Answering Your Most Frequently Asked Questions about St. Maarten and Anguilla

 I answer your most pressing questions about St. Maarten and Anguilla in this episode—renting a car versus taxi rides, where to party in St. Maarten, and what to do on a day trip to Anguilla. I even throw in some weather advice, because who doesn't want blue skies on their island escape, right?

Imagine sipping on a tropical cocktail as the sun dips below the horizon—yes, we're talking about the most romantic spots for proposals in Anguilla as well. As your island friend, I'll guide you to the dreamiest locations and share my personal favorite places for eating out, from beachfront grills to French culinary delights. There's even a little bit for the wellness enthusiasts, because we all deserve a little pampering?

So, stop daydreaming from your desk or home and book that ticket. Come down and visit me already.

To binge-watch all my Caribbean videos , head on to my YouTube Channel. There is so much info there, especially about St. Maarten and Anguilla. Enjoy.

Chapters

• 0:07 Exploring St Martin and Anguilla FAQs
• 6:43 Nightlife and Cuisine in Saint Martin
• 21:47 Top Proposal Spots in St. Martin
• 35:35 Anguilla Day Trip Itinerary Recommendations
• 40:14 Tobago Trip Promise Fulfilled Gator']

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hey, thank you so much for listening to Paradise Perspectives today. I'm Rizal the Traveling Island Girl, your host and guide in today's episode, which is all about St Martin and Anguilla. Now, I don't know if you know this, but I happen to live on St Martin, that's right, st Martin's my home and, yes, I live in one of the favorite Caribbean destinations of many, and our neighbor is Anguilla, which happens to be a destination the world loves as well, especially for its beaches, and it is also my personal happy place. I try to visit as many as six times or more per year, depending on how much free time I have to visit, and so you could say that I know a thing or two about Anguilla as well, so today's episode promises to be a juicy one. It is actually a video I posted on my YouTube channel recently answering 16 questions that I received from my followers on social media and my viewers on YouTube. I asked, and they submitted, so many questions, so I thought it would be a crime, right, if I didn't share this here on my podcast with you, the listener as well. After all, I get so many questions about these two islands for my listeners as well. So here it is, the most frequently asked questions about Saint Martin and Anguilla. Take a listen, okay.

Speaker 1: 1:36

So let's get into our first question, shall we? And this question is coming from Brian K, and he wants to know the best ways to get around St Martin and where to party, especially if you want to get your drink on. I know, I see what you did there, brian, you kind of like squeezed in three questions in one. But that's okay, we're going to answer them anyway. And how responsible of you to actually ask how you can drink responsibly on this island, all right, so first of all, let's answer the first part of your question. Which is the best way to get around, in my opinion. That is to rent a car. You have the freedom to drive around and explore the island to your heart's content, but if you are planning to drink, then definitely I suggest that you go with a taxi service. All right, so you can get into any taxis here on the island. Just make sure that they have taxi on their license plate or a taxi sign somewhere on the car, because you know we do not have Uber here, but we have something called a Gypsy, which is a wannabe Uber, but illegally, all right. So these are illegal taxis. You do not want to get into any of these Gypsy cars because they might rip you off, all right, I'm just gonna tell you the way it is. They might rip you off, all right.

Speaker 1: 2:51

So let's get into the second part. If you want to get your drink on and your party on on Saint Martin, definitely the right choice, because Saint Martin has a vibrant vibrant, I tell you night life, and for any person and for every age and speaking of age, you might have noticed I'm getting like a little gray and I'm not exactly into that whole party atmosphere anymore, especially not like how I used to be in my 20s and 30s. But I can tell you right choice to come to St Martin, because there are so much to do. We have so many casinos, we have a nightlife that is out of this world. We have bars and nightclubs, and restaurants that kind of like turn into nightclubs at the end of the night. We got it all. So, having said that, where can you get your party on? Then I would suggest Simpson Bay or Maho. These two areas are known on the Dutch side to have a very vibrant nightlife and you can get to party until the wee hours in the morning here? Okay, so definitely Simpson Bay Strip or Maho area.

