Travel Anguilla Guide

You’ve decided to go to Anguilla, congratulations you’ve made a great decision! Here is some needed information for your trip:

How to get to Anguilla

You will have to fly into St. Martin and ferry to Anguilla. If you have been to the Virgin Islands, St. Martin is pretty close to them so you’ll have a similar flight time. People coming from the West Coast, that means about 12 hours of travel time with a layover somewhere on the East Coast.

The ferry to Anguilla is really simple and easy. It only takes about 20 minutes so please don’t let the fact you can’t fly directly to the island deter you! In fact, I think it is perfect because many people think the island is too inaccessible when in fact it is easy to get to. Voila! A short ferry ride and an empty island for yourself to escape the crowds.

When to go

First of all, hurricane season is June to November. December to April is peak season and is when you will have the most tourists and the highest cost. May through August you see much cheaper prices and slightly more rainfall.

I went in July and to be honest the rain did ruin a few of the days or parts of the days. We had one day where the sky was just falling on us, it was some of the hardest rain I’ve seen in my life. It was not beach weather whatsoever but we did make the most of it as the ocean was warmer than outside and go snorkeling. An open bar also helps 😉

It also rained a few of the other days mainly in the afternoon or evening. One day I was sitting on the beach and it was perfect and 10 minutes later I was huddled under a beach bar luckily it was right around dinner time and we were leaving. Another night we went to a bar to play corn hole on the beach but it was raining again.

Take this how you will. I think it was random chance that we got some bad weather. I will say the weather was nice and I never found it too humid. When it was fully sunny all day it was gorgeous. There was also very few people on the island so it did live up to being a place to get away. I’d be curious if there are actually crowds during busy season.

What to bring

The island is very casual. Think classic beach outfit during the day with a swimsuit, tank top, shorts, and flip flops. For dinner, you could wear sundresses or rompers, but shorts and a tank top wouldn’t be out of the ordinary again. Guys can wear Hawaiians.

Bring your snorkel gear if you have it! A lot of beaches you can snorkel right off the beach so it pays to have your own gear. I think one of the best choices for us was having a YETI backpack cooler that we brought to all the beaches so we could drink the beer we brought at the store. This is not necessary here though as every beach had a line of bars so you can buy drinks (just at a higher cost).

How to get around

I would recommend renting a car. I did not rent a car and took a taxi everywhere. They are pretty pricey, it could be up to $60 one way for 3 of us. ~$20 a person each way starts to add up. It did not seem to matter if you are going somewhere 5 minutes away or 20 minutes, the price was all the same. The store was less than a mile away and he charged us $60 round trip (granted he did wait for us while we were in there).

Going to the beach, beach hopping, going to dinner, and you can see how many taxi rides a day you can start taking. You also have less flexibility. While a bar would always call a taxi for you so you are never stranded anywhere, it could take 15-20 minutes for it to arrive. Not a huge deal, but is a factor.

I think renting a car could actually end up cheaper and gives you the flexibility to structure the day how you want. There is one main road on the island, looked like very easy and simple driving. People drove very slow so I don’t think you would be nervous driving here.

Where to stay

I stayed at the Four Seasons and absolutely loved it. We had a plunge pool on our balcony!!! How awesome!! You could keep it at the outside temperature or turn on the heat and make it a hot tub. I found myself every morning and every evening taking a dip, enjoying the ocean view. The hotel is so accommodating and made everything seamless whether it be booking reservations or calling a taxi. Our room was just gorgeous. The infinity pool and beaches on site were amazing. There were 3 pools total and 2 beaches right there. You also got free kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and small sailboat rentals. The water was too rough when we were there though and did not let us go kayak.

As great as the Four Season’s is, my boyfriend’s work was paying for it. If I went by myself, it would be way out of my price range. Plus, once you are there, all of the food and drinks are PRICEY. It was $42 for two drinks by the pool. Ouch. One round was the first and last time we spent any money at the Four Seasons. We found we spent all of our time out exploring and not much time at the resort / pool (we can get the pool at home). Some people, did not leave the resort, but that is not how I travel, so it was definitely more worth it for them. If you have the money, this is a great place to stay but if you are on a budget and like to explore, I would look elsewhere. Perhaps Airbnb or a cheaper hotel.

How much to budget

First off, you can use US dollars on the island, so no need to switch your money out. Some people on my trip did not know this and got the local currency and I’m sure paid a service fee. They also accept credit cards almost everywhere. The only place I found they didn’t was the taxis and some of the beach bars. I would bring plenty of cash if you are taking taxis.

This is a pretty pricey island. I wouldn’t call it a cheap trip. The Four Seasons can run $400+ per night. Dinners we spent an average of $70 each. Most spots are fancy seafood places. Even the not fancy seafood places were $40+ per a meal. We did find some cheap beach shacks for lunch so we didn’t spend too much during the day. We also bought our own beer. Activities run for a couple hundred as well so add that on top.

I think you could easily spend $600+ per day including hotel, taxi / rental car, food, drinks, and add in two or three ~$150 activities and it is an expensive trip. Not to mention the cost of your flight from wherever you are in the US. I think ways to bring this down is to visit in off-season, book a budget hotel or Airbnb, eat at the less expensive dining options, and focus less on the activities and more on beach hoping and free activities.

How long to stay

A week was the perfect amount of time to see everything and get completely relaxed on the island. You can see all the main beaches (out of the 33) and fit in a few activities in this time. It is also a good amount of time for your wallet. Check out my one-week itinerary here.