Out Islands
 

Am a regular traveler to Anguilla, but with the economy I don't think we will make it there this year. I am considering a summer trip instead to the out islands. This is where I need your help. I have never been. I know that they have beautiful beaches and not much to do. That is fine with us. We are beach people. Can someone recommend an island to go to? And when you do are their restaurants on that island? We don't want to have to eat at the same place every night. Any suggestions (even where to stay) would be greatly appreciated.

I would suggest you make your first foray to the Out Islands to the Abacos. In particular, I would suggest either Elbow Cay (for which you'd fly to Marsh Harbour (MHH) and ferry over) or Green Turtle Cay (for which you'd fly to Treasure Cay (TCB) and ferry over); Treasure Cay might suit as well, but in all of my trips, I have yet to make it there and can't offer any personal insights.

Each of those destinations gives you access to amazing beaches (which won't have you pining for Anguilla too much...), as well as small settlements/villages such as Hopetown on Elbow or New Plymouth on Green Turtle. The settlements will give modest choices for dining and shopping, oftentimes within walking distance. Most visitors rent a golf cart and/or a small runabout, and there's plenty to entertain you within the range of those types of vehicles.

Harbour Island, off the north end of Eleuthera, might offer a similar experience, but I haven't been there myself yet. Perhaps someone else will chime in on that.

I've personally found the beaches on some of the larger Out Islands, such as Eleuthera or Cat Island, to be a smidge prettier than the ones in the Abacos. However, unlike those islands, the Abacos have a little more in the way of choices for dining and entertainment. In all cases, however, the beaches are secluded.

Summer is a great time to visit the Out Islands, but like the rest of the Caribbean, places tend to shut down in August or September. Early summer might be better than late summer. In any case, you should consider trip insurance.

Everyone has their own style of travel, and the two times I was in Anguilla, I found myself missing the Out Islands. While I don't expect an Anguilla-lover to become an Out Island convert, I simply offer up that observation to assure you that the Out Islands might be a reasonable substitute for Anguilla.

Agree with Callaloo's suggestions. I've been to Aguilla and several of the out islands (abacos, eleuthera/harbour island and long island) and in terms of beaches you will not be disappointed. The restaurants however are much better on Anguilla.
I agree also that I found the beaches on Eleuthera to be prettier and more secluded than in the Abacos (Elbow Cay). Eleuthera has a decent selection of restaurants as well. I personally prefer Eleu over HI because though you will find a better selection of restaurants/hotels on HI, there is only one beach that runs the full length of the 3 mile island. We prefer to explore different beaches which we found tons of on Eleu.
You may also want to look into Exuma (known for its stunning waters). We have not made it there yet.
The one thing you want to be prepared for in the Out islands is that the beaches are not always groomed/clean - there is lots of seaweed and sometimes plastic trash that washes up along the Atlantic beaches. That did not bother us but wanted you to be aware.

Anguillagirl, I'm surprised that you think the Out Islands will be cheaper than Anguilla. How much do you think you'll save compared with a trip to AXA?
I was wondering if you think you'll save on flights, accommodation or food as we have an upcoming trip to Anguilla and I'm hoping to eat at the less expensive places on this trip.

Agree with Callaloo as well. Harbour Island does offer more restaurants but as mentioned you only have the one beautiful beach. However, you can hire a boat for day trips to Eleuthera and explore some of their beaches. HI is very charming and transportation is on golf carts, with a few local cars here and there. It's more expensive than the other out islands by far but has more to offer in the dining and cocktail department.

Cat Island has some of the most beautiful, secluded beaches on one island. So much exploration you can do with a rental car and have a stunning beach all to yourself. However, dining can be a challenge if you don't want to cook as you will have a few options and that depends on the season, too. The southern end of the island had more to offer than the north end where we stayed. We rented a house on the beach and it was very reasonable.

Treasure Cay has a beautiful, white sand beach but only has a few places to offer for dining (marina, beach bar and a couple of smaller joints). It didn't bother us eating at the same beach bar every day but the evening stop got old for us. It was still a wonderful trip.

You can take a ferry from Treasure Cay to Green Turtle. More dining options there but you give up the beach, imho.

Another island close by is Great Guana which has the popular hangout Nippers. Lots of fun and on a stunning beach with decent snorkeling, too. It's the hoppin' spot on Sunday for the pig roast.

The last three I mentioned are easily reached by a whaler which you can rent and is very easy to navigate between the islands.

Heard that Hopetown is a good place for the out island experience but we haven't made it there. More dining options and a quaint town, too.

Also, we have been to Staniel Cay for the day. No beaches there but it's all about boating around to the deserted beaches and caves. It is high on our list to return for more exploring. From the air there is no place more beautiful.

Hope this helps.

Wow-what great replies. Thanks for all the great information. I am just now researching the out islands, so such detailed information was very helpful.
Sassycat-I do think I would save money going to the Out Islands because when we go to Anguilla we stay at Cuisinart which is very expensive. The hotels I looked at in the out islands are far less expensive. I also think we will just save in travel TIME since the Bahamas are closer. You are right, you can definately cut costs by eating at the less fancy restaurants-which I intend to do the next time we go to Anguilla. I'm not sure I can give up that Anguilla dream yet, but I'm looking at all my options.

Anguillagirl, yes Cuisinart would blow our budget and if we stayed there we'd starve on Anguilla but we'd be hungry on a beautiful beach LOL!
The Out Islands sound wonderful too. I've only been to Nassau/New Providence and I'd like to venture further afield in the Bahamas. I'm tempted by Cat Island.
Watch out for those connections to the various islands though the travel time can add up.

Sassy_cat Great call on Cat Island; truly one of the hidden gems of the Out Islands.

Anguillagirl... Cat Island. If you want to rent a private beach house check out the Boathouse on Cat Island (great for couples), or the Shangri La. You will need to Google the names of the houses as I do not recall the website address.

You will love Cat Island, the locals, the beaches, the crystal clear water, the friendliness, the sun, the laid back atmosphere; and especially no casinos, no hotel chains, no cruise ships, and very few tourists.There is a lot to love about Cat Island.

escapeartist

A warning about The Boathouse: it's pictures are deceptive. I checked it out when I was there and it was not what I was expecting. And it isn't on the beach either.

The "no casino" part is about to change in the next few years I heard.

Here's my Cat Island trip report if you're interested:

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...-june-2008.cfm

Anguillagirl, I recommend Southern Air for inter-island flights. We just got back from Long Island on Monday and they were great! I haven't read great reviews on Bahamas Air. I'll be posting my Long Island TR soon!

We flew Cat Island Air. I do NOT recommend this airline.

Looking forward to your LI report, kellybeaches.

I have been to several mentioned above and agree with almost all the positive comments. One island we did not like because we enjoy good snorkeling was Great Exuma. You would be hard pressed to find more than 2 fair spots to snorkel. Andros Island is a snorkelers heavan as well as scuba and fishing but the beaches are good but not excellent and regardless of which part of the little set of islands that make up Andros there is nothing to do but relax have excellent water sports and pretty good food.