Speaker 1: 3:57

So the second question comes from Mochi Boba, and she also wants to know about transportation. She says I'm traveling as a single mom and would not like to drive while on vacation. I feel you, I got you, I totally feel you All right. So the same thing applies to you as well. Taxi, all right. So, like I said before I think I mentioned that before right Go in the description box. You will get a link to my favorite transportation company on the island. They're my friends. Mention my name so they know that I sent you and they are great and you can use them for the entirety of your trip. In case you do not want to plan ahead and schedule your taxis from way before then, you can also use the same taxi that takes you from the airport to your hotel. You can ask them for their business card and keep that with you at all times so that whenever you need a taxi, all you have to do is call them. If your phone service does not provide, or if your phone company does not provide a service here in the Caribbean or on the islands of St Martin or Anguilla which I can't imagine that it doesn't, then you can ask either wherever you are, whether it's the hotel or a restaurant or a bar, you can ask them to call a taxi for you or call that same taxi that you have grown accustomed to. It's a great way of getting around and, kind of like, have that safety in you know, knowing that it's a person that you've already met before that is taking you around, right, ok?

Speaker 1: 5:27

Question number three is coming from Robert K, and Robert wants to know what is the typical weather like in May. So, with this question, I think you're coming to visit us very soon in May, right, all right, just to answer your question in a simple way, and it's a little bit hard to do, and that's just because nothing has been as usual in the last few years. I don't know, I think it's probably climate change or whatever it is. Our weather has kind of like changed a little bit. Don't worry, you're not. May is definitely not our rainy season. Our rainy season is usually in August, September, so you don't need to worry about. Having said that, however, you know it will be sunny, it will be nice, it will definitely be hot, it will be. You can expect like temperatures about 85 degrees Fahrenheit or 30, 31 degrees Celsius and yeah, so you can expect that. But please also expect sometimes a light shower here and there. Usually it does not rain the entire week. It doesn't rain on for days. In May. You'll get a little bit of shower here and there. It might be a little gray and then it moves on. So don't worry about that. You're in good hands here in St Martin and, yes, the weather is definitely going to be more than just pleasant.

Speaker 1: 6:43

Question number four comes from Trini Mama and she asks what is there to do at night in Anguilla? Is there a thriving nightlife? I do not want to have any of my Anguilla friends come after me after I answer this question because in my opinion, yes, there is tons to do, but if you are expecting a thriving, vibrant nightlife like what St Martin has, then you're going to be disappointed in Anguilla, because Anguilla does not have a lot of clubs and all of that happening like St Martin does. But Anguilla still has a very nice nightlife, in my opinion. There is always somebody playing live music somewhere. There is always somebody playing live music somewhere. You can go to the dunes where the local celebrity, banky Banks, always has something happening up to the late hours at night. You can also follow his son, omari Banks, one of my favorite local artists there in Anguilla, that always every day of the week, I think, has some live music performance somewhere. All right, he has kind of like a steady schedule every night of the week. So yeah, when it comes to live music especially, there's a lot to experience on Anguilla, but clubbing-wise not really Something else to consider. If you are into the nightlife in Anguilla, then you definitely want to head on to the Strip the so-called Strip is located in downtown Anguilla then you definitely want to head on to the strip the so-called strip is located in downtown Anguilla, which is, of course, called the valley. So when you're in the valley you're going to see this strip of road. That is going to have a lot going on. There's a lot of music, there's food grilling, there are people dancing, people getting their drinks on. There is so much happening and it's a very fun way to actually experience the nightlife of Anguilla. All right, so we're going over to number five.

Speaker 1: 8:33

Ramona wants to know do you need a passport to go from Anguilla to Saint-Martin or to cross from Dutch side into French side and vice versa? I understand that for somebody who has never been on Samaritan. This is a legit question, but let me tell you first of all yes, you do need a passport when you are traveling between Anguilla and Saint-Martin. Why? It's international travel. It's two complete different islands. Anguilla is British. Saint-martin, as you know, is half French, half Dutch. So, yes, you are going to need your passport, all right. So your second question is do you need your passport also between the Dutch and the French side? And the answer is simply no. We have an open border. That means that there is no checkpoints. There is nothing. You're probably going to be driving from one side into the other without even noticing that you've actually crossed the border. So, just to recap yes, ramona, you're going to need your passport to travel between Angola and Saint Martin and no, you do not need your passport to cross from the Dutch side into the French side or vice versa.

