Anguilla Travel Guide

Not the fanciest or most blogger-y travel guide, but here are my travel notes. I hope they're helpful :)
Feel free to email me if you have questions or would like to know more: blog {dot} awinkasmile {at} gmail {dot} com.

Misc information:

• Cabs are very expensive and we loved having a rental car. They drive on the left, but the rental cars are mostly driver on the left so it feels less weird and there weren't many cars on the road so it was less scary lol.
• Anguilla has 33 beaches and you are missing out if you don't explore some outside of the ones your hotel is on. All beaches are public so even if there is a big resort, there are public areas.
• Getting from SXM to Anguilla is a few steps. It's not hard or that time consuming, but it is nice to know what to expect :). We took the group charter service called Funtime and it was $70 pp each way plus the departure tax (so $168 pp roundtrip). You can make this transfer for a bit less money, but I think it's very worth the money. Also budget tips for the luggage porter on each side.
• Most prices we saw on menus, etc were in US dollars, BUT we got home and found we were charged foreign transaction fees by our bank. It seems that a lot of places list the pricing in USD which is helpful, but then the charges are run in Eastern Caribbean Dollars. Not the end of the world, but I would have brought more cash to take care of smaller bills and avoid the fees. 

Where We Stayed:

• Belmond Cap Juluca: I can't say enough amazing things!
• CuisinArt: The hotel was lovely and the beach is nice. I found the staff to be less welcoming here and the food is expensive for the quality. A good option for a lower rate, but still nice hotel if you plan to go off property during the day. 

Beaches we went to and loved:

• Shoal Bay East--one of the top rated beaches in the world and it's STUNNING. You can rent chairs from a guy near Ernie's
• Rendezvous Bay--our first hotel, CuisinArt, is on this beach and so is Banky Banx Dune Preserve. It was gorgeous but seaweedy when we were there
• Crocus Bay--smaller and pretty/calm. Lunch at Da'vida includes access to the beach chairs (first come, first served)
• Little Bay--such a gem, only accessible by boat. Calvin's boat is $15 round trip from Crocus.
• Maunday's Bay--the beach Cap Juluca is on. STUNNING and so huge. They have an area near the main building without chairs so non-hotel guests can access the beach.
• Meads Bay--another stunner!

Casual restaurants:

• Picante--decent Mexican food. I liked it more than my husband.
• Blanchard's Beach Shack--located on Meads Bay. Beach chairs for $5 each and then they give you a buzzer for when food is ready. An institution and delicious!!! The mahi tacos (so much mahi in this email lol) and the guac hit the spot!
• Uncle Ernie's--located on Shoal Bay. Delicious mahi sandwich. Rent chairs--we paid $20 for an umbrella and two chairs from some dude named Ray.
• Ken's BBQ--located on The Strip. Ok...not on the tourist track...this is definitely moreso locals and we felt like it was very Anthony Bourdain of us to do haha. I felt totally safe and just dressed down a bit so I didn't look quite so touristy. The ribs are to die for and it was so cheap.
• Da'vida--located on Crocus Bay. Another delicious mahi sandwich! The prices aren't quite as low, but the food was good and more moderate and it's a great spot to check out Crocus and Little Bay.
• Cap Shack--food truck/beach shack at Cap Juluca. Not as cheap as the true beach shacks, but the mahi tacos were killer and it's a the far end of Maunday's Bay.
• Crave Ice Cream--yummy!

Nicer restaurants:

• Blanchard's--same owners as the beach shack (they're next to each other). So yummy for tacos, sandwiches, beer, etc. $5 pp for chairs on the beach and there are tables too. Very casual with a mix of locals and tourists. The ribs were soooo good!
• Mango's--right on the beach (we went after dark). The food, ambiance, wine, and service were all spot on! The wahoo tartar was yummy and I had a delish Caribbean lobster!
• Malliouhana--Cafe Celeste was beautiful (get there before dark for the views) and the service and food were good. We weren't really hungry when we got there so I don't have as good a take. I would go for a drink when it's still light to see the hotel--it's really cool!!
• Cip's by Cipriani--we didn't plan to eat Italian food on this trip, but by our last night, a salad and splitting a pasta was calling our name. Stunning views at Cap Juluca with impeccable service and food. Also fun since we had dinner at Cip's in Venice :)