Getting to Anguilla
Happy New Year Post to follow, but in the last few days several people have asked me for a recommendation on how best to get to Anguilla and how to get here from the Princess Juliana airport in St Maarten.
By air:
American Airlines, or rather American Eagle has one flight in and out of Anguilla from/to San Juan, Puerto Rico per day. The inbound flight leaves San Juan around 830pm at night and arrives an hour later in Anguilla. The out bound flight leaves Anguilla around 730am and arrives in San Juan an hour later.
The problem with the inbound night flight is that it is rarely on time and often gets cancelled (60% on time arrival, America's worst luggage handling record), forcing you to spend an extra night in some random San Juan hotel. If you're here on vacation, this wastes a lot of time, but then again, if you're coming from far West, such as California, this might be the fastest way to get here. It is also nice to be at your final destination without having to haul luggage and take ferry boats etc.
By ferry:
If you're deciding to fly into St Maarten Princess Juliana airport (SXM) then you have two options on getting to Anguilla - one is by public ferry which runs once an hour (or so, hard to tell, not much of a schedule) or you can hire a semi-private ferry, which also do private charters. The public ferry costs $15 per person, which is collected on the boat, but as you get a ticket at the counter, you will also have to pay a $5 departure tax per person. The trip via public ferry is about 25 minutes and leaves out of Marigot, which means you have to take a taxi from SXM to the Marigot harbour, about a $22 affair.
Timewise, it may take up to 30minutes to get to Marigot from SXM, then you might be waiting for up to an hour for the next ferry. Add the 30 minute trip and another 30-60minutes waiting in line at the Blowing Point harbour for Immigration and Customs and this turns into a time-costly ordeal. And you're dealing with/waiting with all your luggage the whole time, which can be a problem, especially if you have a herd of kids, lots of luggage and only two hands, like I do.
If you opt for the semi-private ferry, I recommend Funtime Ferry, which picks you up right as you come out of customs in SXM. They handle your luggage all the way to Blowing Point customs in Anguilla and take you via taxi (included in the price) to their private harbour, right next to SXM. From there it's a fast (30min) and scenic ride in their covered boats to Blowing Point, which is best enjoyed relaxing with their complimentary beverage. Unless you arrive at the same time as the public ferry, odds are there will be no customs line, so even at a price is $70 per person, the time savings alone make this worth the money.
If you arrive at a time not fitting their posted online schedule, or if you have a lot of people traveling with you, consider chartering the boat, which will run about $320 for up to four people, and $25 per additional person.
Reservations for the private or semi-pricate options can be made here http://www.funtime-charters.com/funtime-boat-charters.html
By air:
American Airlines, or rather American Eagle has one flight in and out of Anguilla from/to San Juan, Puerto Rico per day. The inbound flight leaves San Juan around 830pm at night and arrives an hour later in Anguilla. The out bound flight leaves Anguilla around 730am and arrives in San Juan an hour later.
The problem with the inbound night flight is that it is rarely on time and often gets cancelled (60% on time arrival, America's worst luggage handling record), forcing you to spend an extra night in some random San Juan hotel. If you're here on vacation, this wastes a lot of time, but then again, if you're coming from far West, such as California, this might be the fastest way to get here. It is also nice to be at your final destination without having to haul luggage and take ferry boats etc.
By ferry:
If you're deciding to fly into St Maarten Princess Juliana airport (SXM) then you have two options on getting to Anguilla - one is by public ferry which runs once an hour (or so, hard to tell, not much of a schedule) or you can hire a semi-private ferry, which also do private charters. The public ferry costs $15 per person, which is collected on the boat, but as you get a ticket at the counter, you will also have to pay a $5 departure tax per person. The trip via public ferry is about 25 minutes and leaves out of Marigot, which means you have to take a taxi from SXM to the Marigot harbour, about a $22 affair.
Timewise, it may take up to 30minutes to get to Marigot from SXM, then you might be waiting for up to an hour for the next ferry. Add the 30 minute trip and another 30-60minutes waiting in line at the Blowing Point harbour for Immigration and Customs and this turns into a time-costly ordeal. And you're dealing with/waiting with all your luggage the whole time, which can be a problem, especially if you have a herd of kids, lots of luggage and only two hands, like I do.
If you opt for the semi-private ferry, I recommend Funtime Ferry, which picks you up right as you come out of customs in SXM. They handle your luggage all the way to Blowing Point customs in Anguilla and take you via taxi (included in the price) to their private harbour, right next to SXM. From there it's a fast (30min) and scenic ride in their covered boats to Blowing Point, which is best enjoyed relaxing with their complimentary beverage. Unless you arrive at the same time as the public ferry, odds are there will be no customs line, so even at a price is $70 per person, the time savings alone make this worth the money.
If you arrive at a time not fitting their posted online schedule, or if you have a lot of people traveling with you, consider chartering the boat, which will run about $320 for up to four people, and $25 per additional person.
Reservations for the private or semi-pricate options can be made here http://www.funtime-charters.com/funtime-boat-charters.html
Free drink??! I asked and was told no. Maybe only single women get free drinks.
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Well, you know that "single" is sort of the same as "married" here or "with kids", so yeah, there is a good chance you just didn't meet the right criteria!
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Thank you so much for the information - it is much appreciated. I booked our flights yesterday for April! keep up the great blog. Deb
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