I'll be honest - before we left on our trip, I envisioned these posts a little differently than they turned out. I thought I would discuss the kid-centric activities we did on the island that differed from the things we did when we visited as a couple. However, we found that our activities actually changed very little! The timing may have changed (either time of day or amount of time) and we did explore a few new areas, but we didn't do anything specific that we would not have enjoyed as adults. And our daughter had an incredible time! So instead, I thought I'd tackle the island in a different way - beach by beach - and discuss specifics of each. I will have a separate post focusing on two activities we did - a sunset cruise and Festival del Mar.
Getting there
Arriving at Blowing Point Ferry Terminal
First things first - getting to this beautiful island. As you may know by now, most people coming to Anguilla fly into St Maarten airport and take a ferry to Anguilla. You can fly into Anguilla itself, but flights are few and quite pricy. We took the ferry option and this leaves you with two choices - private or public. The public ferry leaves from Marigot, which is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride from the airport. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the island. We took the public ferry the first time we visited and our experience was just fine, but the issue is the transfer to Marigot, especially with more luggage and our daughter in tow. This time, mostly for ease, we took a Calypso charter boat directly from the airport (they have vans meet you for transfer to their dock - about a minute away). This is a more streamlined way to travel in our opinion, even though cost is higher, and it's especially easily with kids. You will have a quick passport review in St. Maarten, then proceed directly on to the boat for about a 25 minute ride. They also offer free rum punch or beer on the boat.
I will make a comment here I think applies to life on St Maarten, Anguilla, and most of the Caribbean islands - the pace is DIFFERENT. We are used to run, run, run at home in the US and that is just not the case in this area. People rarely move quickly, service is often slow, and it will probably take you some time to adjust. Try your best not to get frustrated, remember you are on vacation, and just take it all with a smile. Everyone is much happier this way. Also make sure you have some small bills on hand to tip the bag porters - US currency is happily accepted in Anguilla.
Once you get to Anguilla, you will go through their customs (usually takes about 10-15 minutes) and head outside. You can catch a taxi here to any hotel or guest house on the island, but we would urge you to pick up a rental car. I would recommend rental cars to anyone visiting Anguilla as you will likely want to travel around and experience many different gorgeous areas, but especially for those traveling with children they are essential. Cabs are few and far between on this island, and driving around yourself really is easy. You are on the other side of the road, but it's very difficult to get lost and traffic laws are simple to follow. The flexibility trumps any hardship. We highly recommend Ronnie Bryan for rental - his pick up area is directly behind the Blowing Point Ferry Terminal. One thing I cannot speak to is car seat rental - we were comfortable with our daughter in a seat belt alone.
The Royal Palms
Our home away from home for this trip was the Royal Palms and we LOVED it. This is not high luxury and I would certainly view pictures to see if the accomodations match your expectations. What I will tell you is that this small 6 room hotel is SPOTLESSLY clean and the daily maid service (every day but Sunday) ensures it stays that way. The kitchens are reasonably well appointed as long as you are cooking simply, and we enjoyed having a toaster, microwave, and blender available. The bedrooms are large, bright, comfortable, and nicely furnished. I was also very impressed with the bathrooms, although I could have used a little more counter space in the master (I ended up sharing with my daughter in the other bathroom). The pool was clean and comfortable; it is saltwater if this matters to you. Beach towels are provided and there are plenty of beach chairs you can take as well -we were encouraged to keep ours in our trunk for the duration of our stay. Owners Mary and Tracy are both very kind and will take care of any need you have. I mentioned to Mary when we checked in that our daughter's birthday would happen during our trip and she not only remembered the day, but asked our maid Maria to add some decorations to the room for the special occasion. This above and beyond touch was HUGE for our daughter and so appreciated.
One con: there was a very noisy rooster wandering the area while we were there, and he woke up EARLY. I don't think there was anything to be done about this bird, but we did have to turn up our white noise to drown him out.
Fresh flowers appeared each day
View from our second floor room - you could see the ocean and even out to St. Martin! For an even better view, I'd ask for the third floor.
Our daughter enjoying the pool. Royal Palms is not beachfront, but it is 107 seconds (by our daughter's count) to Rendezvous Bay by car. We didn't miss the beach access directly from the room as we spent too much time out exploring.
Birthday decorations! Simple but wonderful.
