anyone consider a side trip to Anguilla on their own from St. Maarten?

[AnnMorin]

Another thread got me interested in the possiblity of going to Anguilla on our next trip to St. Maarten. (we have been there before and would prefer to see something new). After some research it appears there is a ferry for only 10 each way and that it is a 20 min trip. Anyone else ever thought of "island hopping" when in St. Maarten. It is not the most beautiful place but I heard Anguilla is.

 

[TinkHappy]

When we went on our last cruise "Ginger" put together an "excursion" of her own and a lot of "DISers" went. We didn't go, I can't remember why. When they came back, I was very jealous!!! She said they had a wonderul time and the island was beautiful.
You might want to PM "Ginger" she is wonderful and very nice. I am sure she would be very happy to help.

Also, if you do a search (if it is on) Put in Anguila, see what comes up.
Hope this helps.

 

[AnnMorin]

The search function is not working right now, I have until next december to figure it out but I am really toying with tis idea. The excursion that Disney now does have to Anguilla is a swim with the dolphins type but it is VERY pricy. It would cost almost $600 for the three of us to do so I doubt I will do that, plus you don't get to see much of Anguilla that way. "Ginger" if you happen to read this feel free to pm me or post on how you went about your planning! And if anyone else on the 12/13/03 is interested let me know.

 

[my3kids]

I thought about this too, but didn't and wish I had! I don't think it is very hard to do, especially if the ship is staying until later at night again like it did in November. I think you will need to take your passport with you since you are leaving the island Disney had cleared you for and entering another country.

 

[lucky2]

How late do we stay at St. Maarten?

 

[meab]

Here is a link I found to the ferry between St. Martin and Anguilla (this one leaves from Marigot on the French side....the ship docks in Philipsburg on the Dutch Side).

http://link.ai/

What a great idea to check out Anguilla! Thanks! Here is some more info on what to do in Anguilla http://www.frommers.com/destinations/anguilla/0174030751.html

 

[4nana]

I have not been to Anguilla, but would not hesitate to venture out as it is only a 20-30 min. boat trip. We found the non Disney excursions on our own to be much cheaper, also saving time, allowing us to do, see, enjoy much more. According to 'Dolphin Fantaseas' site you can also save some money at $125 pp.
Sounds like a wonderful trip to me!

http://www.dolphinfantaseas.com/experience/programs.htm

 

[Samsma]

I would love to do the dolphin/stingray excursion on my own to save some $. Does anyone have any additional info on this? I just worry about rough seas preventing the ferry from getting back. Am I being silly?


4nana- you beat to to posting. Still worried about getting back.

 

[Michelle]

No, you're not being silly, Jenny -- I would worry about getting back to the ship in time, too, even though it certainly can be done.

I'll be interested to hear other opinions of a side trip to Anguilla as well!

 

[AnnMorin]

well I am now REALLY considering this. I checked to see what could be done in the event of rough seas. (the ferry is a 20 min ride, runs every half hour) and they also have flights for about 45.00 per person which could be used if it got too rough. Although I did not hesitate at all to go to St. John which was a MUCH longer boat ride. I think it would be fun to explore a new island. My friend's boss goes there every year and says it is breathtaking-not like st. Maarten at all. Jay is laughing at me that I am thinking of this now when it is a year away. He just told me, why don't you fixate on Cape Cod (our summer trip) planning that- heck I have been going to the cape every summer for 40 years, nothing left to plan on that one THIS on the otherhand could be a neat adventure!

 

[AnnMorin]

We arrive in St. Maarten at 7am and depart at 7:30pm. The first ferry starts running at 8am which allows time to take a water taxi to the french side. I have been doing a lot of research on it and it looks like a beautiful non-commercial island. If we went early in the morning we would still have plenty of time in the afternoon to shop back near the ship!

