Anyone been to Anguilla from St. Maarten?

[jmalstrom]

I just read a book about Anguilla and I would love to go since we will be so close in a couple weeks (on the Caribbean Princess). I would like to go over and have lunch at Blanchards and hang out on a quiet beach. I was wondering if anyone had tried this on their own and how risky it was and how much it might cost. I know there are ferries from Marigot, just not sure how reliable for getting back to the ship.

 

Any info would be appreciated!

[Peggy Geyer]

We are going to Anguilla in mid June and have been on the Anguilla forulm quite a bit. It seems, from what we've read, the ferry arrives every 30 minutes and it sounded reliable.

[Kviolasr]

We have gone to Anguilla for the day from St. Martin. However, this was during a land vacation and not while on a cruise. While I think it is possible to do this on a cruise port day, it will certainly be an adventure!! The ferries to Anguilla leave regularly from Marigot (schedule varies during the day but seems like at least every hour) and takes approx. 45 minutes. Upon arrival in Anguilla, you will need to Taxi to wherever you are going (there is nothing directly at ferry pier). We went to Shoal Bay which was approx. half hour from ferry pier.

 

This is what the day will look like:

Cruise dock in Phillipsburg to Marigot (1/2 hour)

Marigot to Ferry pier in Anguilla (1 hour)

Taxi to beach on Anguilla (1/2 hour)

Everything in reverse to return.

 

In order to pull this off, you will need to get off your ship early and get to Marigot in time for an early ferry to Anguilla. This still will not leave more than 2-3 hours on the beach in Anguilla. YOU NEED PASSPORTS OR RAISED SEAL BIRTH CERTS TO GET THROUGH CUSTOMS. The taxis and ferries will end up costing approx. $50 pp.

 

The beaches on Anguilla were among the best I've seen anywhere. Shoal Bay was incredible. There were a couple of reasonable beach restaurants to have lunch at. Good Luck!!!

 

Kevin

 

Adventure of the Seas - 2004

Destiny - 2003

Splendour of the Seas - 2002

Sea Princess - 2001

Majesty of the Seas - 2000

Inspiration - 1998

Ecstasy - 1997

[jmalstrom]

We found a shoretrips.com excursion to Anguilla. They assure me that it is quite do-able with our ship's schedule and that noone has ever missed a ship on this trip. Now the question is whether to try it on our own or go with shoretrips.

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Lisa

[gypsygirl]

J maelstrom, I read the same book. Wasn't it great?

 

gypsygirl

 

Emerald Seas 1985

Caribe 1986

Carnivale 1991

Westward 1993

Fantasy 1994

Fantasy 1995

Fascination 1997

Destiny 2001

Enchantment 2002

Sovereign 2004

Serenade 2004

 

[jmalstrom]

gypsygirl - loved it!

 

My husband actually bought it for me because he wanted to go to Anguilla and knew I was skeptical about the feasibilty of it. He figured the book would talk me into wanting to go. He was right on. As soon as I got into the book, I was dying to go see the island myself and meet all the great people in the book!!!

 

He read An Embarrassment of Mangoes and said it was great, too. Similar type book. I'm taking that one with me next week on the Caribbean Princess!!!

 

I'll let you know if I get to meet Melinda, Clinton or Shabby!!

 

Lisa

[WeBeCruisin']

I also have read the Blanchard's book. Last December, we spent a week at The Arawak Inn in Anguilla. The manager, Maria, had the Blanchards' book in her bookcase in the dining room, but admitted she had never got around to reading it. It's a great island. There is a distillery called Pyrat's, I think, which gives you free tastings of about eight different blended rums and tequilas. They're delicious, and free. You can also buy their products at very reasonable prices.

 

Allen

[irbgolfin]

LOL! My wife and I have both read the Blanchard's book, too. Really enjoyed it. We will be on the Golden in July, and she has been asking the same question - what about going to Anguilla when we stop on St. Maarten.

 

We checked, and Blanchard's doesn't serve lunch. :-(

 

Go to their website, you can find it with a search, I think it as expected, blanchards.com, but not positive.

 

There are pics of all the "characters"...

 

irbgolfin

[jmalstrom]

OK- We're back and we went to Anguilla!!

 

It was, by far, the highlight of our week!!!

 

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL beach any of us have ever seen - and we've been to Tahiti, Caribbean, Australia, Fiji, etc.