Speaker 1: 9:38

Coolblack1 wants to know what is the authentic Saint Martin cuisine like and where to find it. Excellent question. There is so much when it comes to authentic cuisine here in St Martin. There's actually a whole lot when it comes to eating on St Martin period, because we have so many, so many restaurants, and you know that St Martin is known as the gourmet capital of the Caribbean. So you will not have any scarcity when it comes to restaurants to choose from, because there are so many, and local restaurants as well. So first of all, let's answer that first part of your question about the traditional cuisine of St Martin.

Speaker 1: 10:16

There's a lot of seafood that you're going to get in our cuisine. You're going to get things like crab back and crab and rice, or conch boudin or blood boudin it's just like a blood pudding kind of sort of thing stuffed in a sausage of some sort Not my favorite thing, but apparently it's quite a delicacy. There's also things like soups. We eat a lot of soups like soup with dumplings in it. Dumplings are little flour balls that we throw into the water and it kind of like boils with the soup, conch and dumpling. You're going to get Wilk soup. Wilks are little animals, little shell animals that grow on the rocks near the shore, and you also have, you know, fish soup, all sorts of soup, goat soup, which is another thing that's quite traditional to the islands. So, yes, you're going to get all of that.

Speaker 1: 11:07

And now you want to know where to get it, and I and I totally get you. You want to know exactly which restaurants to go to and I can tell you, but at the same time it's too many to to to mention. There are places in the Phillipsburg. There are places in Simpson Bay, especially on at the Lolo's in Simpson Bay, especially at the Lolo's in Simpson Bay. It's that area where you get like a lot of different restaurants like together in like this little parking area. You can find some authentic food there. Definitely go to Grancaz. Grancaz is known for it. There's a lot of Creole and local little spots there. There are places scattered all over the island, so it's just impossible for me to name all of them right now, but you'll be good by going to Marigo Granca's, phillipsburg, of course, and even Simpson Bay has a few spots that serve local cuisine.

Speaker 1: 11:57

So the next question comes from Lovin0815. And he or she wants to know what are some great restaurant options in Simpson Bay. There are so many restaurants, hon. I don't know where to begin. I seriously don't know where to begin. There is everything from traditional cuisine all the way to Japanese, lebanese, mexican and Italian. So there's so much. But if you want to know about my personal favorites, then you can go to the video right here, because that video has my 10 favorite restaurants on the Dutch side, and there are definitely some of them that is, on the Simpson Bay area or in the Simpson Bay area or on the Simpson Bay Strip. But what I can tell you is that there are going to be plenty of options to choose from, and my suggestion to you just kind of like, walk around the strip and taste your way through it, because there are so many and you are going to want to make your own list of favorites, because my favorite may not be your favorite. So just hop along on Simpsons Bay Strip and taste your way throughout the entire area. That's my suggestion.

Speaker 1: 13:02

Next question is coming from Karen's Adventures and she wants to know are there any calm beaches? I love this question, karen, I really do, and that is because there is nothing I love more than what I call a beach that you can sip and soak in right, and you can take your drink and you can kind of like just hang around in that calm water. It's nothing better than that. So there are definitely some beaches that are known for their calmness, but I want you to know that most beaches are calm, but it depends on the time of year and it depends on the weather conditions, because most of the beaches can be calm, most of the beaches can be calm, but if weather is a little iffy, or if it's the time of year when the weather tends to strike up a little, then, yes, definitely it's not going to be as calm as they usually are.

Speaker 1: 14:00

So beaches like Orian Bay, which are known as being a little bit more on the rough side, can be very calm in the winter months, be very calm in the winter months. And then you have beaches like Mullet Bay, which usually are very calm. But you know, if the weather condition is different, it might still be sunny and perfect weather. Otherwise there might be a current or something going on with the water and it might be a little rougher than usual with, you know, bigger waves. But if you want a beach that is usually very calm, then I suggest Great Bay. That is the one where Phillipsburg is located. Great Bay is usually tends to be very, very calm. Little Bay tends to be very calm always. Le Gallon, which is another one which is on the French side, is also quite calm.

