Cap Juluca from NY
 

Am thinking about going to Cap Juluca in early December for four nights and would like feedback about the quickest way to get there from NYC. I know I can't fly directly to Anguilla, so where should I fly into that will have the most connections (plane or ferry?) to Anguilla? Rather than spend a whole day traveling, I could fly to FL or St. Thomas or wherever on Day 1, stay overnight and then take the first connection (plane or ferry?) to Anguilla. I'm trying to maximize the time I'm actually at Cap, so thought this idea might work... Any thoughts? THanks!

There are non-stop flights to St. Martin (SXM) from JFK. St. Martin is 6 miles from Anguilla & there's a ferry that runs every 1/2 hour from the French side (Marigot). The cab ride is about $15 from the airport; $2.75 departure tax; $10 fare -- the ferry takes about 20 minutes. You can also charter a boat (talk to Cap) for about $250-300 & it will get you directly from the airport to Cap (with a brief stop at immigration).

Forget about staying over anywhere. MaryD is right. The easy way is to fly non-stop from JFK to SXM (American has a daily flight that gets you into SXM by 1:15PM) than take the ferry, or a water taxi to AXA. There are also a couple of of local airlines that can fly you into AXA but their schedules might be such that you'd spend extra time in SXM airport rather than on the beach at CJ. Of course, you could always charter a plane but while that's the fastest way it is also the most costly. Either way you choose there is no reason you can be sitting on the beach by mid-afternoon on the same day you leave NY.

oops!! The last sentence should read "...there is no reason you can't be sitting on the beach ..."

I agree with the other 2 experts! Also getting to CJ early in the am, may not get you an earley check in. Last fall I met a family group of 3 couples, took a private charter from Antigua, arrived 9:30 am, could not get into their rooms until after 3pm.

Good point, Penny. I completely forgot about the check-in time at CJ. We experienced that same situation (flew in early from Nevis) on our last trip to AXA and spent the day at Shoal Bay. It was during the off season so CJ let us check-in shortly after 2:00 PM.

I am flying this Saturday from Newark airport. I have a 7:00 am flight to Puerto Rico with a connecting flight directly to Anguilla arriving at 2:00 pm(Cap Juluca is picking us up at the airport). It was about $150 cheaper per person than flying to St. Martin...I'll let you know if it was worth it when I come back.

While it is true you can take an American Eagle flight from SJU to AXA you should know that the runway at the airport in AXA is scheduled to undergo some major construction which will limit the size of the aircraft that can land there during the fall months and into December. During this construction AE will be suspending their flights to AXA due to the size of their aircraft. That pretty much means anyone wishing to fly on AA/AE will have to go to SXM.

We also flew from Newark to Puerto Rico and then took a connecting flight to Anguilla. I cannot remember the exact time we landed since we went in '98 but I think it was around 3pm.

I would recommend flying into Anguilla. We flew NYC to SXM and then took the ferry to Anguilla. It all fit together fine, but it was just a bit of a hassle landing in St. Martin, getting in a cab, driving to the ferry dock, waiting for the ferry, taking the ferry trip, etc...

It also lengthened the travel time on the departure b/c there was a lot of friction time between getting to the ferry on Anguilla, waiting for the ferry, catching the ferry, getting a cab back to the airport, driving to the airport, all to be at the SXM airport with enough advance time to catch the fligth back to NYC. I suspect a flight right out of Anguilla would be much more efficient.

Yes, but you can't fly into Anguilla from San Juan before 12/17 -- the airport is closing for 2 months (at least) for expansion. The post originator is going in early December so the choices are the ferry or a private charter.

I hear that Cap Juluca is starting a Sea Shuttle on October 30th this will leave directly from the lagoon at the airport and drop people off at Blowing Point in Anguilla for Immigration and Customs. The Sea Shuttle will meet all the major afternoon flights from US and Europe. I understand the price for this is $35.00 per person each way. This shuttle seems to make a lot of sense for people who do not want pay the price of a private CJ launch to Anguilla, even though the private launch does eventually drop people off at the Cap Juluca beach.

Lothlorien........CJ has an Executive Arrival Service where they meet you at the airport.......get you through customs....then take you through customs at AXA and then to the beach at CJ........the boat backs up to the beach and you hop out........it's described on their website.....here's copy of email from CJ.........

When are you coming to Cap Juluca? The airport on Anguilla will be closed for expansion beginning in September and will not reopen until after the first of next year so flights directly into Anguilla are suspended at that time.

Private boat charter works very well. The rate is $285 each way. The Executive Service which is a separate optional service would include getting your luggage, clearing you through customs and escorting you to the boat landing. The charge for this service is $35 for 2 persons each way.

With the private boat charter, you would have to stop at Blowing Point, the landing on Anguilla to go through immigration. You would then continue on to Cap Juluca. It would be a beach landing as there is no dock at Cap Juluca. The captain would back the boat up onto the beach and you would be escorted into the Main House to be checked in.