Anguilla help-1st time
 

We have frequent flyer miles to use for a vacation in September or October. We have traveled to Jamaica twice a year for many years. Airfare is very resonable to Jamaica from Texas. Since these tickets are free we thought we would try a new island. We would like to try Anguilla but I have read that it shuts down in September. We really just like to hang out on the beach, self cater for breakfast and lunch, and have dinner at small moderate restaurants. I know Anguilla is known for great and expensive restaurants but I did find some that were reasonable. Will any of these places be open in September? I found a good rate at The Allamanda. We planned on renting a car. Is Shoal Bay East a good area to stay in?

Actually a lot of resorts and restaurants close for Sept and Oct and reopen in early Nov. Don't know about Alamanda. It is not directly on the beach but a couple of minutes walk. Zaras restaurant at Alamanda is very good and there are several restaurants on the beach at Shoal Bay East. www.news.ai usually posts a Gone Fishing list of what will be closed and when they reopen. I would probably go the first week in November. Less chance of a hurricaine. You might post on www.anguillaforum.com. Very active and you will get many answers and opinions.

We went to Anguilla on our honeymoon in early October in 1994, then again for our 5 yr anni in 1999. We stayed at Cap Juluca, which is magical. It is true that most of the island is closed at that time - very few restaurants "off campus" were open. But we were happy to hang out at the resort and chill.

Thanks for the responses. The only flight I could get us on would have resulted in being gone for 9 nights. Can only do seven right now. We decided to go back to Jamaica and wait until May 07 for Anguilla. This will give me more time to book a flight and more hotel choices. Thanks for the info and web sites.

RaeAnn, that sounds like a good idea to wait until May to give yourself more time to study your choices and airfare options. Also, all of Anguilla's restaurants and hotels will be open in May (with perhaps one or two exceptions) but, as it will be low season, you'll get the same low rates you would have gotten in September and you won't have to worry about hurricanes.

Allamanda is an excellent, moderate priced choice. It's not fancy but it is clean, has great air conditioning, and comes with a fully equipped kitchen which will let you self-cater. There's also an excellent on-site restaurant, Zara's, which will be open in May (it's closed in September). The walk to the beach is literally no more than a minute or two, and at the beach, you'll find Gwen's which is an excellent lunch place (with live music on Sunday). Within an easy walk of Allamanda is Serenity Cottage which also has a very nice restaurant. In the other direction, and just a bit more of a walk, is Ku's, which also has a full service restaurant. And, as you'll discover, Shoal Bay East has numerous lunch barbecue places.

If you contact Allamanda, ask for one of their upper floor rooms so that you'll get the best view of the beautiful water. And, because of its location on Upper Shoal Bay, it gets a great breeze which is delightful (and keeps away the mosquitos). I believe that their website is http://www.allamanda.ai.