Speaker 1: 14:41

But again, don't let this make you shy away from the other also popular beaches, because you're gonna find one of them. That is calm for sure. I mean, there's so many to choose from. We have 37 beaches after all. And then we go to my friend on tether, jan, who asks what's the best beach? Now? This, where to begin? There are so many, right and um, each beach has its specialty, each beach has its special je ne sais quoi, and um, you're gonna probably, when you get here, you're gonna probably get to know which one is the best to you. My absolute favorite is grancaz, but if you go by popular opinion, then mullet bay, uh, bay Rouge, orian Bay. Those are the three beaches that most people tend to mention when you ask them what is the best beach. But really it is all up to you. So when you get here, try to explore all of them and then come back and tell me which one is your favorite.

Speaker 1: 15:41

The next question is coming from 01, underscore Caroline, underscore 22. And she I suppose it's she wants to know things one should not miss if you have never been, and I suppose you're talking about St Martin in this case. So let's just go with that, all right. So I have four first time visitors to St Martin. By the way, I have made several videos with a lot of informative information that you should definitely know about before you get here. So, when you're done with this video, when you're what? When you're done watching this video, definitely go to the description box and check out the link to this video right here, which is going to give you all of the information that I needed to share with you as a first-time visitor. Now, st Martin's got a lot going on. Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 16:32

One of the things you do not want to miss is definitely the border crossing, because that is something so unique. We are the smallest landmass divided by two nations, so that, on its own, is super unique. You do not want to miss that. You definitely want to dine on both sides of the island. Both the Dutch and the French side have amazing cuisine. These are things you do not want to miss. So you have to have to take it from me have to spend your time, make sure that you eat out every single night, because there are so many restaurants that are just divine and you do not want to miss on that.

Speaker 1: 17:05

Another thing that you should experience is one thing that St Martin is so widely popular for, and that is the Maho Beach experience, where the planes land right over your head and where a lot of people tend to want to do this jet blasting thing. If I'm you, I wouldn't do that. It's not fun. I don't see the fun to hang at a fence and being jet blasted. It's also dangerous, and it is the reason why there are signs everywhere warning you of that danger. So please don't do it. But if you must go, it is still something that you want to experience. The planes landing right above your head is just so unique, so you definitely want to do that.

Speaker 1: 17:43

Something else that you want to do well here is discover the underwater world, and we have some snorkeling parts in st martin that are absolutely gorgeous, and we have a new attraction brand new, just opened in december, and that is the underwater museum. Now, this underwater museum has about 300 statues under the water and, don't worry, you do not need to be an experienced diver to get to them. It's in shallow water, or shallow enough that you can just snorkel and see them from above. And while you're there, look out for me, because I am one of those statues, and take a picture and send it to me, because I have not seen myself underwater yet. You can book these snorkel trips with so many different boating companies. There are so many Really. Just google boating company or sailing or snorkel trips in Martin, and you're going to get a list that is so long, honey, you're not going to want to know where to start. If you want to know my personal favorite, go in the description box. I have left a link to my personal company that I like to go snorkeling or like to go sailing with.

Speaker 1: 18:50

And one more thing is to enjoy the views. St Martin has a lot of hills and there is there are so many beautiful, beautiful views that you can enjoy that you're not going to see anywhere else in the world. So, yeah, enjoy the views while you're here. Take time to really take it all in and don't only look at them through a camera lens, okay, or through your phone screen. It's just put it down for a little bit and take it all in, because St Martin is gorgeous and you're going to definitely love it here. So, yes, caroline, there are so many different things that you can do here, and these are just some of the things that I suggest you do as a first time visitor, but if you want to know more again, go to the description box. I have left a link to another video that I have that where I share my 15 must do activities when here. I think you're going to enjoy that video as well.

