Dive Trip: Travel to Anguilla

Welcome to Anguilla! Check out the customs line at Sandy Ground, you guys. Nope, I don't see one either. Ferry-goers from St. Maarten will actually arrive at the Blowing Point ferry terminal, directly to the south of Sandy Ground. But this was a better picture.

There are so many lovely hotels on Anguilla; we checked into the charming Anacaona Boutique Hotel, which is not quite waterfront but has access to a stellar stretch of sand at Mead's Bay, complete with chaises and beach bar. They also play host to the fantastic Mayoumba Folkloric Theatre every Thursday night in their Firefly restaurant. Fun facts: According to Wiki, Anacaona is the name of a Taino queen. Also according to Wiki the Taino were the seafaring indigenous people of the Antilles. See what you can learn on vacation?

This is it: Sandy Ground, Anguilla's busiest beach and a hub of the island's robust nightlife scene. During the day the harbor is filled with sailboats, yachts, freighters (this is also the cargo port) and dive boats — dive trips all leave from this beach. At night, bars like The Pumphouse and Elvis' Beach Bar keep locals and tourists well lubricated.

When you really need to get away from it all and a gorgeous tropical island just won't do, may we suggest escaping to an even smaller gorgeous tropical island? This is tiny Scilly Cay, off Anguilla's northeast coast. Here's how it works: a free boat runs between the dock and the island, about a quarter mile from shore in Island Harbor. Once you arrive, stake out a table in the sand and head up to the bar, where you can order the most enormous grilled lobster you've ever seen (the chicken is good too) and some killer rum punch, made by owner Eudoxie Wallace, and what I've dubbed "one and done." Unfortunately I didn't bestow this moniker until I'd had three. Good thing the biggest decision I had to make was whether or not to wear my flip flops on the boat back.

You've got to do it: Everybody who comes to Scilly Cay poses with this huge, mangled piece of driftwood, which is actually embedded in the wall behind it. I recommend doing so before the rum punch kicks in.

One of three scuba operations on the island, Shoal Bay Scuba is owned by the affable Englishman Matthew Billington. And it's staffed by gems like Pinky here, who is trying unsuccessfully to hide from my camera. This is their shop at Sandy Ground, from whence excited divers (like me) launch to explore sites like the Oosterdiep and Sarah wrecks. And when you return, Roy's Bayside Grill awaits next door, with a traditional English roast on Sunday nights, including Yorkshire pudding.

Finally, an underwater shot! I'm not an underwater photographer (sadly) but Nadia Aly of Scuba Diver Life is! Here I am next to the wreck of the Sarah, our first dive of the trip. It's a 232-foot-long former cargo ship, Anguilla's biggest wreck, and sits in about 80 feet of water, with the wheelhouse in only 30 feet. We saw plenty of fish and a very cool bristle worm undulating in the water.

Cool shot, right? That's me again on the left — I'm very photogenic underwater. Totally stealing the show from the awesome wreck of the Oosterdiep. OK, maybe not. It sits in about 80 feet of water, with the bow facing in towards Sandy Ground. On the wreck are the now unrecognizable skeleton of a VW bug — you can tell it's a car, but not much else — turtles, stingrays in the sand nearby and garden eels all around.

I'm not much of a shopper, but Anguilla's numerous art galleries and funky boutiques were too much for even me to resist. Be sure to check out Irie Life's (one in South Hill; one in Sandy Ground) selection of jewelry, clothes, postcards and Anguillian art. I was strong and left with only a few bracelets.

Infinity pool with a view of St. Maarten in the distance? Yes, please. Some friends and I spent a few blissful hours lounging here while waiting for our massages at the CuisinArt Resort's Venus Spa. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

Anguillian Douglas Carty (the "D" in Special D Diving and Boat Charters) has been diving these waters for over 25 years. He's so well-known, in fact, that he attracts a following of his own: when we were there, none other than Annie Potts (of Ghostbusters and Designing Women fame) and her husband were on our dive boat. I swear! I just didn't take any pics because I'm cool like that.

After two awesome day dives, one at Dog Island and one at No Name Reef just off Sandy Island, Dougie (of Special D) took us out to the Oosterdiep for a night dive — and what a night dive it was! We saw no less than eight turtles (some said 12, but I think they were counting twice) sleeping on and around the wreck. This guy couldn't get enough of the camera, swimming along with Nadia while she filmed him for at least 15 minutes. It's a must-dive if you're in Anguilla!

The Viceroy Anguilla, built in 2009, is where South Beach meets the Caribbean. All sleek lines and white plaster, the trés chic hotel attracts plenty of folks staying elsewhere for the cocktails and people-watching at the Sunset Lounge, and for the signature snap in these carved wooden chairs. Here I am, enjoying the sunset and the ambiance on our last (sniff) night on the island.

If you'd rather enjoy the sunset from the pool than the Sunset Bar at the Viceroy, you've got to be a paying guest. I think for a view like this it would be worth it, don't you?