Top 5 Beaches on Anguilla

Anguilla boasts 33 beaches to choose from, making it tough to choose which beaches to visit on just one trip. Here are my favorite beaches, rank ordered.

1. Sandy Island

Sandy Island is my absolute favorite beach and my favorite part of a trip to Anguilla. If you do one thing while you are in Anguilla, go to Sandy Island. Sandy Island is so unique to Anguilla. You take a quick ferry / boat out from Sandy Ground and arrive at this tiny little island with one restaurant and a bunch of beach chairs. You can see 360 water around you when you stand on the island. The beach has the quintessential change in water color with a striking difference between the light and dark blues with the white sand. Plus, there is a great, shallow reef for snorkeling right of the island. The island truly has it all! I felt like I was on some remote hideaway, shocked that only a few other people were on the island. Sandy Island took my breath away and I kept having to remind myself that the place was real.

East Shoal Bay

This is by far my favorite beach on the island of Anguilla itself. Doesn’t have the striking color difference in the water with the light and dark blues, but it does have dreamy white sand and light blue water. It is truly paradise. The beach is so pretty and the water is calm for swimming and snorkeling or simply just hanging out in the water. A beach where I can find snorkeling is always a plus in my eyes. There are some great restaurants on this beach if you get hungry or need a drink.

Rendezvous Bay

Rendezvous Bay was a little windy on the day I visited making it not quite as nice because the sand got swept up a little. That being said, the water was still calm and a great spot to dunk in and hang out. I could see how on a sunnier day how this beach would be perfect. It is a good walking beach and I think earns the #3 spot because of both the beauty and the beach bars in the sand. I got to eat my lunch on the sand and play corn hole. The most famous beach bar in the world also sits on this beach!

Meads Bay and Byron Bay

Meads Bay and Byron Bay are right next to the Four Seasons. They had a little rough water on the day I visited. I snorkeled off of Byron Bay and the snorkeling was decent, I wouldn’t say great by any means though. Byron Bay looked completely empty as I snorkeled, not a sole was on the beach. Meads Bay had a lot more people as it was more accessible from the road and Four Seasons. I wasn’t able to kayak because the water was rougher here on this day.

Once I walked down the beach away from the Four Seasons, for whatever reason, the sun was shining on the other side and the water perfectly blue. Yet, it was stormy on the other side of the beach. Down away from the Four Seasons, not only was the sun shining and it was perfectly beautiful, there is a great lunch spot where my $8 frozen fruity drink was the most expensive thing I paid for all day (including food!). I loved this spot and it was another great place in the sand.

Sandy Ground

Finally, there is Sandy Ground. This beach is more unique. It is the jumping off point to a lot of activities including going to Sandy Island and diving charters. There is the biggest collection of restaurants along this beach. I found this beach to be primarily people going to eat and going out to do stuff, I didn’t notice anyone laying out specifically just to hang out at the beach. It still was a beautiful beach and a great jumping off point for plenty of things to do!