A swim before breakfast. A boat ride to a sheltered cove. A long lunch built around fresh fish and a view of the sea. Anguilla’s appeal lies in how easily these simple pleasures can become the shape of a vacation.
The British Caribbean territory has a fresh reason to be in the travel spotlight: a nomination for Most Desirable Island – Worldwide in the 2026 Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards, according to the Anguilla Tourist Board’s latest announcement. It is a timely invitation to look more closely at an island whose beaches, restaurants, and places to stay give travelers plenty to build a trip around.
At roughly 35 square miles and 16 miles long, Anguilla is small enough to explore beyond a single resort. Its scale is part of the attraction. A vacation here can leave room for a different beach, an unexpected lunch stop, and an afternoon with very little on the agenda.
A Beach for More Than One Kind of Day
Anguilla counts 33 beaches along its coastline, giving visitors a good reason to venture beyond the sand closest to their hotel.
Shoal Bay is a natural starting point for a morning by the water. Meads Bay offers another broad sweep of sand, while Rendezvous Bay and Maundays Bay belong on the list for travelers who enjoy exploring the coast. For a change of setting, Little Bay provides a more enclosed cove that can be reached by boat.
The Anguilla Tourist Board notes that all the island’s beaches are publicly accessible. That makes beach exploring an appealing part of a stay, whether the plan involves a few hours with a book or a day spent discovering another stretch of shoreline.
Keep some time for seeing the island from the water, too. Kayaking and boat excursions offer different perspectives on its coast, with coves and open sea adding variety to days on the beach. DRIFT’s guide to exploring Anguilla by boat offers further inspiration for combining time on the water with stops to eat.
Let Lunch Help Plan the Itinerary
Food deserves a place near the top of an Anguilla itinerary. The island’s dining scene spans beach bars, local kitchens, and restaurants serving more elaborate menus, allowing a single trip to move comfortably between casual meals and dressed-up evenings.
Spiny lobster and fresh fish are among the draws, with rum punch making a familiar accompaniment to a meal by the water. Family recipes and local cooking traditions add another dimension, while chefs working with island ingredients bring their own approaches to tasting menus and fine dining.
The pleasure is in making room for that range. Plan an evening around a restaurant you particularly want to try, then leave another day open for a relaxed lunch while exploring. A beach bar and a more formal dining room can reveal different sides of the same destination.
For travelers who tend to organize vacations around memorable meals, Anguilla offers a useful balance: enough choice to make dining an activity in its own right, with the sea rarely far from the day’s plans.
Choose Your Own Version of Island Living
Anguilla’s accommodation mix includes luxury resorts, boutique hotels, and private villas. Each offers a different way to settle into the island.
A resort can suit travelers who want dining and leisure facilities close at hand. A smaller hotel may appeal to those looking for an intimate base from which to explore. Villas offer another option for friends or families who want to spend time together, with the layout and services of each property shaping the experience.
The press release emphasizes space, privacy, and personal service as central to Anguilla’s approach to hospitality. Those qualities fit a destination where the appeal often rests in having time to enjoy the setting: a leisurely breakfast, an unhurried afternoon, or dinner that becomes the main event of the evening.
For more ideas while planning, explore DRIFT’s coverage of what’s new in Anguilla for 2026.
Getting to Anguilla
Access options include flights from Miami and connections through regional gateways such as San Juan and St. Maarten. Travelers arriving on neighboring St. Martin/St. Maarten can also continue to Anguilla by sea. The tourist board’s getting to Anguilla guide outlines the options; check services for your travel dates when arranging connections.
Once there, give the itinerary a little breathing room. Pick a few beaches, make time for the meals that interest you, and leave space to return to somewhere you loved the day before.
