One Perfect Day Exploring Anguilla's Beaches
- ChasingBuffaloesandBeyond
- May 3, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 19, 2022
ARRIVING ON ANGUILLA
As part of our trip to the Caribbean island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, we spent a wonderful day visiting the island of Anguilla. With a number of surrounding islands that could be visited as day trip from Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, it is hard to pick one. We ended up choosing to visit the British island of Anguilla. Anguilla is a long skinny island - 16 miles long by 3 miles wide and is an absolute beauty to visit! Anguilla is ruled as a British Oversea Territory and while Anguilla is run as a largely self governing nation, it does still fall under the power and protection of Britain.
With just a 25 minute ferry ride from Saint Martin to Blowing Point in Anguilla - it is super easy to get to Anguilla - just make sure to bring you passport as it is required! The cost of a ticket is $20 roundtrip, and no reservations are needed. Upon arriving in Anguilla there are two main ways to get around the island - by taxi (at about $20 per hour) or rent a car for the day. We chose to rent a car for about $60 for the day and included a temporary Anguilla driving license. Conveniently located is Andy's Car Rental that is located right at the Ferry Terminal in Anguilla and reservations can be made on ahead of time online. Just one HUGE thing to know though about renting a car - Anguilla is British - so you will be driving on the opposite side of the road! Adventure here we come!
SHOAL BAY
Catching the 8:15am ferry to Anguilla, we had a full day ahead of us to explore this tiny Caribbean island. But within this small island, there are actually 33 beaches to choose from! We narrowed it down to three top beaches that we wanted to see during our day on Anguilla: Shoal Bay, Meads Bay & Rendezvous Bay. So off we set in our rental car channeling our inner British selves - driving down the left side of the road. Our first stop of the morning was Shoal Bay. Unfortunately, we did not get the best weather when visiting Anguilla as it was super cloudy with a threat of rain all day - but the rain did hold off luckily! Shoal Bay is absolute paradise and it consistently ranked as one of the top beaches in not only the Caribbean, but in the entire world! Powdery sand and brilliant colored waters (even on a cloudy day) make this beach heavenly!
MEADS BAY
After spending most of the morning at Shoal Bay, we decided to venture onto our next beach of the day - Meads Bay. As we arrived to Meads Bay, we came across Blanchard's Beach Shack where we stopped for lunch. Serving up typical beach fare from hamburgers & hotdogs to more local specialties like jerk chicken sandwiches & Caribbean cornbread, this was a wonderful lunch while enjoying our time on Anguilla! Don't forget to grab a rum punch or mango colada as well!
After enjoying our lunch under the palm trees and spending some time with the staff at Blanchard's (they loved playing with our 8 month old son) it was time to head to the beach! Swimming at Meads Bay was paradise! Another picture perfect, white sand, turquoise water beach. After just a few hours on Anguilla, it is easy to see why people fall in love with this island!
RENDEZVOUS BAY
Continuing on with our exploration of Anguilla, we headed to the third and last beach for the day - Rendezvous Bay. Visiting three beaches in one day, makes for a very busy day but is doable! Rendezvous Bay is another top beach with beautiful views towards St. Martin and is almost always calm making for a great family beach! This palm tree lined, two mile long beach is the stuff of daydreams! We loved the soft powder sands and super calm waves here.
Someday, we would like to go back and experience this wonderful island on a sunny day to enjoy the tropical blues & turquoises of the water in all it's brilliance! Even on a cloudy darker day though, the colors of this island are stunning. Catching the last ferry of the day back to St. Martin/Sint Maarten at 6:15pm, we had a wonderful long day on Anguilla! Tropical paradise in every way, this island is a true gem!
Interested in planning your own trip to Anguilla? Below is our summarized itinerary for you to follow or adjust to your own preferences. ENJOY!
Day 1: Day trip via ferry to Anguilla (Leave Marigot at 8:15 am, Leave Anguilla by 6:15pm) - Shoal Bay, Meads Bay, eat lunch at Blanchards Beach Shack, Rendezvous Bay. Catch the 6:15 ferry back to St. Martin/Sint Maarten. Looking for ideas of what to see and do on St.Martin/Sint Maarten? Click Here to read more.
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