A practical decision guide for choosing your base, splitting your trip, or using St. Martin for convenience and Anguilla for beach relaxation.
Best beaches
Anguilla
Best nightlife
St. Martin
Best budget range
St. Martin
Easy to combine
Ferry route
The choice between Anguilla and St. Martin as your home base is one of the most consequential decisions in a Caribbean trip built around this region. It shapes your daily rhythm, your restaurant and beach options, your evening energy, and how much of your budget goes to accommodation versus experiences.
St. Martin is the easier base logistically. Direct flights from major US cities land at SXM, the accommodation range is broader (from around $80/night guesthouses to $1,500+ on the French side), and the island offers more variety in dining, nightlife, shopping, and activity. For travelers who want a lively, social, do-everything trip, staying in St. Martin makes sense.
Anguilla is the right base when the trip is specifically about slowing down. Its beaches — Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Maundays Bay — are among the best in the Caribbean, and the island's pace is deliberately quiet and unhurried. The accommodation floor starts higher (from around $300/night for most resorts), but the trade-off is a level of tranquility and beach quality that St. Martin cannot match.
The third answer — a split stay — works best when you have seven or more nights. Arrive in St. Martin, use it as your activity and restaurant base for the first half, then cross by ferry to Anguilla for a calmer, beach-focused finish. This is the most popular approach for longer itineraries built around both islands.
Anguilla is the better base if your trip is about 33 world-class beaches, quiet luxury, romance, villas, and slow island days — with hotels typically starting around $300/night and going well above $2,000 at peak for luxury resorts. St. Martin is the better base if you want direct flights, nightlife, shopping, more restaurants, and more price flexibility — with rooms available from around $80/night up to $1,500+ on the French side.
For many travelers, the best answer is a split stay: start in St. Martin for convenience and activity, then finish in Anguilla for beaches and relaxation.
A split stay works best when you have enough time to enjoy both islands without rushing transfers — 3–4 nights each is a popular and practical split.
The public ferry from Marigot costs $30 one-way and takes ~25 minutes. Use St. Martin as the arrival hub and Anguilla as the beach escape.
Decide whether you need taxis or rental cars on each island before your arrival day. A car in Anguilla is helpful for beach hopping.
Many travelers prefer ending in Anguilla for the calmer final stretch. A morning ferry gets you back to SXM in time for most afternoon flights.
Use these cards to decide which island should be your main base.
Choose Anguilla if you want the calmer, more beach-focused part of the trip. It is better for relaxed luxury, villas, honeymoons, families who want quiet beach days, and travelers who do not need nightlife every night.
Choose St. Martin if you want more restaurants, nightlife, shopping, direct flights, and a wider range of budgets. It works well if you want an active base and plan to visit Anguilla as a day trip.
A split stay gives you the best of both islands. Start in St. Martin for arrival convenience, nightlife, shopping, and restaurants. Then take the public ferry to Anguilla ($30 one-way, ~25 min from Marigot) for the slower, calmer, beach-focused part of your trip.
This works especially well for a 7-night trip — a 3+4 or 4+3 split gives you enough time to settle into each island without spending the whole vacation in transfer mode.
Days 1–3
St. Martin
Stay around Simpson Bay, Grand Case, or Marigot for restaurants, shopping, nightlife, beaches, and easy airport arrival from SXM.
Day 4
Ferry transfer
Take the public ferry from Marigot to Blowing Point (~25 min, $30 one-way). Remember your passport — all travelers clear customs and immigration at Blowing Point.
Days 4–7
Anguilla
Slow the trip down with Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Shoal Bay East, Maundays Bay, sunset dinners, and calm beach days. Note: the last public ferry back to Marigot departs Blowing Point at 5:15 PM.
The public ferry between Marigot and Blowing Point costs $30 one-way and takes ~25 minutes. It makes it easy to use St. Martin as your airport and activity base, then continue to Anguilla for a quieter beach escape.
Before booking, note that the last public ferry from Anguilla departs Blowing Point at 5:15 PM. Plan your final day accordingly, and check your arrival time, luggage plans, and whether you want to rent a car in Anguilla after clearing immigration at Blowing Point.
The last public ferry from Blowing Point to Marigot departs at 5:15 PM. All travelers need a passport — you clear customs and immigration in both directions.
The main public ferry runs Marigot to Blowing Point. If flying into SXM, private ferry operators also depart from Simpson Bay near the airport.
A rental car in Anguilla is helpful if you want to visit several of its 33 beaches during your stay. Many providers are near Blowing Point.
Enjoy St. Martin's French-Dutch restaurant variety, then Anguilla's celebrated culinary scene — beach dining and relaxed evenings in the Caribbean's culinary capital.
Compare the islands, plan the ferry, and choose the best beach area before booking your base.
For many travelers, the best flow is to use St. Martin for arrival, restaurants, shopping, and activity, then end the trip with Anguilla's 33 beaches, villas, resorts, and quieter evenings — and a morning ferry back to SXM on departure day.