Speaker 1: 19:43

On to the next question, and this one is coming from my friend in Aruba. Aruba Life Organics asks are these islands safe, overcrowded or pricey? Again, st Martin and Anguilla are so different. So, yeah, st Martin tends to be very yeah, I would say St Martin's a little crowded. Yeah, definitely can get a little overcrowded, especially when we have more than two cruise ships in port. But Anguilla, on the other hand, is completely calm. It is so quiet and you're probably going to think that Anguilla is super small because it feels like a very small community. There's not a lot of people around, there's definitely no traffic, it's just tranquil. I mean, the slogan for this island is tranquility wrapped in blue. So you can see where I'm heading with this right, anguilla is super quiet, definitely not overcrowded at all. But is it pricey? It depends what you call pricey. I don't want to call anything expensive because it really depends on your budget, but yes, in all seriousness, anguilla tends to be a little pricier than St Martin. So, to recap my friend there in Aruba yes, these islands are safe, especially Anguilla. Anguilla is super safe. It's definitely not overcrowded. It can be a little pricey. St Martin can get crowded, it can get busy, it can even get overcrowded, especially when there are more than two cruise ships in port and it's relatively safe, All right. So I'm not going to tell you it's a safe haven. There's no crime happening there, absolutely not. There's crime happening everywhere. Even Anguilla might have it here and there. But definitely, if you compare it with Anguilla, then, yeah, we might have a little bit more crime here than Anguilla will ever experience. Then, yeah, we might have a little bit more crime here than Anguilla will ever experience.

Speaker 1: 21:47

Zamfiradina and I hope I'm pronouncing it okay wants to know the best places to propose in Anguilla. What a fabulous question. I love this. I really do. All right.

Speaker 1: 21:59

So as a frequent visitor to Anguilla, I can tell you that you want to consider proposing on a beach. That is what Anguilla is known for. Anguilla has some of the most exotic looking, stunning beaches that I've ever seen in my life and they are known for these beautiful beaches. So you do not want to not do it on a beach. I propose you do it on one of the beautiful beaches and you get to choose which one you do it on when you get there. All right. So another tip I have for you is definitely think of maybe doing it on a beach at sundown, because there is nothing prettier and more romantic than a beautiful sunset, with the sound of the beach and the waves lapping on the shore and you, barefoot, with sand between your toes. There's nothing better than that, right? So I suggest the Rendezvous Bay for a beautiful sunset. While you propose and another option is also that you can go to your resort and ask them to help you out with this One other thing that I suggest you do is the natural arch.

Speaker 1: 23:11

The natural arch is beautiful. It's gorgeous, and to me it is kind of like a nice background for a proposal too. It might be a little bit more rugged, but it's beautiful, so that might be another spot to do this proposal. One more is on a boat, one of those beach hopping ones, or one of the sunset little boat tours, for that matter and then propose on the boat. I am sure that the boat company is more than willing to help you out. And one more thing do not underestimate the local talent when it comes to photography and videography. So if you want to capture this special moment, then my friends at k sharp media is definitely one of those that I would suggest you contact, because they can get that whole thing on video or definitely a picture of it. So you do not want to not get in contact with K-Sharp Media, so shout out to my friends Kev there at K-Sharp, you guys are great.

Speaker 1: 24:10

All right, the next question is coming from Coconut Queen and she asks are there any plant-based food options on both islands? And my question, in short, yes, there are, especially on St Martin. I can tell you there are several places that are vegan, vegetarian or both, and my absolute favorite is and I did a video on them and I'm going to see if I can link that in the description is the Eitel Shack or the Freedom Fighters Eitel Shack. Eitel Shack is definitely a total plant-based deliciousness. It is so good. And there are several other places where you can get strictly only plant-based and the good thing is that on both islands there are restaurants that will cater to plant-based vegetarians or vegan dietary restrictions. All right, so there's always one or two options on most of the restaurant menus that will have something for you. So, yes, do not be alarmed, you will be able to get plant-based food on both islands.

Speaker 1: 25:17

Jd Godwin wants to know my favorite casual bar lunch or dinner on St Martin. And this is again. There are so many to choose from. Oh, where should I start? I don't even know. Um, my favorite bar, hmm, I don't really go bar hopping anymore, so I can't really tell you which one is my favorite anymore. And we do not have our own bar, rusty Rocket, anymore, or at least for this time it it's closed, so I can't even mention that because, yeah, you're gonna get here and the doors will be closed, so that's not it.

