Can an American Drive in Anguilla? — You Need a Local Temporary Permit

Anguilla is small, flat and made for a slow drive between beaches — but there is one rule American visitors regularly miss, and it is not about which licence you hold.

You need a local temporary permit

Your US licence is accepted as the basis for driving, but on its own it is not enough: Anguilla requires visitors to hold a temporary Anguillian driving permit, bought on the island. In practice the car-hire company arranges it for you when you pick up the vehicle, taking your US licence as proof you can drive. The point to remember is that the document that actually makes you legal is this local permit, not an International Driving Permit — so do not assume your home licence alone covers you. Carry both your US licence and the temporary permit while driving. You can sanity-check requirements like this on our Driving Permit Checker.

Driving on the left

Anguilla drives on the left, the opposite of home. On an island this quiet that is far less stressful than learning it in city traffic, but the reflex still bites — particularly pulling out of a car park, at the few roundabouts, and on unmarked stretches where there is no centre line to remind you which side to keep. Drive the first hour deliberately and the habit settles quickly.

What the roads are actually like

Anguilla’s roads are narrow, lightly signed and often without markings, with the occasional wandering goat and plenty of unlit sections after dark. Speeds are low by necessity rather than by a number you will see posted everywhere, so the honest advice is to drive to the road in front of you. The emergency number is 911. Keep your licence and permit on you, fuel up before longer loops, and watch for pedestrians near the beaches.

For onward Caribbean island-hopping, our Driving Permit Checker covers which islands have the same temporary-permit rule, so you are not caught out twice.