Anguilla in 2 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Two days in Anguilla on a budget: the honest costs
Anguilla is not a cheap Caribbean island, and no budget plan should pretend otherwise: no cruise port, no casinos, no high-rises, by design, and the prices follow that positioning. Two days here is still a real, satisfying trip on its own, not a rushed preview, covering Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay and Rendezvous Bay plus a proper beach-bar meal. What actually keeps the cost down is picking the cheaper option at every fork: the public ferry over a private charter, a beach-bar plate over the fine-dining tier, and free beach access everywhere you go. Staying longer? The 3-day plan adds an offshore cay on the same logic, and the 7-day plan works in a St Martin day trip on top of that.
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | SXM arrival, public ferry to Blowing Point, Shoal Bay East, beach-bar dinner | 20-25 min ferry crossing plus a taxi to base | $90-150 |
| Day 2 | Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay, a second beach-bar meal | short fixed-rate taxi hops between beaches | $60-100 |
Book these before you go:
- Your Meads Bay or Sandy Ground stay : book ahead for the December-April dry season, when rooms run tightest and priciest
- A half-day snorkel or boat outing : a cheap way to see reef beyond wading distance from the sand
Day 1: SXM, the public ferry and Shoal Bay East, cost by cost
Land at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on Sint Maarten, not Anguilla itself; the island’s own airport has limited direct service, so almost everyone arrives this way. From SXM, taxi to the ferry pier at Marigot on the French side, then take the public ferry to Blowing Point: about 20-25 minutes, roughly $30 per adult one-way plus a separate departure tax that different sources quote differently, so check current fares at anguillaferrytimes.com before you fly rather than trust a number found online. A private charter departs the Dutch side and skips the Marigot taxi transfer, but starts around $65 per person one-way, more than double the public fare for a shorter ride, so the ferry is the real budget win here.
Settle into a base at West End or Sandy Ground, then spend the afternoon at Shoal Bay East, a two-mile stretch of white sand on the north coast with reef close enough to snorkel from shore. Entry is free, same as every one of Anguilla’s 33 beaches; the only real spend is a rented lounger or a drink from one of the beachfront shacks. For dinner, skip the fine-dining tier and eat at a casual beach bar like Sunshine Shack or the Dune Preserve on Rendezvous Bay, where a grilled-catch plate and a rum punch cost a fraction of the same meal at a resort restaurant up the road.
Day 2: Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay and a beach-bar bill you can actually plan for
Spend the morning at Meads Bay, the glossiest strip on the island and home to Blanchards, Anguilla’s best-known splurge restaurant. Walk the beach and admire the resort row for free, but eat at one of the more casual spots nearby rather than booking a table at the main restaurant, which alone can run past a two-day food budget. The afternoon belongs to Rendezvous Bay, long and quiet with clear sightlines across the channel to St Martin, and a second casual beach-bar meal to close the day.
Get around both days by fixed-rate taxi rather than a rental car. Anguilla requires a temporary local driving permit on top of the rental itself, roughly $25 for three months or $15 for a short stay, an extra cost a two-day visit skips entirely by sticking to taxis. The East Caribbean dollar (EC$/XCD) is pegged at $1 to EC$2.70, but nearly every price you will actually see on a menu or a taxi fare card is already quoted in US dollars, so there is no conversion math to do beyond spotting the rare bill still written in EC$.
Is two days enough for Anguilla?
Yes, honestly. Two days covers the three beaches that carry the island’s reputation, Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay and Rendezvous Bay, plus a proper beach-bar meal, without feeling rushed. What you skip is the offshore cays, Sandy Island, Prickly Pear and Scilly Cay, each of which needs a boat and a half-day of its own; the 3-day plan is built around adding the first one.
How much does two days in Anguilla actually cost?
Budget roughly $150-250 per person across both days for the ferry, taxis, food and drink, lodging separate. That is not cheap by Caribbean standards, and it should not be: Anguilla’s whole identity, no cruise port, no casinos, no high-rises, is built around staying upscale rather than high-volume. The biggest single lever on the total is accommodation and timing; a room booked outside the December-April dry season runs noticeably less than the same room in peak season.
Is Anguilla safe for a short trip?
Yes, for the ordinary beach-holiday experience, but not on a blanket claim of zero crime. The UK FCDO’s most recent update flags a 2025 spike in gang-related gun crime and robbery, serious enough that Anguillians held a public anti-gun-violence march in August 2025. That uptick is real and worth ordinary caution, avoiding isolated areas after dark and keeping valuables out of sight, but it has not changed the fact that crime targeting tourists on the beach circuit remains rare. Check the current advisory at gov.uk and the beach and cay listings at ivisitanguilla.com before you fly.
One thing to sort before you land
Confirm your ferry crossing against the current schedule at anguillaferrytimes.com , since Anguilla’s own airport has limited direct service and the SXM-to-Blowing-Point ferry is how almost everyone actually arrives. Skip the rental car and the driving permit for a trip this short; a fixed-rate taxi covers both days for less hassle and less cost.