Speaker 1: 25:53

Hmm, all right, my favorite lunch spot because I love to be vegan one day is the Freedom Fighter Eitel Shack that I mentioned before Freedom Eitel, oh my gosh. Itle Shack that I mentioned before Freedom Itle oh my gosh. The food is so spectacular, even if it is strictly plant-based. It is so delicious, it's so yummy. And there are several other lunch spots. Another one of my favorite is K as in character. It's called K like character, and it's located on the Simpson Bay Beach. They are also a great spot for lunch. And then I have one other favorite, which is the Sunset Cafe, which is located on Petit Plage close to Grand Casse, and Grand Casse as a whole has all the vibes for a lunch.

Speaker 1: 26:38

Now, I'm a fan, a big fan, of the FLFL, which is a fudging long French lunch. Ah, and there is, in my opinion, no better place to experience that than on the beach of Orient Bay. There are so many of the different beach restaurants and bars on that strip. So, yeah, definitely go there for a long French lunch. I love doing that. Feed in the sand and just eat all day. Oh, it's so good, with a bottle of rosé next to it absolutely delish. Okay, so, when it comes to dinner, I have my favorite restaurants, and I've already said that I made two videos actually, in fact, one with my 10 favorite restaurants on the Dutch side and one with my 10 favorite restaurants on the French side, and the next video I'm going to do is actually a redo of those two videos combined, because I've discovered new places. There are new places that have come online and there are places that no longer exist, so I want to do a recap, or actually want to do a do-over on that video. So you want to subscribe to this channel and come back when I got that one up.

Speaker 1: 27:47

Okay, list takes pics and wants to know best place for a pedicure on Saint Martin. Oh, what an excellent question. Don't you just love getting your hands and feet done and just being pampered like that? Looking at my nails, I think I'm due for another manicure, by the way. All right, so my absolute favorite oh, where to start? I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, so it's very hard for me to just mention just one, because there are so many places that I've gotten really great pedicures at. Oh yeah, aquaria Spa. Aquaria Spa is located in the Atrium Resort, so you might want to check them out. Ask for John, my friend, and he might, and if you tell them that I sent you, you will get a discount.

Speaker 1: 28:26

I'm going to leave all the details in the description box below. They always take such a good care of me, but, believe me, there are so many places. Another really great place to get your feet done is my friend, diane there at Beauty Lounge on the French side. You might want to check her out as well. She gives very great service. All her services are amazing. By the way, I've also done my pedicures in, you know, the bigger resorts like La Semana, where also you'll get a good experience. So there are pedicure places everywhere, but if you want to know my two favorites, then Beauty Lounge and Aquarius Spa would be it.

Speaker 1: 29:01

So we are nearing the end of this video, but we're not quite there yet and we still have two more questions to go. But before we dive into those two questions, I want to first remind you of my services and how I can help you get the most out of your vacation here on St Martin or in Anguilla. So, as you may know by now, and especially if you've watched my other videos, you might have heard me talk about my private island tours. You might have heard me talk about my private island tours, and while this service is still something I offer today, I am retiring it very, very soon. Come June, this service will no longer be available. I just don't have the time to do island tours and I am so sad about it, because one thing that I really enjoy is meeting you and getting to spend a day driving around Saint Martin and having a fun time together. But unfortunately I'm gonna have to retire the service come June just because of my hectic schedule. So if you are coming to Saint Martin before June 2024, then this is your sign to get in touch with me and schedule yourself a private island tour with me.

