Angling for an Anguilla Getaway? Fall is the Best

If your idea of the perfect Caribbean getaway is visiting a small and welcoming island with British charm, fine food and pristine white sand beaches, Anguilla in the British West Indies is the spot for you. The northern most island in the Leeward Island chain, Anguilla has a tiny population of less than 14,000 people and is a quiet alternative to its nearest neighbor, St. Martin/St Maarten.

Anguilla is not a budget destination when it comes to accommodation -- you'll be hard pressed to find more than a couple of hotels for under $100 a night (at least online) but there are still some reasonable options.

The Anguilla Tourist Board's website (www.anguilla-vacation.com) is a good place to start when looking for individual accommodation and land-only package deals. For scuba diving lovers, stay at the Allamanda Beach Club (tel. +264/497-2517; www.allamanda.ai) in Shoal Bay for $830 per person and enjoy six-nights in a double room and five two-tank dives including all taxes. This price is valid for stays until December 14, 2006.

A seven-night "Island Adventure" package at the Arawak Beach Inn (tel. 877/427-2925; www.arawakbeach.com) is priced from $899 per person based on double occupancy for travel between November 1 and December 22, 2006. The package includes seven nights' accommodations, full island breakfast daily, four dinners at the Inn's Arawak Café, a private day excursion/boat ride to your own secluded beach on an uninhabited island (including gourmet packed lunch), a full day trip to Marigot on French St. Martin (includes transfers to/from ferry and roundtrip ferry), three-day car rental (must be over 25), airport or ferry transfers and free champagne on arrival.

Stay at the Carimar Beach Club (tel. 800/235-8667; www.carimar.com) from now until November 15, and families can get seven-nights in a two-bedroom (sleeps four) beachfront villa with terrace or patio for $1,581. An adults-only seven-night vacation in a one-bedroom beach view apartment (sleeps two) is $930, with taxes and service charges included in both rates.

Cheap Caribbean (tel. 800/915-2322; www.cheapcaribbean.com) offers the following deals for midweek or weekend travel in November, 2006. All room rates are per room per night (not per person) and 10% tax is additional:

• $116 at La Sirena Hotel at Mead's Bay
• $136 for a cute hexagonal beachfront room at the two-and-a-half-star Arawak Beach Inn at Island Harbor
• $140 for a garden view room at the two-and-a-half-star Rendezvous Bay Hotel at Rendezvous Bay
• $174 for a garden view room at the three-star Anguilla Great House Beach Resort at Rendezvous Bay

West Indies Online (www.wiol.com) offers discounted prices and an online booking facility for 15 properties in Anguilla. Rates until December 14, 2006 include:

• $90 per room per night at The Ferry Boat Inn at Blowing Point -- a short walk from the beach and near the ferry
• $155 per room per night at the gorgeous Ku Hotel at Shoal Bay East -- considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. Also pay for six nights at Ku and receive the seventh night free.
• $120 per room per night at La Sirena Hotel; pay for six nights and get the seventh night free
• $830 for seven nights at Allamanda Beach Club in Shoal Bay including taxes and service charges

November is an excellent time to visit this petite island -- it's still the shoulder season (so prices are generally lower for accommodation) and there are some interesting events like the Tranquility Jazz Festival (www.anguillajazz.org) from November 9 to 12, 2006. Performers in this year's festival include Pharaoh Sanders, Michael Carvin, Nnenna Freelon, WES Group and Jaine Rogers. Tickets are available through www.ticketweb.com for individual events over the four days, or a two day pass is $90 and a three-day pass is $135.

Getting There

Okay, so I am a little confused about the "flying into Anguilla" situation and after exhaustive research, I have reached the following conclusion: Fly through St Maarten instead (unless you are coming from the U.S. west coast). Why? Firstly, it seems that there is no refueling in Anguilla which discourages almost every airline from flying here. Secondly, American Eagle, Continental and Delta which do fly here (individually or code share), have to stop and refuel in Puerto Rico, so you'll have to get off the plane there and change to a prop jet aircraft for the last leg of your trip. Even worse than that is the fact that a flight from New York to Anguilla takes between 12 and 15 hours, compared to a flight from New York to St Maarten which takes approximately four hours.

Windward Islands Airways (www.newconcepts.ca) makes the extremely short flight between St Maarten and Anguilla. Round-trip airfare costs between $65 to $126 plus $78 in taxes plus a $20 to $25 service fee plus about $0.60 per pound of luggage if you have in excess of 44 pounds in your suitcase -- so unless you are really in a hurry to arrive and start your Anguilla vacation, I would recommend the ferry service.

The Anguilla Ferry runs from St Martin (the French side of the island) every day of the year from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM. The Marigot Ferry Port is about a 15-minute taxi drive from the airport and the fare should be approximately $15. There is a $2.75 St Martin departure tax and the ferry itself cost $12 each way for a 20-minute trip. All visitors entering Anguilla and St Martin must have a valid passport. Remember to check your arrival and departure flight times and bear in mind that the last ferry of the day departs Anguilla at 6:15 PM (there's a $3 departure tax) and the last leaving St Martin is 7:00 PM. If you do decide to endure the long and arduous flight to Anguilla, prices during the month of November, 2006 through Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) start from $396 including taxes from New York or $544 from Los Angeles, both on American Airlines/American Eagle. Alternatively for round-trip flights to St Maarten spend $421 and fly non-stop on either American or Continental from New York, $400 from Miami and $464 from Charlotte on American or $545 with one stop from Los Angeles.

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