The hotel we stayed at, Frangipani, was located along Meads Bay. Other hotels located along this beach are Mallihouna and to some extent the new Viceroy. Meads Bay beach is wide and long and the water is of course a beautiful shade of blue. While we were in Anguilla Meads Bay had some rough surf. Nate enjoyed having some waves which are often non existent in the Caribbean. Large yachts and sailboats, often parked in Meads Bay and came on shore near the Mallihouna.
Nate rides a wave in on Meads Bay
Meads Bay, Mallihouna in the distance
$400 million yacht in Meads Bay
On Monday, Ronnie Bryan brought our rental car to the resort and we immediately started exploring. We visited the following places on Monday: Long Bay, Sandy Ground, Crocus Bay, Limestone Bay and Shaol Bay East. The main roads through the island are paved but many of the roads leading to the beaches are dirt. We had a Toyota Corolla and didn't have any trouble navigating the roads, just a little bumpy at times. A little about each beach:
Long Bay was one of my favorite beaches on Anguilla. We had the beach to ourselves and it was a stunning. The beach was long, a great walking beach. The sand along Long Bay was incredibly soft, in fact you sunk down into it several inches as you can see from my picture. The water was fairly calm, so take your raft along to this one. There were no resorts located along here, just a couple of private villas that were rentals and my dream home, which had perfect architecture and the most complimentary colors. Olivers restaurant was also located right on the beach and would offer a great view of the sunset.
Enjoying Long Bay
Soft Sand
My dream homeprimarily a small harbor. There were several neat beach bars around here and you could take a boat out to Sandy Island. We heard great things about the Chocolat tour that leaves from Sandy Ground and takes you to Prickly Pear and Sandy Island. The snorkeling in both is supposed to be pretty good. Something we'll consider next time. The cost is about $80 per person and includes lunch.
We made our way to Crocus Bay around lunch time. DaVida is located on Crocus Bay so we ate lunch and then enjoyed their comfy lounge chairs. Crocus Bay was a pretty area but not as spacious as Meads or Long Bay. The sand here, especially as you enter the water, was very rocky, making it hard to get in and out of the water. There were several people hanging out on the chairs at DaVida as well as folks eating lunch so it wasn't as private as Long Bay but by no means was it crowded. You can meet the "man under the tree" at Crocus Bay who will take you by boat to Little Bay, which we heard is a decent spot for snorkeling and bird watching.
Crocus Bay, from DavidaAfter Crocus Bay we ended up at Limestone Bay, which was Nate's favorite beach that we visited. Limestone Bay was a very small beach but it had some beautiful rock formations protruding into the ocean. Nate did a little fishing and snorkeling here. He only caught one small fish and found a large conch. The manager at a resort did indicate that Limestone Bay as well as Crocus Bay are good areas to fish, I guess they just weren't biting on this particular day.
On Limestone Bay
We ended our day at Shaol Bay East which is the most developed resort area of the island but still not crowded, as this beach is very long and spacious. The sand is really white at Shaol Bay East but it isn't nearly as soft as the sand at Meads or Long Bay. The sand at Shaol Bay East is made of tiny shells but they do not hurt your feet like at Crocus. The water here had some small waves but was relatively calm. There are several beach bars/restaurants along Shaol Bay, as well as hotels so you have many options for drinks or lunch. We had drinks from Myra's and watched the sunset.
Shaol Bay East at sunset
Our next day of touring the island included stops at Shaol Bay West, Barnes Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Cove Bay and Maundays Bay.
Shaol Bay West was another long, wide, and of course beautiful beach in Anguilla. The water was calm while we were there you could easily raft beyond where the small waves were breaking. A great beach for walking and just a couple of people around here and there. Only a few hotels and houses located here. I thought the Covecastles villas looked interesting and would consider these as a lodging option in the future depending on the price, etc.
Nate's treasures from Shaol Bay West
Covecastles on Shaol Bay WestNext, we stopped at Barnes Bay, which is where the Viceroy is located. The water was rougher here, with similar waves as Meads Bay. There were actually shells on this beach so I was able to do a little beach combing and bring home a few treasures.
Behind us, Barnes Bay at sunsetMaundays Bay was absolutely stunning. This is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. The water was so many shades of turquoise and blue; it was breathtaking! My pictures below don't even seem to do it justice. The beach was long and wide and the water was very calm- again take your raft. Cap Juluca, a luxurious resort, is located on Maundays Bay but there is also some undeveloped area and you can certainly have plenty of space to yourself.
Beautiful Maundays Bay
Rafting at Maudays BayWe were getting hungry so we headed to the Dune Preserve located on Rendezvous Bay. Rendezvous Bay has been eroding, according to the locals, so the beach was not very wide especially near the Dune Preserve. The beach widened as it stretched down toward Cuisin Art. Rendezvous Bay waters were very calm, another beach to relax on your raft:).
Rendezvous Bay looking towards Cuisin Art
Nate's treasure from RendezvousWe also checked out Cove Bay which was a large beach with calm waters. A few locals were hanging out here but still uncrowded.
On our 3rd day of exploring the island we visited Sile Bay, Savannah Bay, Junks Hole, Scilly Cay, and Upper Shaol Bay.
Sile Bay wasn't really a beach and the road was a little rough leading up to it. It was primarily a rocky area looking out at the water.
Savannah Bay was a very large beach with calm waters. We hung out here for a while, the beach was long and we were practically the only people there. The shore wrapped around in a beautiful curve. This is a great beach to spend a day or a few hours relaxing.
We stopped at a spot that overlooked Junks Hole and then drove on to Scilly Cay. Scilly Cay was a beautiful harbor area, with bright teal water. You can take a boat from here to the Scilly island and have lunch. We didn't do this but next time we'll definitely consider it as it looked like a great spot to hang out.
Scilly Cay, with Scilly Cay island in the background
The final beach we checked out was Upper Shaol Bay. We ate lunch at Gwens which is located right on the beach. The beach has also eroded a bit here and therefore is not very wide but it's plenty long enough to go for a nice walk. This was another one of my favorite spots that we visited as the water was a beautiful blue and palm trees jutted out of the sand.
View of Upper Shaol Bay from Gwens
Nate snorkeled in all of the above locations but didn't see too much. His sightings were limited to some lobster and a few tropical fish. He did find some interesting things that he brought to shore to show me such as a large conch and starfish (he put these back to go on about their business). We talked to another couple who snorkeled in Little Bay and they indicated that this was a little better than just off the shore of the many beaches that we visited.
Anguilla claims to have 33 beaches, I think this is a bit exaggerated as they consider places such as Sile Bay a beach, but regardless we explored some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. I don't know if I've saw water of such stunning shades of blue. One of my friends commented that it looked like we were the only two people on most of the beaches we visited, it didn't just look this way, it really was this way:). It's so nice not to have to fight the crowds and put your towel down right next to another family. Enjoying the beaches of Anguilla was truly a relaxing experience that provided for wonderful memories.
If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my review of accommodations and lodging in Anguilla.
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