Speaker 1: 30:03

If not, I have two other services that are gonna be equally as important for you, especially if you want somebody like myself who is local to tell you a little bit more about the ways that you can get to enjoy your vacation here in St Martin or in Anguilla from a more authentically Caribbean, more like a local, and especially based on what you want to experience when you're here. First off is my consultation service. You can hop on a call with me and we're going to be face-to-face on a video call, just like kind of like you're experiencing right now, but I'm going to talk directly to you and you're going to have, you're going to get the chance to ask me anything you want about your upcoming trip to the islands, and I get to answer them based on what your preference is and what you are like as a person and what you want to get out of your vacation right. So that is my number one that I would suggest you do, and you can do that very easily. I have left a link in the description box where you can just click on that, get into my calendar and book yourself an hour long video call with me. Next up is my concierge service, in which you want to go a little bit more further and you want me to help you out with anything that you want to do here on the island, and I can do a pre-concierge service for you, which entails getting all of the reservations and bookings done. You know, restaurants, activities. I'll all of that lay out your complete itinerary, day by day, hour by hour, and you get the chance to get to stay in contact with me via WhatsApp while you're here on the island. So those are the ways that I can help you, and very, very soon you are going to get access to my ultimate e-guide to St Martin, and it's going to have a little bit about on Anguilla in there as well. So this is coming online very, very soon and it's going to be available to purchase, and this is just a PDF file with all of the information that I have shared in all of my videos up to now. It's going to be in there, including how to spend a day in Anguilla which is the next question we're about to answer and, of course, all of my favorite beaches, all of my favorite restaurants. Everything is going to be in this guide, so you want to get your hands on that as well.

Speaker 1: 32:16

Now let's move on to our next question, and it's coming from Aaron Platt, and this person wants to know the best way to spend a day trip on the island of Anguilla. Ah, by far my favorite question to answer, because there is nothing so special as just jumping on a ferry and 30 minutes later you're on a complete different island with completely different people and a completely different environment. I just love that for you, aaron, and you're just so totally going to enjoy it. It's one of my favorite pastimes. I love to do that. So, going back to Caroline, which is the person who asked, you know things that one should experience while here for the first time. That is another one of those things that I would suggest you do. Hop on a ferry, visit one of the nearby islands, whether it's Ceiba, st Barts or Anguilla. My absolute favorite, my happy place, is Anguilla.

Speaker 1: 33:05

So here is what I suggest you do for the day when you're there definitely rent yourself a a car. Yes, I know it can be intimidating, because they drive on the other side than what you're used to if you're coming from the US or other places in the world to drive on the right right we drive. We drive on the right. Yes, exactly so it's different. Yes, but don't let that keep you from renting a car. It is the best way to experience the island of Anguilla, in my opinion. You get to see so much more. You get to drive to your heart's content and go to the different beaches and go to the different spots on the island. You can choose where you want to eat and you're not stuck with having to call a taxi or anything like that. So here's another thing that you need to know when it comes to transportation in Anguilla. Yes, you have taxi services. You can even do an island tour with one of these taxi chauffeurs, who are excellent in what they do, by the way. So that's another thing. If you don't want to drive absolutely do not want to drive then definitely go that route, all right. But if you don't mind driving, rent yourself a car. And if you want to upgrade that experience, rent yourself a Moog. Now, if you've never heard of a Moog before, that is these fun little vehicles right here and in Angola. They come in all sorts of colors and you can get to choose from that, and so you need to rent a Moog when you're in Angola. That is like super fun. So something that you should definitely do when you're in Angola for the day is visit the beaches and visit as many as you can in Anguilla for the day is visit the beaches and visit as many as you can.

Speaker 1: 34:39

I have my own regular beaches that I tend to go to whenever I get there for the day and I have my routine. So I'll go first to probably Show Bay East and then hit Meads Bay and then go to maybe Monday for a little while, then go to other beaches. If you want to know my favorite, my top five favorite beaches in Anguilla, then go to this video right here. I have that in the description box. I have a link to it so you can see it for yourself. But drive around, explore the beaches, explore some of the resorts and then get yourself a lunch where you can sit, get yourself to a place where you can sit with your feet in the sand. I tend to do all of the fun stuff in the beginning. I mean the whole trip is going to be fun, but I tend to do all of those stuff in the morning. You know when I just arrived which, by the way, the first public ferry time is 9.30. You'll get there by 10. By the time you're on the road driving it will be 10.30. So you're already close to lunch.

