TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Great Camanoe & Nearby Suggestions

Hello everyone!

We are renting a place on Great Camanoe (Indigo side) in January and are looking for some suggestions from the seasoned folks familiar with the surrounding area

1. Good nearby snorkel places (great camanoe, little camanoe, scrub island, nearby tortola etc)
We will have a small RIB boat to get around. Looking for places that are a short ride and allow for easy beach landing vs bay anchoring vs one person remaining in boat while others snorkel. We are planning on taking a day charter farther out to snorkel the Indians or equivalent.
-Diamond reef: I have seen some people say it is easy to take a kayak here from the Great Camanoe or Marina Cay docks. Some reports of a couple dive boat moorings at the reef? Can anyone confirm
-Cam Bay vs Lee Bay: Anybody have experience with one being better than other? Either beach easier to access? I hear you can walk across the isthmus to the other side, is that an easy walk or more of a bushwhacking experience?
-Little Camanoe: I have seen some people talk about good snorkeling here but the shoreline looks very rocky (via satellite images) to land on, other than the southern tip

2. Good nearby beaches
Similar question to above to be able to take the boat to

3. Full Moon Party
We will be here during a full moon. We are debating whether to get a water taxi to take us there and back for the evening. Do people like the trellis bay market or da loose mongoose party better? 4 of us in our mid 30s, looking for a fun time but nothing crazy

4. Scrub Island
Anyone have experience taking motorboat/dinghy and docking there for a more than just provisions? We are thinking about going one day to use kayaks, restaurant, etc. The marina portion of their website is understandably geared more towards larger vessels docking there and how a % of docking fee is to use resort amenities.
-Is the hike up the scrub island hill good views or not worth it?

5. Day Charter
Does anyone have experience with Ocean Bliss Charters or Chill Out Charters? Both have come recommended and will pick us up on Camanoe. Or anyone have strong feelings about other charter companies? (looking for mixture of snorkeling, sightseeing, lunch/bar on Land (Willy Ts vs Soggy Dollar vs Other)

Thank you in advance!

That's a lot of questions! The most snorkeled place is Diamond Reef. You can tie up to the dinghy line; the mooring balls are further out and for bigger boats. The dock on the reef is private. I have never seen anyone beach a rib there. Some people snorkel Lee Bay; there is a reef outside Cam Bay, but I don't see many snorkelers there. The reef around Marina Cay is also popular with snorkelers. The path between Lee and Cam Bays depends on how much rain there has been. Lee Bay is often rocky, but it's easy to throw an anchor.

To get to the Trellis Full Moon party, leave the rib at MC and take the ferry. January can be rough; if so that could be a wet ride back to Indigo. There are a couple guys over there who can be hired for water taxi rides.

Spending the day at Scrub involves a resort fee. You can use their dinghy dock free for eating or shopping.

Little Camanoe has some nice looking beaches, but I have never been there.

Thank you RatmansWife! That's great info about Diamond Reef and Lee/Cam Bays!

For Trellis Bay, you are saying there are guys available to hire for water taxi post party at the dock versus scheduling one in advance?

I see you are from Memphis, me too!

Sent you a pm.

1.) There is an awesome rock in Lee Bay that you can climb up and jump off if feeling extra adventurous.

There is a rope on the west side of the rock to assist you in climbing up.

Be careful! Both the climb and the jump are not for the faint of heart. It's probably a ~30ft jump off the top.

You can also take the RIB to Monkey Point off Guana which is good snorkeling. How big of a RIB will you have? If the ocean/wind is not too rough, you can also head to the Dog islands which has a bunch of mooring balls and great snorkeling.

4.) You can definitely take the dinghy over to Scrub Island and spend the day there. You are supposed to have to purchase a Day Pass to use the pool, kayaks, etc. But I have never been asked to do so before. The hike is great.

When did you last see the rope on the Lee Bay rock? We looked earlier this year and didn't see it.

Last I climbed up and jumped off was early August.

Thanks for the info! I'm guessing the RIB isn't quite big enough for an easy trip over to the dogs

But we will check out the Lee Bay rock!