There are several sites that talk about it, some even list the cab rates. here are a few if anyone is interested.

http://sg.travel.yahoo.com/guide/caribbean/anguilla/index.html


http://www.news.ai/ref/taxifare.html

http://www.anguilla-vacation.com/getting_around.htm


what a nice think to think about as I sit here buried in snow-and it just keeps snowing and snowing. It is sad when you have to start referring to it in matters of feet not inches anymore

 

[my3kids]

Oh my goodness...the planning so far in advance. We are going out west for 2 or 3 weeks this summer and I know absolutley nothing about it! Don't have hotel reservations except for a couple of places, don't even know quite where we'll visit. I just don't know where to begin. Luckily I found this board in the early stages of planning for our first cruise. Wish there was something like this for "the west." But, at least I'll know absolutley everything about the 7 night Western before we go back in March of "04!

 

[kendall]

I'm going to plan and book a side trip from St. Maarten to Anguilla to do the dolphin/stingray experience. We are sailing on the 4/5/03 Magic - if anyone is interested in joining us, PM me and perhaps we can get a group discount.

We booked 5020, a secret porthole room, with the idea that we would spend the $$ on something special - this certainly qualifies!

I've emailed Dolphin Fantaseas for additional details and recommendations, and will share when I have the info and plan complete.

I notice that the ship leaves St. Maarten at 7:30 p.m. now - that is earlier than our first cruise - we left around 11:30 p.m. on our cruise. Is that a new time?

Thanks everyone for posting information links on this thread - very helpful!

 

[AnnMorin]

Kendall, please post when you return as to how it went. I really want to do this even if my husband thinks I am a kook (nothing new really he often thinks this )

 

[MelissaE1]

Wow, what a really neat idea! My youngest (dd4) is really too young for any of the best excursions, and while I might enjoy it, dragging my family all over St. Martin shopping would be a drag for 3/4 of us.

I called the Anguilla Tourist Board here in the US and the lady was very nice, she had just returned from a Carnival cruise and took a side trip to Anguilla and told me just how to get there (shuttle from the dock to Dutch side, take ferry from there).

She also told me there is a nice area to hang out with kids around the Malliouhana Resort, they have a pirate ship playground with a water slide and several other things. $25 a kid, but hey, this is vacation, right? It looks like there are also several other family-oriented things to do there.

It looks simply beautiful, thanks for mentioning it, AnnMorin.

 

[AnnMorin]

what is the number for that? Never too early to amass information I say!

 

[pigelet]

We took the ferry last year from Marigot and it was about 20 minutes to Anguilla. We were not on a cruise. Yes, you need your passport. When we got out of the ferry port we just had a man in a taxi take us to the "nicest beach" which DH thinks it was called Le Petit Plague(?). The ride there was about 15 minutes in the pouring rain. We were 5 of maybe 10 people on the beach. I have never seen such clear water. The rain came and went all day. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and the BEST beach day we had. They had a game called the hook and the ring. DB and DH got "hooked".
Would HIGHLY recommend Anguilla. Would love to go there on vacation for a week but it is quite pricey.
The taxi driver that dropped us off picked us back up when we asked him to. On the way back to the ferry, he stopped off to pick his children up from school. It was interesting for D5(at the time) to see what the school looked like. It was a very small building that didn't look like it could hold the amount of children that were outside.
Thumbs up on Anguilla

 

[AnnMorin]

On the Anguilla web site it said that you only need a photo ID and a birth certificate if you are an American Citizen

 

[MelissaE1]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
what is the number for that? Never too early to amass information I say!

AnnMorin, here is the info for the Anguilla Tourist Board in the USA:

Anguilla Tourist Board
Marketing Office
111 Decatur Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
Tel.: 267-880-3511
Fax: 267-880-3507
Email: enterprisefx@aol.com
anguillabwi@aol.com

When I talked to them they confirmed that you would only need a birth certificate and photo ID if you did not have a passport.

 

[JODIELYN]

This thread interested me because i have always wanted to visit the island of Anguilla ever since reading this book.

If you are at all interested in this island you must read it! It's all about a couple that MOVE to this island and start their own restaraunt... etc....

Very good read... and gives you a sense of this island and it's beauty!!!


The book is called : A Trip To the Beach, by: Melinda and Robert Blanchard, lets see if this link works.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...ate=01-06-2003+21:35:59&isbn=060980748X&itm=1

I love to read... anyone want to read and discuss this???

Jodie