Timing trip to Anguilla

Hi, I am coming back for our 3rd trip to SXM next week, Simpson Bay 1st time, Orient Beach last time, Grand Case this time. We are planning a day trip to Anguilla with a Dolphin Swim in the afternoon, and want to hit a beach in the morning, but am not sure about the timing. How long will it take for ferry ride from Marigot and getting through immigration on the Anguilla side ? We want to get an hour or two on the beach before lunch, and the one thing I am trying to get timing on is that part. Thanks . Barry.

Ferry ride is 20-30 minutes, depending on the conditions. Immigration could take just a few minutes or perhaps 10-20 if they are crowded but it is not a long process. Take your passport.

We made this day trip in january. If you pick a day when there are few or no cruise ships in St Martin then parking at the public ferry is much easier. I believe the first ferry leaves at 8:15 or 8:30. It is a less-then 30 minute ride to Anguilla. Customs is 5-10 minutes, cabs are available and plentiful right outside of customs. The ferry is $20/person each way. The customs fees total about $15/ person total for the day.They will take you to the beach of your choice, and will also come back to pick you up at a specific time if you request. So you could easily be on the beach about an hour after leaving St Martin. We have been to Shoal Bay, which is beautiful ,and last time went to Blanchard's beach shack on Mead's Bay. The food is excellent, the beach is beautiful, and 2 chairs and an umbrella for $10. Hope you have a great time

Thanks for your help, we were worried that it could be half hour or more at immigration and 45 minutes for ferry. This info is very helpful, we were thinking of scheduling a later dolphin swim to make sure we got some time on the beach, but now we can take an earlier one. Barry.

I was there twice this past year. If you are doing just the day trip I would recommend either spending it w/Garvey at the Sunshine Shack on Rendezvous, or anywhere on Shoal.

Thanks, yes we are doing just the day trip, we considered Rendezvous, but saw a number of posts here about Shoal, so we are headed to Shoal East in the morning before going back for the dolphins in the afternoon.

Shoal Bay will not disappoint.

aren't you supposed to be on an airplane?

In between right now. Boarding in ATL soon I hope.

Shoal Bay was rated by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It truly is stunning. When you go, tell your driver you want to go to Elodia's, set up shop there, they have nice loungers and good food.
I personally would skip the dolphins.
Ellen

Me. too, Ellen. In all honesty, I didn't realize this place was still in existence after the way they used to keep those poor creatures so I'm guessing they were forced to clean up their act? I love AXA. But not so much the Dolphin swim. To each his own..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Me too. I had to look it up. I was shocked it was still around. Or back around.
irina

It stopped for a while, but then it started up again, I am sure palms were greased.
It is inhumane and unsanitary.
I wish the cruise ships would stop offering it as an attraction.
Ellen

Thanks again to JD and Doug, did the trip on Wed and it went fine. There was easy parking across the street for the ferry, we were surprised that when the ferry was about to dock, the stewardess asked if we needed a taxi, then offered to drive us, the pilot of the ferry then started talking to another set of passengers and when they said the wanted to rent a car, he said he could handle that for them. Immigration at each side was less than 5 minutes. Our stewardess/taxi driver, Olivette ,gave us a tour of the island on the way to Shoal , and as predicted here, came back and picked us up, then took us back to the Dolphin Discovery, came inside the shop to make sure everything went smoothly ( the first person said she could not find our reservation ). Olivette stayed with us till that got resolved, then drove us down to the Dolphin swim facility. I do not want to get into the politics of dolphin attractions, but will say they gave a short presentation on challenges facing dolphins in the wild, and encouraged participants to do what they could do to help, such as recycle plastics so they don't end up in the ocean, etc. They also claimed the lifespan of a dolphin in captivity was much longer than those in the wild, for what that's worth.

Glad it worked out for you. Always a fun trip to Anguilla.