About Virgin Gorda
Jason and I spent the last week of January relaxing on Virgin Gorda, the third-largest British Virgin Island. If you love nature, amazing beaches and virtually no crowds, this island is for you.
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| Virgin Gorda |
Virgin Gorda means "Fat Virgin" and received its name from Christopher Columbus, due to the island's shape on the horizon looking like a fat woman lying on her side. This was the most quiet island we have ever visited, perhaps since it takes some time and effort to get there. From Boston, we flew to St. Thomas, where we caught the direct ferry to Virgin Gorda, which only runs on Thursdays and Saturdays. On other days, two ferries are required, connecting through Tortola. The ride from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda took one hour and 45 minutes, but we enjoyed passing by St. John and Tortola along the way. Although this is a long day of travel, once you're on the island, it's worth it!
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| Savannah Bay |
I recommend this island to people who truly LOVE nature and are seeking peace and quiet, as there's not much else here. Restaurants are mediocre (excluding a few places I will mention below), there is no shopping, very little nightlife, not a lot going on. However, the nature that surrounds you is breathtaking: the views, the beaches, the amazing rock formations, the wildlife, the snorkeling, the whole island smells like a blossoming flower, there are butterflies everywhere. And the locals are among the friendliest I have ever met!
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| Grand Trunk Bay |
Where We Stayed
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| Our view of Tortola |
Conveniently located near the Baths and Virgin Gorda's most beautiful beaches (in my opinion),
Guavaberry Spring Bay Vacation Homes could not have been more perfect for us. We rented a studio villa which featured a king-size bed, a full kitchen, a large bathroom and a deck with a perfect view of Tortola. The staff is helpful before the trip and while you're there, they cater to your every need. There's a small store on the property that functions by honor system and offers just about anything you need and best of all, Guavaberry offers its guests private access to Spring Bay.
Virgin Gorda's Beaches
The beaches are breathtaking. Our favorites included Spring Bay, Grand Trunk Bay and Savannah Bay. Often, we'd find ourselves completely alone on the beaches - just the way we like it! Also, we always found shade under thatched umbrellas on the beach or under the beautiful seagrape trees. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!
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| Spring Bay |
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| Spring Bay |
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| Spring Bay |
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| Biras Creek from Saba Rock |
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| Savannah Bay |
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| Pond Bay |
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| Savannah Bay |
Food and Drink
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| Saba Rock |
Our best meal was at
Coco Maya where we shared the shrimp curry appetizer and both ordered the red snapper entree. Great service, excellent food, cool vibe. We had drinks there several times too. No pictures, sorry!
We went to
Saba Rock for happy hour for $3 drinks, catching a free ferry at Leverick Bay. We enjoyed relaxing on hammocks and then watching the sunset.
We visited Hog Heaven twice, once for dinner and once for drinks and the amazing view. A local pig farmer supplies the pork and the ribs are amazing!
We enjoyed drinking and meeting locals and tourists at the
Mine Shaft Cafe, but we do not recommend the food.
Island Pot had great (and cheap!) BBQ. Bring your own drinks, if you like.
Snorkeling
We are avid snorkelers, part of the reason why we chose Virgin Gorda. Snorkeling was great at the Baths, Devil's Bay and at Spring Bay, along the boulders to the right and the left. Unfortunately, we had some windy/choppy water days so we didn't see a ton at Savannah Bay, Pond Bay or Mahoe Bay - sad! Fortunately, we loved the snorkeling at Spring Bay (access from our villa) so we were pretty happy overall! We really enjoyed snorkeling at Loblolly Bay on Anegada but I'll blog about that another time!
The Baths
Conveniently located down the street from Guavaberry, we visited the Baths in the late afternoon, after the cruise day trippers left. We enjoyed walking through the rocks toward Devil's Bay, where we had a great snorkel. The rock formations are fabulous! We also enjoyed a couple painkillers at
The Top of the Baths, a restaurant with a great view. Pina coladas at
Mad Dogs, another small eatery near the Baths, were very tasty as well! We also really liked The Crawl, a walk along boulders and pools of water to the right of Spring Bay.
Thanks for reading! To learn more about Virgin Gorda, please click
here! If you have been to Virgin Gorda and have a favorite beach, villa, restaurant, secret spot, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section below!
