British Virgin Islands / Special Interests / Beach

On the main islands, resorts have naturally gravitated towards the best beaches, though not always with calm water. You will usually find a hotel restaurant, bar and often being the BVIs, sailing facilities.  However on the smaller outlying islands, beaches are often only accessible by boat and therefore much less developed.. Even some of the beaches on Tortola and Virgin Gorda may entail driving over rough roads suitable only for 4WDs.  There are also a number of resorts set on their own island, often with a choice of beaches either with or without facilities. Then there are the ultimate beach holiday hideaways of Necker Island and Little Thatch, offering complete privacy. 

On Tortola the best beaches are on the West End’s north coast and Apple Bay is good for beach lovers and surfers who can stay at Sebastian’s on the Beach or the Sugar Mill Hotel.  Just over the next hill is Long Bay Beach Resort and further along, a short (though lengthy) walk or drive down an unmade track leads to Smuggler’s Cove, with its lovely beach and calm waters.  Heading north, Cane Garden Bay is the island’s most popular beach, which is known for its beach bars, small restaurants and entertainment, with lots of sailing rentals. This is for barefoot beach holidays, with a mix of guest houses, apartments, cottages and inns.  Over on the West Ends’ southern coast is Fort Recovery Beachfront Villa and Suites Hotel, with views to St John, and the private island of Little Thatch has Seagrape Cottage for rent on the beach.   

Virgin Gorda is best known for The Baths, this extraordinary rock formation perfect for swimming, snorkelling and rock climbing. An adjacent beach, The Crawl is good for young children and novice snorkellers, where the giant boulders create a small lagoon of calm water. Picnic tables with barbecue grills are nearby.  There are a large number of holiday villas on Virgin Gorda, many directly on the beach, including Spring Bay, near The Baths. Further north, next to the sweeping white sands of Savannah Bay, is Mahoe Bay, which has a good beach and villas. Further up is Baraka Point Estate, which sleeps up to 14 guests, has its own beach with another two nearby. Beach hotels and resorts on Virgin Gorda include Little Dix Bay set in its own bay, Biras Creek with two beaches and Bitter End Yacht Club.    

Island resorts include, Cooper Island where Manchioneel Bay is home to Cooper Island Beach Club and offers a great snorkelling reef, and is popular with divers.   White Bay on Guana Island is a stunning half-mile sweep of white sand with facilities for guests only, in addition to six other beaches.  Peter Island can be reached by its own launch from Road Town and has five  incredible beaches.  The island is home to Peter Island Resort & Spa with Deadman’s Bay, considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the BVIs. There is great snorkelling, a mile-long stretch of sand and Deadman’s Beach Bar & Grill right on the beach.

See BVI Beach Life for more information.