Around Virgin Gorda travel guide

There is a 3,000-ft airstrip near the main settlement, Spanish Town. The Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour is here and besides the marina facilities with full yachting chandlery, there is a good supermarket, dive centre, bar/restaurant, a craft shop selling stamps, souvenir and clothes shops and phones, post box and taxis. There are some 20 secluded beaches, the most frequented being Devil’s Bay, Spring Bay, and Trunk Bay on the west coast. Between Devil’s Bay and Spring Bay in the southwest are The Baths. The snorkelling here is good, especially going left from the beach. Unfortunately the popularity of The Baths with tour companies and cruise ships can lead to overcrowding. There are many day trips from Tortola and when a cruise ship is in port you cannot move on the beach. Just off the southwest tip of the island is Fallen Jerusalem National Park, an islet named for its spectacular tumble-down rock formation. On the southeast tip is Copper Mine Point, where the Spaniards allegedly mined copper, gold and silver some 400 years ago; the remains of a mine begun by Cornish miners in 1838 can be seen with the typical Engine House and other ruins, and you can find stones such as malachite and crystals embedded in quartz.

North of the island is North Sound, formed to the south and east by Virgin Gorda, to the north by Prickly Pear Island, and to the west by Mosquito Island. Bitter End and Biras Creek are good anchorages and both have a hotel and restaurant. Biras Creek charges US$15 for moorings; yachtsmen may use Deep Bay beach but others are reserved for hotel guests. Bitter End charges US$20 including water taxi to shore in the evenings. There is no road to either resort, you have to get a hotel launch from Gun Creek or the North Sound Express from Beef Island to Bitter End Resort & Yacht Club. Saba Rock is just off Bitter End; with food at the Saba Rock Resort.