Eleven miles separate Saint-Martin from Anguilla. Twenty minutes of open water. And two islands that share almost nothing beyond the channel between them. Anguilla has no cruise port and no international airport. What it has is 33 beaches, every one of them open to the public. It is the kind of place where you wish the day ran twice as long. Here is how to make the most of the one you have.
Key takeaways
- Distance: 11 miles (18 km) between Saint-Martin and Anguilla, around 20 to 30 minutes by sea on the ferry or a speedboat.
- Three ways across: the public ferry from Marigot, a private charter from Saint-Martin, or a direct transfer from Princess Juliana airport.
- Ferry fare: from US$30 one way per adult, plus departure and port taxes on both sides.
- Passport required, even for a single day: Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory.
- Sandy Island and Prickly Pear have no land access, so a boat is the only way in.
- A full day runs from 9am to 5pm: three or four beaches, lunch on the sand, one snorkelling stop.
How to Get to Anguilla from Saint-Martin
Anguilla sits 11 miles from Saint-Martin, around 20 to 30 minutes by sea on the ferry or a speedboat. The public ferry links Marigot to Blowing Point with around ten daily departures. Private boats clear customs at Road Bay, on the island’s northern coast.
Three routes link Saint-Martin to Anguilla, and they do not land in the same place. That detail decides how your day starts, so it is worth settling first.
The public ferry leaves from Marigot, on the French side, and docks at Blowing Point, on Anguilla’s southern coast. From there, the beaches are a taxi or rental car away. Good to know before you build a schedule: the Port de Marigot revised its timetable on 1 February 2026, so any departure list published before that date no longer matches reality. Check the current times rather than an older guide.
A private charter leaves from Saint-Martin and clears at Road Bay, next to Sandy Ground, on the opposite coast. Road Bay is the only port on the island that accepts recreational boats, and it opens straight onto the northern beaches.
The third route is the least known and the most comfortable. Fast boats connect Princess Juliana airport directly with Anguilla. No taxi across the island to Marigot, no ferry queue, no rental car on arrival: you land, you board, you are on Anguilla within the hour. It is built for arrivals and departures rather than beach days, and for anyone flying in it removes the entire transfer problem. Beauty Charters runs this crossing as an inter-island transfer.
Ferry or Private Boat: What Actually Changes Between Saint-Martin and Anguilla
Crossing to Anguilla by public ferry costs from US$30 per adult one way, plus taxes, on a fixed timetable. A private charter from Saint-Martin departs when you choose, anchors off the beaches, and reaches offshore cays no ferry serves.
The ferry and a speedboat both cover the eleven miles between Saint-Martin and Anguilla in twenty to thirty minutes. What separates them is everything that happens on either side of those twenty minutes, and the honest comparison is worth making before booking.
The ferry is the affordable option, and it does the job. Ten crossings a day, no reservation needed, and a fare that stays reasonable for a family. The trade-offs are real: you clear immigration twice, on the way out and on the way back, you need ground transport once you land, and Anguilla drives on the left. Catch the first departure and you get around six hours on the island, which is enough for two or three beaches at a relaxed pace. Miss the last return and you are spending the night, so build in a margin, or ask your captain which places are worth staying at.
A private boat removes the timetable entirely. You leave when the light is good, you anchor off Shoal Bay East instead of driving to it, and you swim ashore rather than walking in from a car park. The captain reworks the route around the swell that morning, which on a channel that shifts by mid-morning changes the day considerably.
The decisive difference is geographic rather than commercial. Three of Anguilla’s best spots are served by no road at all, and no ferry timetable reaches them either. If those are on your list, the question answers itself. Our Anguilla boat charter page sets out what a private crossing covers.
Twenty minutes out. A different island, the same afternoon.
What You Need to Enter Anguilla by Sea from Saint-Martin
Entering Anguilla requires a valid passport, including for a single day, because the island is a British Overseas Territory. Recreational boats clear at Road Bay, where customs and immigration open 8:30am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm daily.
However short the crossing, sailing from Saint-Martin to Anguilla means crossing an international border. Three things to sort before departure.
Documents. A valid passport for every passenger, adults and children alike. A US driving licence, including REAL ID, does not qualify, and neither does a European national identity card. Passports only.
Where you clear. Ferry passengers process at the Blowing Point terminal. Private boats land at Road Bay, where the marine base houses both customs and immigration.
How it works with Beauty Charters. Passengers send their passports about a week before the trip, and the captain files the clearance online for everyone on board. There is nothing to do on arrival: no queue, no counter, no paperwork. Passports still have to be on board on the day, and if the authorities run a check, the advance declaration and the passports are enough. The procedure is identical for Saint-Barth.
Taxes. Departure and port taxes apply on both sides, separately from the ticket itself. Amounts vary with age and with length of stay, and they are revised periodically, so the Port de Marigot and the Anguillian authorities remain the reference for current figures. On a private charter, a clearance fee may also be charged per passenger depending on the boat, covering the declaration the captain files on your behalf.
A Day in Anguilla from Saint-Martin, Hour by Hour
A day in Anguilla fits between 9am and 5pm from Saint-Martin: three or four beaches, lunch on the sand, and a snorkelling stop. Beauty Charters captains reorder the route according to the swell that morning.
What follows is a working template for a day in Anguilla rather than a fixed programme. Along this coast the wind sets the order more often than the plan does.
9:00 · Crossing. Twenty minutes out of Saint-Martin on a speedboat. The water changes colour halfway across, where the depth drops off Anguilla’s limestone shelf.
9:30 · Shoal Bay East. Travel+Leisure voted it the best beach in the world, and it earns that at this hour, before the day boats arrive. Two miles of sand you can walk end to end, and shallow water that stays warm from the first swim.
