The French Caribbean island of St Barth is tightening its travel rules amid the holiday season. 

St Barth’s regional government has announced a new testing requirement, mandating that travelers provide a negative result form a test taken no more than 24 hours prior to boarding their flight to the island. 

St Barth accepts both PCR and antigen tests; antigen tests are typically far faster and easier to access. 

St Barth also accepts at-home testing; St Barth villa provider WIMCO told Caribbean Journal that included at-home tests by Reliant Health Services (you can find more here). https://gettestednow.com/product-category/testing-services/antigen-testing-services/

That means if you’re scheduled to board a flight to St Barth at 4 PM, you’ll need to schedule a rapid antigen test for no earlier than 4 PM the prior day. 

In a statement, the French government said the move was “necessary to protect the overseas territories [of France] of the new epidemic wave under the effect of the Omicron variant.” 

The testing requirement is in addition to St Barth’s already-established vaccination requirement, which mandates that all travelers 18 and over provide proof of vaccination to enter the island. 

Unvaccinated travelers 18 and over are not permitted to enter the island. 

The testing requirement applies to all travelers 12 and older. 

St Barth is the latest in a growing number of Caribbean destinations tightening their testing requirements amid the emergence of Omicron.

For more, visit WIMCO’s St Barth health protocol guide.