Anguilla
Anguilla is the most northerly of the Leeward Islands and is part of the British West Indies situated in the Eastern Caribbean. There's plenty to do on this family friendly island and you can be assured of a relaxing tropical holiday here. Whilst primarily known for the beauty of its many white sandy beaches, it contains no less than seven marine parks. There are a good range of dive sites including wreck dives, shore dives and mini walls. There are nine deliberately sunk wrecks which provide thriving artificial reefs. A unique diving location is the protected Spanish Galleon, El Buen Consejo, which has been named as Anguilla's first Underwater Heritage Site, and which is available to visiting divers by arrangement. The reefs are pleasant rather than exciting but show a variety of both hard and soft coral.
Other dive sites include:
Wreck of the M.V. 'Commerce'. Depth 40 - 80 feet. Upright on the seabed and open for swim through.
Wreck of the M.V.. 'Ida Maria'. Depth to 60 feet. 120 foot long and encrusted with hard and soft corals.
Wreck of the M.V. 'Oosterdiep'. Depth to 80 feet. 158 foot long, upright on the seabed and home to a huge variety of marine life.
Wreck of the M.V. 'Sarah'. Depth 30 - 80 feet. 230 foot long cargo ship, deliberately sunk upright.
Authors Deep. Depths to 110 feet and deeper. Black corals and other profuse coral growth.
The Steps at Little Scrub. Depth 20 - 90 feet. A ledge dive takes you through a canyon of boulders to a five foot arch. Good variety of fish life.
Dog Island. Depth to 90 feet. There are two sites on this islet including Devil's Wall, which is a drift dive along a rock face.
Getting There
Due to the length of the island's runway, there are no direct flights from the UK to Anguilla . The nearest hub airports to Anguilla are San Juan, Puerto Rico and St Martin. Unfortunately, neither of these airports have direct flights the UK at present.
The best option for one-stop connecting flights to Anguilla is to fly via Antigua . British Airways and Virgin Atlantic compete with each other to offer direct flights from the UK to Antigua. BWIA also have flights from London Heathrow to Antigua.
If you are looking for flights from UK regional airports, it might worth considering connections via Paris or Amsterdam , as well as via London. St Martin is divided into French and Dutch sides, and is well served by flights from both Paris and Amsterdam. San Juan in Puerto Rico is well-connected with flights to the US mainland, and is worth considering if you would like to have a stopover there on your way to Anguilla.
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Anguilla contains some of the best beaches in the Caribbean and some of the finest restaurants and hotels. Prices can be steep. Whilst there are a large number of wrecks to explore, they are unlikely to excite die-hard wreckdiving enthusiasts.
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