St Maarten to Anguilla

[5MNtravelbugs]

Has anyone taken the ferry from St. Maarten to Anguilla? Or are there any tours available that do this? Been to St. Maarten a few times and just looking for something different. Any hiking on Anguilla?

[cruise2new]

I was wondering the same thing. Also, would you have time to see both sides of St. Maarten and go to Anguilla? We are here for about 8 hrs.

[cruise2new]

Has anyone taken the ferry from St. Maarten to Anguilla? Or are there any tours available that do this? Been to St. Maarten a few times and just looking for something different. Any hiking on Anguilla?

 

I found this on TripAdvisor about the ferry (from 2004:():

 

"Ferries leave Marigot every 30 minutes on weekdays in theory, taking about 20 mins to Blowing Point, the ferry port on Anguilla. (Sunday schedule may well be less frequent) When you arrive at Marigot, go straight to the little glassed-in desk and sign up for the next ferry. (It is more like a bus stop than a ferry port!) If you have not put your name on the list (complete with passport number) they will not let you board,so racing for an approaching ferry can be an exercise in frustration. Debarkation in Anguilla is pretty straightforward,...Last regular ferry leaves Marigot at 6.30 pm or 7 pm - sorry - can't remember. After that, there is no boat until the night ferry, which is advertised as leaving at 10 pm, but the last time I took it left at 11pm."

 

I also found this (from 2008):

 

"If the "public" ferry is used, there will be roundtrip cab fares and gratituities to both cab drivers) for transportation to the Marigot public ferry terminal from Juliana Airport in Phillipsburg, plus the cost of the roundtrip public ferry fares and departure taxes. The "SHAUNA VI" ferry is extremely convenient and competitively priced. When anyone adds up the costs of taxicab fares, tips, public ferry fares and departure taxes; the cost of travel for 2 adults using the SHAUNA VI private ferry service will be comparable in cost."

 

So I am still confused on whether to take the public ferry or hire a private one. I know the public ferry is probably cheaper, though. Any help is appreciated.

[prettycoolguy49]

I've been to Anguilla on two land vacations and have always flown into St Martin and taken the public ferry over to Anguilla. The last time was in 2007 and I believe it was around 17.00 each way and it took about 30-40 minutes if memory serves me right.

 

This will be a pretty expensive adventure. Cab fares to and from Marigot and the terminal in Anguilla(Blowing Point). I've been to St Martin via cruise ship and never felt there was enough time to enjoy those "gorgeous beaches"....Shoal Bay East being my favorite.

 

If you have your heart set on going, time will obviously be your biggest enemy. There are several private companies who will get you but it won't be cheap. For more details the best thing to do is hit the Anguilla forum on tripadvisor. There are quite a few destination experts who know every square mile of the island. You could also visit www.anguillaforum.com which originates out of Anguilla.

[5MNtravelbugs]

Thank You for the info! Now I have more options to look into. Not leaving until next Feb., but I do like to look for the road less traveled!!

[cruise2new]

So it would mainly be the taxi from Phillipsburg to Marigot (~$8 pp - there would be 4 of us), the ferry over ($15 plus $5 for taxes pp) then the ferry back ($15 + $5 again pp)? Is there usually a long wait for the ferry?

 

Thanks for the info. We leave for our cruise this Sunday, April 1st, so we are a little closer than you, travelbugs.

[Karysa]

So it would mainly be the taxi from Phillipsburg to Marigot (~$8 pp - there would be 4 of us), the ferry over ($15 plus $5 for taxes pp) then the ferry back ($15 + $5 again pp)? Is there usually a long wait for the ferry?

 

Thanks for the info. We leave for our cruise this Sunday, April 1st, so we are a little closer than you, travelbugs.

 

You would also need a taxi from Marigot back to Phillipsburg and some form of transportation in Anguilla. We rented a small car last summer for $25 for the day. April is busier so the price would be higher. The island is flat and small and easy to drive. The beaches are the nicest part of Anguilla to me, oh and looking across to my favorite island as well.;)

[petepie]

We just did this last week on a cruise stop to St. Maarten. Ship docked at 8am, got off ship by 8:45 and took taxi from Philipsburg to Marigot ($7 per person, approx. 30-40 mins), then took ferry from Marigot to Anguilla - it runs every 45mins (takes approx 20-30 mins) and we were luck to pick one up within 15 minutes of getting there. Ferry is $15pp plus departure tax of $5pp. Took taxi on Anguilla to West Shoal bay ($36 for 4 people) (approx. 20-25mins) and spent the day at Elodia's ($10 for 2 chairs plus umbrella). We got to Elodia's by 11am or so and left at 2:30. We arranged for the taxi driver to pick us up - no taxi stand at West Shoal. Caught the 3pm ferry back to Marigot (another $15pp), then taxi back to the ship (another $7 pp) and were back on board by 4:15-4:30.

 

I really wanted to see Anguilla, so even though it was expensive for such a short stay, it was something we wanted to do. Unfortunately the surf was up at Shoal Bay so it was not the smooth glassy lagoon we expected. We still swam an the water was warm and blue, but not much different from St. John or some of the other beaches we'd been to. The vibe was very laid back, not a lot of people on the beach.

 

So, it's definitely doable, you just have to get going early and bring lots of cash. Also, we were in port until 6pm, so we felt like we had enough time to give it a try.