Ground Transportation is an additional expense.
Your share of the costs are based on picking you up at the port dock specified in the weekly itinerary and delivering you to the next port dock specified for the end of the week on the itinerary. If we stay in one location it could be the same port dock on that island. But it might be a different port so check out the individual itinerary for details. If we change locations then it will be the specified port dock at the next island location. At your convenience we will deliver you to the dock Sunday in the morning before noon so that we can pick up any new guests on Sunday afternoon at the same dock. With luggage it could take more than one trip in the Run-About. So allow plenty of time to make your flight.
Caution: We are mariners. We navigate using charts and we use marine locations like ports, bays, harbors, marinas and docks. We reference cruising guides as discussed in Trip Guides. Landlubbers use maps and land locations like cities, towns and streets and tourists guides. In our itineraries we provide marine locations. These marine locations do not always correspond to the land locations. For example, in Anguilla we will meet you at Road Bay. But the nearest town there is called Sandy Ground not Road Bay. So the taxi driver might not know where Road Bay is located. For this reason we usually also provide the nearest town name. To make sure there is no misunderstanding we also provide the exact GPS coordinates of the waypoint of our intended anchorage. You can copy-and-paste this GPS location into the "fly to" of Google Earth to see that exact location. You could then find that same corresponding location on a land map like those links given in the weekly itinerary. Be careful not to try to find our boat using the GPS because we might have to anchor elsewhere. But we are within radio range and we will come and get you at the dock or beach specified in the weekly overview. If there is a choice of docks usually use the dinghy dock rather than the commercial dock.
The easiest way to coordinate our rendezvous is using VHF Marine Radio. Many taxies or their dispatchers have Marine VHF radio capability. At the airport when your flight arrives choose a taxi that has Marine VHF coverage for our port. Explain to them that you are meeting up with a yacht anchored at that port shown on the itinerary. In the case that no taxi has this capability, if the driver understands your problem, he will probably know someone at the port who can hail us (Harbor Master, Water Taxi, Police, Customs, Immigration, hotel or local marine business...). We will monitor Channel 9 for hailing purposes. Our call sign for the mother ship is "Family Affair". It is best to get all this arranged at the airport when you have options and you have dispatchers who are multi-lingual.
Here is an alternate suggestion. At the time of this writing, there are several discount internet marine equipment suppliers offering $40, 1 & 2 watt hand held VHF radios. They are small and more than sufficient for hailing in port. If you bring the charger you could use it throughout your trip. It would be ideal for helping us connect at port when you first arrive as well as when you go ashore. If you are not familiar with VHF hailing procedures try VHF procedures. You can use the call sign "Family Affair #4" as your call sign. Starting at 1:00 PM on the day of your arrival, we will also check our onboard yacht-mail every hour. So if possible text or e-mail us from the airport and let us know of your exact ETA at the dock so we can be looking out for you in case something goes wrong with our radio plans. Be sure and use our onboard yacht-mail address see Contact Us for details.
Also as explained under Accommodations you will probably want to have the driver take you for some mini-provisioning for liquor, drinks and special needs that we don't supply and you could not bring on the airplane. Try to keep the driver at the port until the VHF call is made so we can specify to him the exact spot for pick-up with the least luggage handling. Agree on the price for everything at the airport where you have leverage. I have paid as much as 150 Euro one way for similar service but it is usually less.
On your return coordination is much easier, usually we can call ahead on VHF to arrange your taxi pick-up in advance. If not we will help you get a taxi after we take you to the dock on the first trip. Depending on your departure time maybe you will want to arrange some excursion on the way to the airport? The cost for the return is probably closer to 100 Euro or less. Both ways your costs will vary a lot from location to location so check out the tour guides and the Internet as much as possible so you are not surprised by the cost. In some cases you will have to take some local public transportation to get to the international airport. It might require a ferry ride or a commuter flight from the local airport. The weekly itinerary guide will explain the details for each location.
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