11:30 · Meads Bay. Longer, emptier, lined with the island’s most established hotels. There is no reef on the seabed here, so you can wade a long way out before losing your footing, which makes it the easiest beach on the island for a slow swim.
13:00 · Lunch. On the sand, between Meads Bay and Crocus Bay depending on where the morning ended.
14:30 · Rendezvous Bay or Maunday’s Bay. Rendezvous faces Saint-Martin across the channel, so the way home stays in view from your towel. Maunday’s Bay, a near-perfect crescent, fronts the Belmond Cap Juluca resort.
16:00 · Return. The light on the way back is why most people book a full day rather than a half.
Beauty Charters runs this route as a full-day charter from Saint-Martin, with the stops set with the captain on the morning of departure.
One day, three or four beaches, and a captain who knows the channel.
Crocus Bay and Little Bay: Anguilla’s Two Quiet Coves
Crocus Bay and Little Bay are neighbouring coves on Anguilla’s northern coast, set beneath ochre cliffs. Little Bay is reachable only by sea or by rope. A local legend places Adam and Eve’s landing at Crocus Bay.
Anguilla’s northern coast behaves nothing like the south. Where the southern beaches run long and open, the north folds into cliffs, and two coves tuck in beneath them. Both are quieter than anything on the other side of the island.
Crocus Bay comes with a story. A local legend holds that this is where Adam and Eve washed ashore after leaving the Garden of Eden: folklore rather than history, and part of Anguilla’s heritage all the same. What you actually find is a sheltered bay, water calm enough to swim across, and a small natural cliff that the braver visitors jump from.
Little Bay sits just north, and it is the harder of the two to reach. No road goes down to it. Access is by boat, or by a knotted rope fixed to the cliff face, which is why it stays empty on days when the rest of the island does not.
Together they answer the question most visitors ask by mid-afternoon: where is everybody else not?
Where to Snorkel Around Anguilla
Anguilla’s best snorkelling sits at Sandy Island, Prickly Pear and Little Bay. Sandy Island and Prickly Pear are offshore coral cays with no land access, so a boat is the only way to reach either of them.
Anguilla keeps its underwater interest offshore rather than along the main beaches, which is why snorkelling and boat access are one and the same conversation here.
Sandy Island is a strip of sand west of the mainland, ringed by reef, with one beach bar and nothing else on it. It is the most photographed place in Anguilla that no road reaches, and it remains one of the island’s most popular excursions.
Prickly Pear lies further out: two cays, protected water between them, reef on the exposed side. Getting there takes a boat and a captain who knows the channel.
Little Bay works as a snorkelling stop as much as a swimming one. The cliff walls drop straight into the water and the marine life stays close to the rock.
Bring your own mask if you have one you trust. Visibility here rewards good gear.
Where to Eat on the Beach in Anguilla
Four Anguilla restaurants come up repeatedly with local captains: Da’Vida at Crocus Bay, Straw Hat and Uchu on Meads Bay, and Pimms at Cap Juluca. All four sit on the sand, and booking ahead is advisable in high season.
Anguilla’s restaurant scene is out of all proportion to the size of the island, and lunch here is one of the reasons to come rather than a pause between two beaches.
Da’Vida sits directly on Crocus Bay, convenient when the morning ends on the northern coast. Straw Hat and Uchu both front Meads Bay, within walking distance of one another. Pimms belongs to the Belmond Cap Juluca resort at Maunday’s Bay, at the western end of the island.
Reserve ahead between December and April. Anguillian kitchens are small and the good tables go early.
August Monday in Anguilla: The One Date to Plan Around
August Monday takes place on the first Monday of August at Sandy Ground, Anguilla. Traditional boat racing and a beach-wide celebration make it the one day of the year when a crossing needs booking weeks ahead.
Boat racing is Anguilla’s national sport, and August Monday is its centrepiece, within the Summer Festival that runs through the first part of the month.
Sandy Ground fills up, wooden sloops race straight off the beach, and most of the island gathers in one bay for the day. Arriving by boat puts you on the water where the racing happens rather than watching from the sand, which is why it is the single event on Anguilla worth planning a charter around.
It is also the one date where turning up on impulse does not work. Plan for it, or plan around it.
Anguilla is twenty minutes away. The date is the only thing that cannot wait.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a passport to go to Anguilla from Saint-Martin?
Yes, a valid passport is required to enter Anguilla, even for a day trip from Saint-Martin. Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory with its own immigration control, and this applies to children as well as adults.
How long is the crossing from Saint-Martin to Anguilla?
The crossing from Saint-Martin to Anguilla covers 11 miles. Count 20 to 30 minutes on the public ferry or a speedboat, and 30 minutes to an hour on a catamaran or a yacht, depending on the boat and the conditions.
How much does a day trip to Anguilla cost?
A day trip to Anguilla starts from US$30 per adult one way on the public ferry, with departure and port taxes charged separately on each side. A private charter is priced per boat rather than per passenger.
Can you see Anguilla in one day?
You can see Anguilla’s main beaches in one day. The first ferry from Marigot leaves around six hours ashore, while a private boat gives a full day and reaches the offshore cays.
How do you get to Sandy Island in Anguilla?
Sandy Island is reachable by boat only. It is an offshore cay with no land connection, and the same applies to Prickly Pear.
Do you have to clear customs in Anguilla when arriving by private boat?
You do not have to clear customs in Anguilla when arriving with Beauty Charters. The captain files the clearance online before departure, so there is no counter to visit on arrival. Passengers send their passports about a week ahead and carry them on board on the day.