Speaker 1: 35:35

Would do the beaches, like I said, do some of the beaches, then go to the arch the natural arch is definitely something you want to see and drive around. Take it all in, drive through the valley, which is the capital of anguilla, visit some more beaches and then you take a late lunch, more towards one o'clock 1, 1.30. And my favorite place to get a lunch an authentic, you know, island lunch would be on the beach of Sandy Ground, where you get a lot of options. My absolute favorite is Jono's for a fresh fish and funji. But you know, besides Jono's, there are other restaurants on that beach as well that you can choose from. So for more recommendations on beach restaurants in Anguilla, I've made a video on that as well. Yeah, honey, I've made videos about everything, really. But yeah, that's, you know, the lunch.

Speaker 1: 36:26

You should leave lunch for the last bit and then get yourself back to the ferry terminal before the last ferry, because if you miss the last ferry then you're going to be stuck on the island and I can think of a worse place to get stuck in, but it may not be part of your scheduled itinerary, right? You do not want to get stuck in Anguilla, especially if you're only on, if you're visiting Saint Martin for the day and you decided to visit Anguilla for the day and then you're going to miss the boat, so get yourself on the ferry before last, which is, at this time of recording, is around 4.30. The last ferry is around 5.15, 5.30. So get yourself on that first, or the one before last ferry. That's the one you want to get on In case you miss it. Then you still have the last ferry that you can get back to Simartanon. All right time for the last question.

Speaker 1: 37:18

And the last question is coming from Nancy, who wants to know can you share the different options for visiting Anguilla besides the public ferry and what to do besides Shoal Bay when you get there for the day? Now I think that I've already answered, but if you want to know a little bit more in depth of all the other things you can get to experience on Anguilla, then you can go to this video, because, yeah, I've made a video on that as well my top things to experience while there and you want to check out that video because it's going to give you a little bit more of insight on what to do when you are spending the day in Anguilla. But to answer your question about what other options you have besides the public ferry the public ferry, by the way, leaves from Marigot on the French side, because that's the shortest, you know, straight line to Anguilla. But you can also catch the private charter boats on the Dutch side, right across from the airport, and that is my favorite way of travel. I actually like it so much better because the boats are smaller, they're faster and the service is so much better as well. You know, the public ferry is a public ferry, so it's going to be busy, but also the boats are older, so it's a bit of a rolling thing, and if you are prone to seasickness, then that may not be for you thing, and if you are prone to seasickness, then that may not be for you. One thing though if you are going with the private ferries, it is definitely more costly. It is not as inexpensive as the public ferry is, so keep that in mind when you're going with one of the these companies that leave from the terminal on the Dutch side.

Speaker 1: 38:52

Oh my, that was a lot of information, right? I hope you took notes, but if you didn't, don't worry, this episode is here for you to listen to time and time again. All you need to do is just come back to this podcast right Now if you want to see some of the things I have been talking about in this episode. I can imagine you probably want to now, since I have been making so many references about you know, past videos and whatnot. All you have to do is head on to my youtube channel, which I have linked in the show notes. Of course, I have a list of about a hundred plus videos on there about Saint Martin and Gwila, including the video that you just listened to, plus videos on other islands I have been to as well, so definitely worth checking out.

Speaker 1: 39:43

Before I let you go back to your responsibilities for today, I want to ask you a quick, quick favor, and I hope you can do this for me. If you are listening on Apple podcast, could you please leave a review for me and let me know what you think? Okay, I really appreciate it. It really helps me out a lot. Anyway, thank you for listening. I am so grateful you decided to spend some time with me today, listening to me yap away about one of my favorite things in the world, which happens to be, of course, caribbean travel.

Speaker 1: 40:14

Now I'm going to be back next week, thursday, with another episode, and this time yes, this time for real, I promise we'll be taking a trip to Tobago together. Now, I know, I know I have been promising that, uh, since last week, and I promised that you would be listening to an episode about Tobago today, but I had to squeeze in this particular episode about san martin and anguilla because, uh, many of you my podcast listeners have reached out about san martin and anguilla, so you know I had to squeeze it in. So that's it. I am going back to my birthday celebrations because, yes, it's my birthday today. Now, thanks again for listening. I'm Rizal, the Traveling Island Girl and, in this case, the Birthday Girl as well, signing off Later. Gator Bye, thank you.