Anguilla / Bars/Nightlife

The nightlife in Anguilla is generally pretty informal, but it can be great fun. You can get a sunset drink at some of the hotel bars, for instance Spice at Cap Juluca or the Sunset Lounge at Viceroy. However the liveliest places are definitely the beach bars (there are no formal nightclubs anyway), a couple of which have live music and attract a party crowd.

On weekend evenings the place to head for some barefoot fun is Sandy Ground, which can be busy late into the night. Then the crowd returns there, mellower, on Sunday afternoons. Shoal Bay Beach is another regular hotspot on Sunday afternoons with a number of bars playing live music. Mid week, one or two places also offer live music until late. Check the Dune and the Pump House and Smokey's for its jazz on Saturdays.

Here is a selection of the most popular bars:

Dune Preserve, Rendezvous Bay - One of the ‘coolest’ spots anywhere in the Caribbean, home to Anguilla’s best known entertainer, Bankie Banx, and in April to the Moonsplash Music Festival. Built around a sand dune, the Dune is a haphazard collection of ‘beach finds’ and upturned boats. It looks out to St Martin and has an outdoor stage where Banx and fellow musicians perform on weekends. Great fun. Serves lunch, but no longer the same quality as when Tasty’s was in the kitchen.

Elvis Beach Bar, Sandy Ground - A classic bar, set into a brightly painted, beached boat-hull under a gazebo at the top of Sandy Ground beach. Cable barrels for tables, plastic chairs and parasols, easy music and chat and a cracking sunset view. Nice for a relaxing and fun evening, but really gets going around 11pm and goes well into the night.A classic bar, set into a brightly painted, beached boat-hull under a gazebo at the top of Sandy Ground beach. Cable barrels for tables, plastic chairs and parasols, easy music and chat and a cracking sunset view. Nice for a relaxing and fun evening, but really gets going around 11pm and goes well into the night.

Johnno’s Beach Bar & Grill, Sandy Ground - The leading island hotspot and just what you would expect of a Caribbean beach bar - rustic, charming and attracting a good mix of clientele from the rich and famous to the locals. During the day, except Sunday afternoons when there is a live jazz band, it operates as a typical beach bar and lunch spot, but on party nights it pulls in the crowds and can get packed. A must for a fun night out. Live music and limbo on Wednesday nights, live bands Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Roy’s Place, Sandy Ground - A lively English pub right on the beach in the quiet Crocus Bay, with a popular Friday evening Happy Hour from 5pm-7pm, with dinner and drinks specials. They have been serving a traditional roast beef lunch every Sunday for more than 20 years. Free internet access. Stop press: relocated to a beachfront spot at Sandy Ground and renamed Roy's Bayside Grill.

Ripples, Sandy Ground - Friendly restaurant and bar with good food and a popular Saturday evening happy hour from 5-7pm. The bar tends to liven up after dinner.

The Pumphouse, Sandy Ground - The former salt factory now boasts a lively bar with an impressive list of rums and is the closest thing on the island to a discotheque. Excellent food and live music some weekend nights.

The Sand Bar, Sandy Ground - A lounge-style bar set on the veranda of a house right on the sand at Sandy Ground. Less rustic than other bars, but an equally easy Anguillian atmosphere. Tapas, cocktails and a lovely sea view.

Rafe’s, Sandy Ground - Open into the night after other bars have long closed (well, sometimes, anyway). Gets a mixed crowd from all walks of life looking for a late night snack (BBQ pit for ribs, chicken & garlic bread at really cheap prices) or a nightcap with a bit of music. Simple, rustic surrounds with tin roof, drift wood and oddments of furniture, set on the heights above Sandy Ground.

Uncle Ernie’s, Shoal Bay East - Glorious beach setting. Famed for its grilled ribs and for being the Sunday afternoon hotspot for live music.