Saline Beach
Best for. Travellers who want the wildest, most beautiful big beach on St Barths, a broad undeveloped bay for swimming and space rather than a scene, with a fine lunch waiting at the trailhead.
Best spot. The open middle of the bay on a calm morning for a long clear swim, then lunch at Le Grain de Sel or L'Esprit by the car park.
Know this. Nothing is built on the sand, so bring water, shade and everything you need, mind the shore break on windy days, and there is no lifeguard.
If St Barths has one beach that quietly outshines the island's polish, it is Grande Saline. Drive to the end of the road on the south coast, past the shallow salt ponds that gave the beach its name, leave the car and walk a few minutes over a low sandy dune. There is no sign of the sea until you reach the top, and then a wide golden bay opens below you with nothing built on it at all, framed by green dunes and open sky. It is the second largest beach on the island and, for many who know St Barths well, simply the most beautiful. For a traveller who came for the shore rather than the scene, this is the beach that makes the case.
The water usually rewards the walk. The bay is broad and often calm, with clear turquoise water that makes for a long, easy swim on a settled day, and the sheer size of the beach means you can always find your own space along it. The honest caveat is the wind. When the swell is up, a shore break builds and can slap hard at the sand as you enter and leave the water, so you read the sea on arrival, take more care when it is running, and keep children close. There is no lifeguard here, and this is an open coast, so you check it and respect it, but most days Grande Saline is a gentle and glorious place to swim.
What Grande Saline asks in return for its beauty is that you come prepared, because there is nothing on the sand. No bar, no loungers, no vendors and almost no shade, so you carry your own water, food, sun cream and umbrella and leave with all of it. That emptiness is the whole point, the reason the beach still feels wild in a place that gilds everything else. The one indulgence is at the trailhead, where a couple of excellent restaurants, Le Grain de Sel for relaxed plates and the elegant L'Esprit, sit a short walk from the dune, so you can pair a wild morning on the sand with a proper lunch without a building ever touching the beach. Come early for the calmest water and the easiest parking, and let Grande Saline be the quiet luxury of the island.
Wild bay, lunch at the gate
Grande Saline has no beach club on the sand, only two fine restaurants at the trailhead. The island's daybed scene lives over at St Jean and the north coast.
There is no beach club at Grande Saline, and there could not be one on the sand without undoing the emptiness that makes it special. What you do get, uniquely for a wild St Barths beach, is a proper lunch a few steps from the dune, where Le Grain de Sel and the more refined L'Esprit sit at the trailhead by the car park. That combination is the beach's quiet genius, a completely undeveloped shore for the morning and a very good table just behind it, so you never trade the wildness for the comfort. Opening days and hours vary by season and are to be confirmed.
For the full beach club day, with daybeds set out and long service on the sand, St Barths sends you to St Jean and the north coast, where the famous names gather and Gustavia is minutes away. Our St Barths beach clubs guide has the honest picks, and we can help arrange a table or a daybed so you can balance a wild swim at Grande Saline with a smart afternoon elsewhere. Here on the south coast, keep it simple, bring everything, book the lunch, and let the bay be the luxury.
Over the dune
Anse de Grande Saline sits on the south coast of St Barths, reached by car to a parking area at the end of the road beside the old salt ponds, only about ten to fifteen minutes from Gustavia. From the car park you walk a few minutes over a low sandy dune, and the beach reveals itself only as you crest it. A hire car or taxi is the practical way in, as there is no useful public transport to the beach.
Come self sufficient, since there is nothing to buy on the sand: carry water, food, sun cream and your own umbrella, and take all your rubbish away. Read the sea before you swim, taking more care on windy days when the shore break builds, and keep children close as there is no lifeguard. The two restaurants at the trailhead are handy for lunch, and parking is limited, so arrive in the morning for the calmest water and the easiest space.
Photo: Mikael Boustedt via GoogleNot ready to book?
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Book a beach club
Grande Saline is a wild bay with no club, but tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a daybed or table at a beach club at St Jean or elsewhere on St Barths. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Saline Beach
Where is Saline Beach on St Barths?
Anse de Grande Saline sits on the wilder south coast of St Barths, named for the old salt ponds that lie just behind it. You drive to a car park at the end of the road by the salt pond, then walk a few minutes over a low sandy dune to reach the beach, which is hidden from the road until you crest it. It is only about ten to fifteen minutes from Gustavia, yet it feels a world away.
Are there facilities at Saline Beach?
None on the sand, and that is its character. There are no hotels, no beach bar, no loungers for hire and almost no natural shade on Grande Saline itself, so you arrive self sufficient with water, sun cream and your own umbrella. The one comfort is at the trailhead by the car park, where a couple of well regarded restaurants sit a short walk from the dune, so lunch is close even though the beach stays wild.
Can you swim at Saline Beach?
Usually very pleasantly. The bay is wide and often calm, with clear turquoise water that makes for a lovely swim on a settled day. On windier days a shore break can pick up and slap at the sand, so read the sea on arrival, take more care when it is up, and keep an eye on children. There is no lifeguard, so judge the water yourself and stay closer to shore when the swell is running.
Is Saline Beach clothing optional?
It has a long, relaxed and discreet tradition of tolerance, and you may see people sunbathing without swimwear, particularly toward the quieter ends of the bay. Nothing is signposted and the mood is easy going rather than a statement. Most visitors simply enjoy the beach as they wish and respect the privacy of others, which is very much in keeping with the unspoiled, free spirited feel of the place.
Is Saline Beach ever crowded?
Rarely by the standards of a famous island. Because there is nothing built on it and you have to walk over the dune to arrive, Grande Saline never takes on the buzz of the developed beaches, and its width swallows people so it keeps an open, uncrowded feel even on a good day. Come in the morning or later afternoon and you can find a broad, quiet stretch of sand largely to yourself.
When is the best time to visit Saline Beach?
The dry Caribbean high season from about December to April brings the most settled weather and the calmest, clearest water. Late summer and early autumn are hotter, more humid and carry tropical weather risk, so are less reliable. Whenever you come, mornings tend to be calmest for swimming and easiest for parking, and the light over the dunes and bay is loveliest early and late in the day.
Where can you eat near Saline Beach?
At the trailhead by the car park, a short walk from the beach, sit a couple of well liked places to eat, including Le Grain de Sel for relaxed salads and plates and the elegant L'Esprit from chef Jean Claude Dufour. They let you pair a wild morning on the sand with a proper lunch without breaking the spell of the beach, since nothing is built on the shore itself. Opening days and hours vary by season and are to be confirmed.