 

We took a cab to Marigot $5 PP one way for a group of 6. Took almost 30 min. Got on the ferry to Anguilla $10 PP one way plus $2.75 PP departure tax. Kids were $5, no tax. YOU MUST HAVE PASSPORTS!! We got the 9am ferry and got to Anguilla bout 9:20. Got Anguilla stamps on our passports

 

We met Junie at the Marigot ferry dock who rented us a van for the day on Anguilla for $60. Turned out to be a good deal with a party of 6. They drive on the left - steering wheel on the right. We had to put $10 gas in it, then off to Meads Bay. Took about 15 min to get there. We, unknowingly, parked near Malliouhana. Ended up playing on an almost deserted beach, walking around Blanchards and taking pics (too chicken to knock and introduce ourselves) and then having lunch at Malliouhana's beach restaurant. It did not open until 12 and we were nervous that we would not make it to the ferry dock by 1:30, but, no worries, we did. The food was DELICIOUS but they definitely run on "island time." It was a bit pricey $3.45 for a can of soda, $18 for a hamburger, $12.00 for a FABULOUS Croque Monsiuer (really fancy grilled ham and cheese). We got back to the ferry dock about 1:30, left Junies van in the lot with keys inside like he asked us to!!!! and signed up for the 2:00 ferry - $10 PP plus $3 PP departure tax. Kids were $5 and no tax.

 

Easy 20 min ride back to Marigot. The boat rocks quite a bit more than the Caribbean Princess does! We were glad to have Bonine in our system. We looked around the market for a bit and got a cab back to the ship. Despite warnings to the contrary, it only took 30 min to get back to the Dutch side. We were at the pier by 3:30 and got to look around at the pier shops and take photos of the other ships in port that day.

 

What a GREAT day! I HIGHLY recommend it. Just be careful with your timing.

 

Lisa

[WeBeCruisin']

Our rental car, and all those at the Arawak Inn, indluding the manager's personal vehicles all had the steering wheel on the left, as opposed to the standard British custom of having it on the right. I don't know if this was a result of it being more economical to get automobiles from America, rather than Great Britain or what. The driving was still very easy, even with the steering wheel on the left-hand side of the road.

[dinobja]

This beach looks great but could someone tell me what transportation is like. We are on a cruise to St. Martin and would take the ferry to Anguilla. I would assume I could take a taxi to Shoal's bay but how would I return? Are there taxi's available?

[FlaMom]

Hi There-

 

We just returned from a day trip to Anguilla. It is sooooo beautiful, we absolutely loved it! We booked the excursion through shoretrips.com.

 

As far as transportation if you are going on your own....when you get off the ferry in Anguilla there are taxi's galore with the FRIENDLIEST taxi drivers you will ever meet!! I imagine you could just ask them to drop you off at Shoal Bay and arrange for a pickup time. We had a bus driver so it wasn't an issue for us. This is definitely a trip not to be missed....I hope you go check it out for yourself!!

 

-Becky

[mominva]

I want to thank everyone for the book recommendations. I just returned from a Caribbean cruise and read both of them.

 

An Embarrassment of Mangoes by Vanderhoof

 

A trip to the Beach by Blanchard

 

Both were perfect reading for a cruise. You learn more the islands and seasons. Both are nonfiction.

[jean87510]

So I guess you made it to anquilla and read them?

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

[gtaylor]

And the books are still available 13 years after the original post. :)

 

gary

[navybankerteacher]

We have gone to Anguilla for the day from St. Martin. However, this was during a land vacation and not while on a cruise. While I think it is possible to do this on a cruise port day, it will certainly be an adventure!! The ferries to Anguilla leave regularly from Marigot (schedule varies during the day but seems like at least every hour) and takes approx. 45 minutes. Upon arrival in Anguilla, you will need to Taxi to wherever you are going (there is nothing directly at ferry pier). We went to Shoal Bay which was approx. half hour from ferry pier.

 

This is what the day will look like:

Cruise dock in Phillipsburg to Marigot (1/2 hour)

Marigot to Ferry pier in Anguilla (1 hour)

Taxi to beach on Anguilla (1/2 hour)

Everything in reverse to return.

 

In order to pull this off, you will need to get off your ship early and get to Marigot in time for an early ferry to Anguilla. This still will not leave more than 2-3 hours on the beach in Anguilla. YOU NEED PASSPORTS OR RAISED SEAL BIRTH CERTS TO GET THROUGH CUSTOMS. The taxis and ferries will end up costing approx. $50 pp.

 

The beaches on Anguilla were among the best I've seen anywhere. Shoal Bay was incredible. There were a couple of reasonable beach restaurants to have lunch at. Good Luck!!!

 

Kevin

 

Adventure of the Seas - 2004

Destiny - 2003

Splendour of the Seas - 2002

Sea Princess - 2001

Majesty of the Seas - 2000

Inspiration - 1998

Ecstasy - 1997

 

A good snapshot - we've also gone over while staying on St. Maarten. It can be done on a cruise port call, but the travel does absorb a lot of limited time. I'd be inclined to enjoy a less stress beach day on one of the many St. Maarten beaches ( which admittedly do not measure up) when on a cruise.

[gtaylor]

Agree. :)

 

gary

[Karysa]

Prices for food and drink, taxi's and the ferry have gone up AND the traffic in St. Maarten has to, partially due to number and size of the ships compared to back in 2004. It's not something that I would do on a cruise stop either. Beautiful beaches on Anguilla though.