Owner Mary is a gem :)
As you may know, Anguilla has 33 glorious beaches. Some are big, some are very small, some are quite populated, some are deserted. There is literally a beach here for everyone. But they do all have their own specific personality and activities available - so take that into consideration when you plan your days. We hit 12 beaches during our recent week in Anguilla (and in no way felt rushed!) so I'll try to give you a feel for all of those. Plus - of course - tons of pictures :)
Meads Bay
Meads Bay is one of the more famous beaches on Anguilla and I think it's very best feature is the sunsets. What a place to watch them...
Accomodation: We spent a lot of time on Meads Bay during our last visit as it was the location of our charming boutique hotel The Frangipani. I would absolutely recommend this hotel for a couple or if you are looking for beachfront accomodation - when we visited this time there were several children playing in the gorgeous infinity pool! Managers Scott and Shannon are amazing and will make sure your experience is all you want it to be. If you are looking for a high end large resort, check out the Viceroy or the newly renovated Malliouhana.
The Frangipani - and a rainbow :)
Swimming/beach play: Meads is a great swimming beach - super soft sand that slopes gently to the water, nice shallow areas, very few rocks. There are also some great sand hills for running and rolling. Decent sand castle sand.
Restaurants: The best place for beachside dining in my opinion. The highlight for kids is Blanchard's Beach Shack, where we celebrated our daughter's birthday dinner (as well as a few other meals). A wide variety of menu choices, including chicken fingers, fries, and ice cream, and you can dine right on the beach among the palms with a view of the ocean. Even at night - very family friendly.
Blanchard's by day
Just beyond the tables...
Blanchard's by night
For breakfast or a nicer dinner, we love The Straw Hat at The Frangipani. It's also beachfront and you can dine overlooking the water. Delicious food, very relaxed environment and a kids menu. Quite family friendly earlier in the evening as the kids can play in the sand while the parents wait for food.
You should also try Ocean's Echo, a more upscale restaurant a short walk down the beach. Great menu for adults and a specific kids menu. Also the option for sand play directly from the dining room. The perfect place to watch the sunset.
Kid friendly rating: Very! You will see lots of families here and kids will love the beach and Blanchard's.
Savannah Bay
If you are in search of a deserted beach, this is a great option. Both times we have been here, we have run into just a few people, and we have spent most of our time here with no one at all. It's a bit of a rough drive to get here over bumpy dirt roads, but hang in - it's worth it. Just follow the signs :)
Accomodation: None.
Swimming/beach play: Great place to build a sandcastle. This beach is a little more seaweedy than some (this tends to be more prominent on the southeastern beaches that are less populated and groomed), but it is still easy to swim here. There are more rocks present but it's not overwhelming.
Restaurants: The one and only is Palm Grove, also known as Nat's Place. We have only had cocktails from Nat's, but I have heard glowing reviews about the fresh seafood.
Kid friendly rating: Reasonably. Our daughter loved the fact that we were there alone, but the seaweed bugged her a bit.
Sandy Hill Bay
Another deserted beach option is this gorgeous one.
This is the "parking lot".
Accomodation: There are several small hotels and villas along Sandy Hill Bay, but none are directly on the sand.
On the edge of the protected cove
Swimming/beach play: A great beach for very little ones! The protected cove area is very shallow out quite far, with very few rocks and flat water. There is some seaweed, but it's not horrible. Maybe not the ideal place for sandcastles, but there is some open sand to dig in.
A few bigger waves out here for older ones :)
Some wonderful scenery if you walk just a few hundred yards down.
Restaurants: none.
Kid friendly rating: Good! There isn't much here, but if you're looking to hang out as a family or have weaker swimmers, it could be ideal. Awesome place to shell hunt.
Shoal Bay West
I wanted to comment about Shoal Bay West although we spent very little time there. The visit was part of a drive when our daughter had fallen asleep in the car and we wanted her to get some rest :)
Accomodation: Several hotels on or near the sand - we considered staying at Blue Waters here.
Swimming/beach play: This beach is significantly sloping to the water, at least the parts I saw, similar to parts of Meads Bay. Sand is very soft and there appeared to be very few rocks. No seaweed.
Restaurants: The one I have heard most about is Trattoria Tramonto - reviews are largely positive. I saw their beachfront tables and they do have a very relaxed setting and gorgeous view.
Kid friendly rating: Reasonably. I don't see why kids would not enjoy this beach, but I didn't see a ton of them here while we visited.
In my next post, I'll show you the Sunshine Shack on Rendezvous Bay, Gwen's Reggae Grill on Shoal Bay East, and Roy's Bayside Grill/Elvis' Beach Bar in Sandy Ground. All would vie for my daughter's favorite places on the island :)
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