Valverde

My family of four (kids 14 & 17) will be spending 4 nights at the Radisson St. Martin and 5 nights at The Ku Hotel on Anguilla.. July 28-Aug.6. I need some transportion advice. We arrive at 8pm into SXM. Is it best to rent a car at the airport or take a taxi? How much would a taxi cost? How long and difficult is the drive? We will not need a car until the following evening to get into Grand Case for dinner. We wil need a car July 30 & 31 . We'll leave for Anguilla Aug. 1 in the morning. What's the best way to get there from Anse Marcel? We will want to drop the rental car either in Marigot at the ferry landing or at our hotel. Since we're traveling on Aug. 1 will the Carnival events effect transportation to Anguilla and getting a car there? Should we rent a car at the ferry landing in Anguilla or take a taxi, if so how much would the taxi cost? We probably won't need a car until Aug. 3-5. Our flight out of SXM leaves at 3pm. How much time will we need to get there by 1pm? What's the best way to get to the airport from Anguilla?

Thanks much!

DavidSXM

Since you are arriving at 8pm at SXM it will be dark and, as the access to Anse Marcel - where the Radisson is located - makes for an 'interesting' drive even in daylight, I would strongly suggest that you take a taxi from the airport, unles you are already familiar with the island road system !

A taxi should cost you about $30 plus tip - but insist that you do NOT wish to share with anyone else. Unless you do so, you may be placed in a people carrier (which most of the airport cabs are)and have to wait while other passengers are dropped off en route. It may cost you a bit more, but it will be well worth it.

The hotel should be able to arrange - in advance of your arrival - for a rental car to be delivered to the hotel for you the following day, but make sure that they do so with a company with whom you can drop off the vehicle at the Gare Maritime in Marigot when you leave for Anguilla. Car rental out of season is cheap and, as the rental companies want your business, this should not present a problem.

I don't know much about the Anguilla Carnival, but I believe that most on shore activity takes place in the evening - boat races etc. are during the day - however it would perhaps seem sensible to take a taxi to your hotel from the ferry terminal at Blowing Point, and rent a car from August 3rd until you leave.

For a 3pm departure from Princess Juliana Airport (SXM), you should aim to be there by 1pm. Allow at least 30 to 45 minutes by cab from the Gare Maritime in Marigot - the roads around Cupecoy and Maho (the most direct route) are in a ghastly state right now, so calculate back to your ferry departure time from Anguilla accordingly.

Having said that, there MAY possibly still be a direct ferry from Anguilla to the airport area, so perhaps someone familiar with that can join this thread and advise you.

I hope this helps.

MaryD

There are no car rentals at the ferry dock in Anguilla so plan on a cab to Ku. There are still ferries that go to SXM. Here is a link to them:
http://anguillaguide.com/article/art...ew/1932/1/215/

You should probably plan on leaving by 11:30 -- the ferries that go the airport in SXM make a stop at immigration in St. Martin & it sometimes holds things up (although the 2 governments are supposedly working on a solution to the delays).

absolutkz

You can have the car delivered to Ku. This is who I used:

http://www.nancweb.com/bryans/index.php

MaryD

The above poster gave you great info -- Ronnie is terrific, will deliver a car when you want it and you can drive yourself to the ferry and leave the car at the terminal at the end of the trip.

Valverde

Thanks so much everyone for all the valuable information. I'm not at all familar with the islands so the logistics are a bit tricky. What are the heavy traffic times and areas on St. Martin? It may be too expensive to take a boat directly into to SXM from Anguilla. We may need to take the regular ferry to Marigot and take a taxi to SXM. What should the taxi cost and should I be concerned about traffic if we're wanting to arrive at the airport by 1pm on Friday Aug. 6? (I'm trying to compare costs.) Should be a fun travel day into LAX via MIA!

Thanks!

MaryD

Some of the boats from the airport (GB Express & Shauna & Link) are $35-45 to Anguilla. The ferry from the SXM airport to Marigot is about $20 for 2 with tip so it's about the same for the public ferry v. some of the SXM boats by the time you pay the departure tax and the fare. You should email them & get quotes (Funtime & Gotcha are more expensive, I think).

MaryD

I didn't mean to say the ferry to Marigot from the airport -- I, of course, meant a taxi from the airport to Marigot!

DavidSXM

As I said in my initial post, you should allow 30 to 45 minutes for the cab ride from the Gare Maritime in Marigot to SXM.

The main hours NOT to travel to / from Anse Marcel, or anywhere else, are between 7.30 and 8.30am and 4.30 and 5 inthe evening, but at any time of day you can get stuck in a line of traffic crawling behind a large slow moving truck.

It's an island with essentially only one road around it, with only a very few alternative roads, so patience is a virtue which must be displayed when driving,

Remember that it is not acceptable to blow your horn when you have to stop on a one way street (or elsewhere) while someone several cars ahead stops for a chat with a friend he / she has seen on the sidewalk - just wait until they have finished their conversation - after all, you are on vacation, so what's your hurry anyway !

Valverde

Thanks for all the information. I can't wait to be there!

alr0495

When you go to Anguilla on Aug. 1, I would suggest using the public ferry from Marigot to Blowing Point in Anguilla. Since there's a boat race that day, the private ferries could be short on staff and not be as reliable and quick as usual.