TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands favorite BVI anchorage

thought this would be fun. while definitely difficult to choose between many spectacular anchorages there, what is your favorite? i love each ones specific characteristics but i really enjoy CGB. love the beach calm water, activity (not on cruise days!), restaurants lights at night, the mountain back drop and of course the amazing west sunsets. what about you?

We prefer the quiet and mostly solitude of xxxxxxx. I won't mention the name because it will lose it's solitude

North Sound - all of it

Com'on Kego! At least give a clue.😜

At this point I will take any anchorage n the BVI!
G

I think right now they are all quiet and secluded.

There are anchorages and then there are the islands associated with them. I think Cooper Island BC is one of the most picturesque. Setting Point is also a favorite because it means time on Anegada. I would take any place in the Virgins right now.

We were always big fans of the Bitter End, and I hope it will be restored to something like its former self.

• Lots of room to walk around, including the path to Biras Creek and the Fat Virgin.
• Water sports and Kilbride's Scuba.
• Nice beaches and swim areas.
• Food and drink choices -- the main restaurant, the Pub, Saba Rock, and the Fat Virgin.
• Choice of moorings or the marina, with flat water in either case.
• Nice shops, pretty scenery.
• For us, nostalgia -- BEYC was our first introduction to the BVI.

Dan

Agree with the Bitter End. For me the best memories were the SHOWERS and the swimming pool. After four or five days of jumping off the back of the boat to bathe and getting progressively crustier, it was like heaven to have a real shower!

Like I said....North Sound.....pretty much anywhere ;-)

My number 1 would be North Sound, you can spend several days there doing something different each day, including a trip to the Baths. Ditto on BEYC - can't wait.

Number 2 has got to be a tie between Norman Island and Anegada, love them both.

However, we always skipped CGB, till last time, mid March of this year, we stayed at Myetts shore based for a couple of days. Loved it so much we will be back, but we also want to check it out from a snug mooring as the sun sets and the charcoal grill puts the perfect char on (steak/burger/chicken) and Painkiller in hand. So this may be a contender.

And, on our first bareboat charter, after a hectic journey from SFO to EIS and longer than expected check out and exit from the charter base (we were rookies, since then its been a much smoother process having embraced island time) we skidded into Marina Cay running on fumes physically and slightly stressed, grabbed the last mooring that the guy from the dock helped us find, and had the nicest afternoon and evening at that place on the top of the hill, dinner on the sand with a great waitress and fantastic food, and a good night's sleep with the trades blowing that perfect Caribbean air through the boat- you know how that air feels, Marina Cay holds a special place in my heart.

As the first place I set foot and stayed, CGB will always be my favorite. The sunsets are spectacular. Second would have to be Cooper

While not on Tortola southside, it's closer to Road Town than other bays and is generally well protected.

Lee Bay?

I can think of a few spots, but you have me stumped. We stumbled across a some great snorkeling possibly nearby. I'll share my secret, if you share yours (via PM).

I'm not sure i can narrow it down to one, as each place has great memories!

Norman Island, but not The Bight. Quietside beach, where in April, the goat kids are practicing their ballet en point in the dawn's early light, and I'll swim with scores of baby sea turtles before lunch. An anchorage where you always have time to get to the boat and grab a wrap if you've been on the t'other side of CO, because entering boats have to navigate a dog-leg to anchor legally ( and there will never be more than 3 or 4 boats including yours).

Don't say it, don't spell it, please. Smile and say -yep. We should try to get in there next time.

Diamond Cay, because the quiet setting reminds me of my early years in the BVI. And then you throw in the Bubbly Pool, Foxy's Taboo, B-Line beach bar, Sandy Spit and lots of turtles and rays.

Diamond Cay, JVD Turtles!

Okay, okay, alright already Since we go in October I feel safe in thinking it will still be secluded. We really like Great Harbor at Peter. There's nothing there and nobody there (now that they moved Willy's again). I think the most crowded we've seen it was five boats counting ours. Most don't like it because there is nothing there. But you take your own steaks and fixin's, your own beer or drink of choice and you go there for a few days to do nothing but drop a line off the back and climb onto a floaty. In the evening you can watch a beautiful sunset, sometimes with thunderstorms around and watch all the lights of Road Town.

Depending on the wind, you can choose the west side or the east side. I don't know if the club on the west side is open, but we've never seen anyone there in October. The mooring balls have always looked in good shape (since 2012 when we started sailing the BVIs). If you want to anchor we've seen some anchor along the far NE side.

We do like the NS, Anegada, The Bight, Spanish Town, Cooper, JVD, GCB, etc., when we want to hit a restaurant or watch the crowd and listen to the music.

We will need to check out Diamond Cay and Quietside beach next year (hopefully).

Thanks for spilling, Kego. GH does fill up in the high season. I can see it being very quiet in Oct. Great spot. Always a free ball or space to anchor at the NE end. That club, Seven Seas (?), was wrecked in Irma and was rebuilt with many upgrades. It was open the last time we were there (Feb 2020). There's pretty good snorkeling along the rocky shore. Before Irma, you could walk across the neck at the NE end over to Peter Island Resort. There's a nice beach at Deadman's Bay and a really nice beach restaurant and bar. And its a quick 5nm sail from Road Town...great location for one's first or last night.

Breeze - I've never heard of Quietside Beach. Is it the small anchorage at the NW end of the entrance to The Bight? Or around the corner on the north side of Norman....Soldier Bay or Benures Bay?

Husker, you can WANT to spill my beans, but you'll have to work for it. You keeping a trust for someone else shouldn't be a foreign concept.

No more beach restaurant and bar on Deadman’s, sadly. Loved that spot and anchored there a couple of times....

haha. What can I do for you?

Nuttin' honey.

We have spent the night twice at White Bay off Guana. Few people moor there. It’s a private island but you can walk on a great beach. There is a reef with Tarpon in the late afternoon and sunsets are gorgeous

Can you walk on White Bay Beach on Guana even though the island is private? I've read/heard conflicting info on this

All beaches in the BVI are public to the high water mark. They won’t be happy you are on the beach but you can be there. Keep in mind the Anchorage is unprotected and is not usable with a North swell or a forecast for possible thunderstorms.
G

So I could take my dinghy to Necker island and stay on the beach below the water line and Mr. Branson couldn't do anything about it? lol

You will likely be visited by Branson's security and told that Necker is a private island. They will try to intimidate you into leaving. If you remind them that below the high water line is public they will back off.

Not much difference between high and low water mark here. If you want to stand in ankle deep water while a (probably armed) security guys hovers over and stares at you it should be fine. And don't forget your mask because you will not be able to social distance from the security team...

The BVI yearly tide range is 18 inches. That can be quite a lot of beach at lower tides. You will however be made to feel unwelcome at necker. You can also enter and anchor in his lagoon. Don’t be surprised however if a large RIB circles your boat constantly.
G

I clearly have no intention of going there...just wasting time as I refresh this page 10 times a day to see whether I'm keeping my Dec 4th charter or moving it to the USVI's.