Babymoon in November - Aruba or Anguilla or other island?
Sep 17th, 2012, 01:37 PM
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Babymoon in November - Aruba or Anguilla or other island?
My husband and I are planning a vacation this November before the arrival of our first baby in March. We have been to Aruba many times and we love the Hyatt and are considering going back. We love the hotel, the beautiful beaches, convenience of restaurants and good food. At the same time I would love to try somewhere new. I am leaning towards Anguilla, staying at the Fragapani. I have heard Anguilla is very expensive - is food pricier than Aruba? Are cabs expensive at night? Does renting a car make sense? I'm interested in general comparison of Aruba vs Anguilla. If there are other island suggestions I'd love to hear them too! Thanks 
Sep 17th, 2012, 06:00 PM
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Congratulations on your upcoming little one!
I think Anguilla is a good choice and Frangipani is also a good location for proximity to restaurants. In fact, one of my favorites, Straw Hat, is right there at the hotel. Just be aware that Anguilla is nothing like Aruba. Meads Bay, the location of Frangipani, has some hotels and restaurants lining the beach, but there are no high rise resorts and the beach is fairly quiet. And yes, the food is more expensive than on Aruba but you can find some reasonably priced restaurants.
You should rent a car for at least part of your stay. If you stay at Frangipani you will be within walking distance of a few great restuarants, but you'll want a car to explore some of the other beaches and restaurants. We always rent a car on Anguilla but I've heard taxis are expensive.
Anguilla has some beautiful beaches. Meads is one of my favorites and we have also stayed at Frangipani. We really enjoyed our stay there. Anguilla is quiet. There are no casinos and not much shopping but the restaurants are great. The people are friendly and there's a real Caribbean vibe. You can easily take a ferry to St. Martin for some retail therapy or just for a change of pace. It's a 20 minute ferry ride.
Here's a list of the current restaurants:
http://www.anguillaguide.com/article...iew/7674/1/13/
I think Anguilla is a good choice and Frangipani is also a good location for proximity to restaurants. In fact, one of my favorites, Straw Hat, is right there at the hotel. Just be aware that Anguilla is nothing like Aruba. Meads Bay, the location of Frangipani, has some hotels and restaurants lining the beach, but there are no high rise resorts and the beach is fairly quiet. And yes, the food is more expensive than on Aruba but you can find some reasonably priced restaurants.
You should rent a car for at least part of your stay. If you stay at Frangipani you will be within walking distance of a few great restuarants, but you'll want a car to explore some of the other beaches and restaurants. We always rent a car on Anguilla but I've heard taxis are expensive.
Anguilla has some beautiful beaches. Meads is one of my favorites and we have also stayed at Frangipani. We really enjoyed our stay there. Anguilla is quiet. There are no casinos and not much shopping but the restaurants are great. The people are friendly and there's a real Caribbean vibe. You can easily take a ferry to St. Martin for some retail therapy or just for a change of pace. It's a 20 minute ferry ride.
Here's a list of the current restaurants:
http://www.anguillaguide.com/article...iew/7674/1/13/
Sep 18th, 2012, 04:08 AM
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I have not been to Aruba, but go to Anguilla twice a year April and November for two weeks each trip, we can hardly wait to get there and never want to leave.
Frangi is one of the best properties on the island, very well maintained with a great location and wonderful staff. They have one of the best spots on the beach in that their area is flatter than the east end by Carimar, and wider than by Viceroy. You have one of the best restaurants on the island, "Straw Hat" located on site and you are within a short walk tp Blanchard's and Blanchard's Beach Shack which gets rave reviews. There is a new restaurant that has just opened for BBQ - very close to Frangi - called "Ocean Echo" - just to the west a bit, (they may have their full service menu by Nov) and Jacala which is wonderful, but their state is in limbo and they are not sure they are opening in that location due to their building being sold.
Definitely rent a car, you will want to explore, and taxis are expensive, I recommend Bryans Car Rental - Ronnie Bryan is a local who take very good care of his cars and his customers, he is outstanding and has good rates http://www.bryanscarrentals.com/index.html
You will want to try out some of the wonderful island restaurants, check out Trip Advisor restaurant section for ratings, some of my favorites are Mangos for fresh seafood, Trattoria Tramento and Dolce Vita for Italian, Barrel Stay and DaVida, very diverse varied menus and great setting, all have wonderful service. Veya is number one and comes highly recommended by many. Another place I greatly enjoy is SandBar for delicious tapas, very reasonably priced. Do not miss the local places such as E's Oven, Tasty's, Roys on Friday night for happy hour specials and Ripples on Sat for their special, all have great home cooked meals at very good prices.
You will also want to get out and experience the island entertainment, Smokey's on Sat afternoon for the Musical Brothers, Gwen's, Johnno's, Davida on Sunday afternoon for varied entertainment, Pumphouse for British Dependency and Omari Banks - two bands you must not miss - really terrific, also, Boss, who plays at DaVida on Sat nights and Cap Juluca on Fridays, but Cap is another place that is currently in limbo, so not sure if they will be open when you are there.
For an active Anguilla community, check out the Anguilla Travel Forum on Trip Advisor, happy planning.
Ellen
Frangi is one of the best properties on the island, very well maintained with a great location and wonderful staff. They have one of the best spots on the beach in that their area is flatter than the east end by Carimar, and wider than by Viceroy. You have one of the best restaurants on the island, "Straw Hat" located on site and you are within a short walk tp Blanchard's and Blanchard's Beach Shack which gets rave reviews. There is a new restaurant that has just opened for BBQ - very close to Frangi - called "Ocean Echo" - just to the west a bit, (they may have their full service menu by Nov) and Jacala which is wonderful, but their state is in limbo and they are not sure they are opening in that location due to their building being sold.
Definitely rent a car, you will want to explore, and taxis are expensive, I recommend Bryans Car Rental - Ronnie Bryan is a local who take very good care of his cars and his customers, he is outstanding and has good rates http://www.bryanscarrentals.com/index.html
You will want to try out some of the wonderful island restaurants, check out Trip Advisor restaurant section for ratings, some of my favorites are Mangos for fresh seafood, Trattoria Tramento and Dolce Vita for Italian, Barrel Stay and DaVida, very diverse varied menus and great setting, all have wonderful service. Veya is number one and comes highly recommended by many. Another place I greatly enjoy is SandBar for delicious tapas, very reasonably priced. Do not miss the local places such as E's Oven, Tasty's, Roys on Friday night for happy hour specials and Ripples on Sat for their special, all have great home cooked meals at very good prices.
You will also want to get out and experience the island entertainment, Smokey's on Sat afternoon for the Musical Brothers, Gwen's, Johnno's, Davida on Sunday afternoon for varied entertainment, Pumphouse for British Dependency and Omari Banks - two bands you must not miss - really terrific, also, Boss, who plays at DaVida on Sat nights and Cap Juluca on Fridays, but Cap is another place that is currently in limbo, so not sure if they will be open when you are there.
For an active Anguilla community, check out the Anguilla Travel Forum on Trip Advisor, happy planning.
Ellen
Sep 18th, 2012, 04:52 AM
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Thanks so much for the detailed responses which are really very helpful. Sounds like a perfect vacation for what we are looking for. How is weather at that time? My only concern is it being too hot or humid (don't want to be uncomfortable) - it seems like that's probably not the case but I'm wondering if anyone has experience...
VOH2OX2 it sounds like you have been there in November multiple times - how has weather been in general?
VOH2OX2 it sounds like you have been there in November multiple times - how has weather been in general?
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