Boat trips to St. Barths &Anguilla from St. Martin
 

Thinking of taking a day trip to either St. Barts or Anguilla from St. Martin. Would appreciate any comments pro and con from someone who has done it on te Voyager. Also, has anyone done the Scoobido Catamaran trip to Prickly <BR>Pear? Where is PricklyPear? This company also adveetises a trip to St. Barts. Has anyone done either of these?

I have not gone on the Voyager trip myself, but most people I've talked to have said they got very seasick. If you want to do it, then pick a day when the sea is very flat and take gravomine. I think there are some non-drowsy types available, but you'd probably find them more easily in the States. <BR><BR>Another Voyager destination is Saba. I preferred Saba to St. Barts, but that's just my opinion. Saba is beautiful scenery and great for hiking and diving. It does not have the beaches like other islands. I'm not sure why I didn't like St. Barts, it just "didn't do it" for me!<BR><BR>Prickley Pear is a tiny uninhabited island just North of Anguilla. It is gorgeous, with a loong white beach. Not a lush island, but if you take sneakers or sandals you might enjoy walking around. There are 2 restaurants on it. The snorkelling is very good too. <BR><BR>I hope this helps.

Hey Howard<BR><BR>My fiance and I did the day trip to Anguilla on a cat. with a Heinikan sponsor. We really enjoyed it, fantastic beach, good snorkling, and a very nice lunch. The crew was a lot of fun and there was plenty of Heinikan to go around.<BR><BR>I would definetly do the trip again when/if I'm back in St. Martin.

Sandy Feet,<BR>I'm interested in hearing more about the day trip to Saba. How long did the crossing take? What did you do on the island? Is there any good shore snorkeling? Thanks.<BR><BR>Also has anyone just taken the regular ferry from Marigot over to Anguilla for the day?

Yes, we did. It's a nice day trip. You have to pay a tax to go into Anguilla, since it's a different country and this is not included in the price of the ferry. Once we got there, there were a lot of cabies offering their services. We hired one of them that took us to a beautiful beach called Shoal Bay. We rented chairs and shade. Had lunch at one of the vendor's stalls. Afterwards the cabbie took us to the Cap Juluca beach which is cristal clear blue. It was off season (September), so I don't know if this is possible during the high season. We did not have use of the chairs at CJ.

Thanks Yuri, did you hire the cabbie for the whole day? Do you remember how much it cost? Would you recommend that over renting a car?

Patty<BR><BR>Don't ask Yuri anything. He thought Anguilla Was St. Martin after taking the ferry from Sxm to AXA. He can't find his own ass with 2 hands and a road map.<BR><BR>Read his post inquiring about Cap Juluca being so expensive, he definately should not be giving out travel advice - unless you want to visit bizarro world!

Don't take any ferry to St. Bart's unless you enjoy losing your lunch. You will be on open seas and it's very rough and not worth the few dollars you may save. The plane ride is faster and a whole lot more fuin.

Anyone else have any experiences with the day trip to Saba?

Patty:<BR><BR>Saba makes a fabulous day trip. I've gone there many times with friends. I've only flown, so I can't comment on the boat trip, but it's a very unique island.

Thanks Statia. What would recommend doing given we are just going over for one day?

Patty:<BR><BR>I always do an island tour first off....I use either Eddie Peterson or Garvis Hassell (they're both great). One or the other will be at the airport when the flight arrives. I don't know about the harbor since I never go by boat, but I'm sure there will be taxi's there, as well.<BR><BR>A tour will take a couple hours, and then you can have the driver drop you in Windwardside for lunch. Tropics Cafe is a great, inexpensive spot with a swimming pool and nice view. After lunch, you could walk around Windwardside a bit and do some shopping (there are a handful of small souvenir shops). You'll be amazed at the tiny cottages and roads on the island. It's honestly like a Hansel & Gretel village.<BR><BR>Also, you can arrange for the driver to pick you up again before you are due back at the airport or pier.<BR><BR>A lot of people also like to hike Mt. Scenery, but that will take up your whole afternoon and not leave time for a tour. So, keep that in mind if you'd prefer to hike instead of tour the island.<BR><BR>Be sure to report back to us when you return. Enjoy yourselves and let me know if you have any more questions. Have fun!<BR>

Thanks for the suggestions!

We did a timeshare tour a couple of years ago in SXM and received two free passes on the boat that leaves from Pelican to St Barts. I'd heard that the trip over could be rough so I took dramamine, though I'm not sure I needed it. It was rough, but we thought the ride was better than St Barts! They blasted Charlie Daniels, passed out beers to those of us brave enough to indulge, and we took off like a galloping horse through the waves. We loved it. St Barts was pretty, and worth a visit. We hired a cab which took us on a tour of the island. A car rental would've cost about the same, but the roads are very narrow and steep, and with the cab, we were both able to enjoy the scenery. [The boat trip home was definitely anticlimatic.]

Did a boat trip to St. Barth's in Feb 2000 on Tango, out of Pelican Resort. Did not get sick, however refused the beer and rum punch that was being handed out at 8:00 am. Loved St. Barth's, would definitely recommend it. Rented a scooter and had a blast on the hilly, narrow roads. Found a relatively uncrowed beach, au natural. We are heading back to SXM at x-mas and will most likely do the day trip again.