevinS

I suggest picking a villa rental company with an on-island presence, rather than a company remarketing someone else's inventory.  WIMCO, the owner of this site, is based out of Newport RI, and has an office across the street from the SBH airport.  St Barth Properties, based out of Franklin MA, has an office in Gustavia.  Rental companies based on St Barth include Premium Island Vacations, Marla, and Ici et La.

http://www.wimco.com/
http://www.stbarth.com/
http://www.premiumislandvacations.com/
http://www.icietlavillas.com/
http://us.marlavillas.com

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## stbartshopper

Welcome to the Forum. My wife gets airsick and seasick easily. The 10 minute flight from St. Maarten is no problem for her. The flight from San Juan is 1 hr and First Class!

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## elgreaux

> Thank you all, I think you've convinced me to fly.  I like the drink idea!  Now I just have to find a place to stay.  We want to book a villa instead of a house.  Anyone know of a good villa rental company.  Thanks again for everyone's help.



I think you'll enjoy your first stay on the island... but what do you consider the difference between a villa and a house? all of the rental houses here seem to be called villas... so just curious what you are looking for or not looking for in a house....

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## cassidain

> The flight & landing is the most over-hyped 10 minutes since my first sexual experience.
> 
> Welcome to the forum.



Yes, yasuto, welcome to the forum, and beware of all super moderators. every single one of them is a wiseacre. 

btw, yasuto autocorrects as "yeast" on my computer.  :cool:

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## yasuto

> I think you'll enjoy your first stay on the island... but what do you consider the difference between a villa and a house? all of the rental houses here seem to be called villas... so just curious what you are looking for or not looking for in a house....



That was a mistake.  I meant we'd like to book a villa instead of a hotel.

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## Bart -my real name-

> Thank you all, I think you've convinced me to fly.  I like the drink idea! .



Good choice!  The "worst" part of the plane ride is getting in and out of the little seats, with the little isle and the low ceiling.  You'll probably sit longer on the ground before take off than you'll spend in the air.  As others have said it's literally 10 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.

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## jayhawkgirl

The first time we came to the island, not on a Windstar cruise, we took the ferry, because I too didn't like little planes.  Never again, only in an emergency.  The flight is indeed only 10 minutes, and your first time, have a couple of Carib beers in the SXM airport, and concentrate on taking pictures out the side window of the plane while landing in St. Barth (as a distraction).  I don't usually drink when flying, but it helped the first few times flying to the island.  It is definitely better than getting seasick on the ferry over.  And it lasts such a small time, flying versus ferry.
FYI, I can now fly to St. Barth without drinking a beer or two prior, and can now look out the front window of the plane upon landing.

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## dadto6

Hi Jayhawkgirl
My wife grew up in Overland Park, small world

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## jayhawkgirl

> Hi Jayhawkgirl
> My wife grew up in Overland Park, small world



That's interesting!  Where did she go to high school, and when did she graduate?
Overland Park is a pretty big place for a suburb (over 100,000 people, I think).

Still interesting though!  Where do you live in Northern Virginia?  My son-in-law's sister graduated from the Naval Academy, and his parents live more south, in Glouster, VA.

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## Dennis

I lived in Olathe for about 5 minutes (actually 10 months) in, I think 1973/1974. Before you were born... :Triumphant:

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## jayhawkgirl

> I lived in Olathe for about 5 minutes (actually 10 months) in, I think 1973/1974. Before you were born...



You might be surprised.  I was in junior high then.

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## Dennis

> You might be surprised.  I was in junior high then.



LOL...so was I.

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## jayhawkgirl

So were you in junior high in Olathe?  You must have at least been nearby sometime because not too many people would know Olathe is close to Overland Park.

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## Dennis

> So were you in junior high in Olathe?  You must have at least been nearby sometime because not too many people would know Olathe is close to Overland Park.



I was/am kind of a map geek.

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## jayhawkgirl

> I was/am kind of a map geek.



My husband is a map geek too.

My question is, how do I know when certain posters to the forum are joking?

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## dadto6

Anita had early childhood in Overland Park, then moved to Independence when she was in 3rd grade, long time ago.  Elm Grove Elementary.  We have been together for 45-years.  I don't think it was 100k people back then.

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## dadto6

We live in Clifton, VA

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## Dennis

> My husband is a map geek too.
> 
> My question is, how do I know when certain posters to the forum are joking?




Me: 100 % of the time.

Everyone else: You're on your own.

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## jayhawkgirl

> Me: 100 % of the time.
> 
> Everyone else: You're on your own.



Thanks for the heads up.  Are you ever in position of not joking on a post?

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## Dennis

> Thanks for the heads up.  Are you ever in position of not joking on a post?




The last post was not joking on a post.

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## bkeats

> The flight & landing is the most over-hyped 10 minutes since my first sexual experience.



Best response to the ferry versus fear of flying question. Ever.

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## Flyfish

How about Prairie Village?  Small world...  Another forum member from the neighborhood!





> So were you in junior high in Olathe?  You must have at least been nearby sometime because not too many people would know Olathe is close to Overland Park.

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## jayhawkgirl

> Best response to the ferry versus fear of flying question. Ever.



That was a funny response!

I have to say that I managed the 10 minute flight versus the hour ferry ride by deciding if I could go through labor delivering children, I could manage the 10 minute flight.  

I just don't want to die in a small plane crash because the pilot "accidentally" hit a photographer or a tall truck.

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## bkeats

The probability of dying in a small plane landing on SBH while greater than 0 is far less than the odds of one dying in a car crash or while crossing the street.

I don't want to sound morbid or anything, but if I have to go in an untimely and unexpected way, I'd rather go crashing in a plane onto the beach at St Jean than being t-boned by a minivan while driving to the CVS. At least the last image in my mind would be of that gorgeous water at the end of the beach. But that's just me. YMMV

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## Islander

IMHO, I agree. Although unlikely.

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