“Climb through the boulders at The Baths, moor up in the North Sound, eat with your feet in the sand at CocoMaya: Virgin Gorda gives you the wild and the comfortable in one day.”
Virgin Gorda is the BVI’s landmark island: The Baths, the granite boulder beach every first-timer knows by name, at one end, and the North Sound, the best-known overnight harbor in the territory, at the other. It is too big to see in one day, two hours by yacht from Nanny Cay on Tortola.
The south end has The Baths with Spring Bay and Devil’s Bay beside it, and Spanish Town, the main town, with the ferry, the yacht harbour, customs and CocoMaya on the beach. The north end is the North Sound, a reef-protected lagoon ringed by Bitter End, Saba Rock and Leverick Bay. Between them run eight miles of quiet west coast.
For a charter week it is the mid-week stop: reach it after Norman, Peter and Cooper, do The Baths in the morning, sleep in the North Sound, and carry on to Anegada or back west. Some weeks start here, and yachts arriving from the Leewards clear in at Spanish Town.
Must-dos on Virgin Gorda
- The Baths before the day-boats arrive, swimming in from the line.
- Dinner at CocoMaya, beachwear, table booked by your crew.
- A night on a mooring in the North Sound, Saba Rock or Bitter End for the evening.
- The drift snorkel along the Eustatia reef, and the flat kite water off Bitter End.
- The Gorda Peak trail for the view over the whole North Sound.
From our visits to Virgin Gorda
I came to Virgin Gorda in November 2025 with Susannah, aboard INDULGENCE, a 67 ft Fountaine Pajot with Captain Tim Clark.
We arrived before lunch and anchored right inside the reef in front of CocoMaya. It is a nice little anchorage when the weather permits.
Tim drove us round in the tender, five minutes, and we swam in at Devil’s Bay and did the full walk through the boulders to The Baths. It takes about 15 minutes: up and down ladders, between the huge volcanic boulders, and into the cathedral, the famous room where the light comes through the rocks.
This would be a true blast for kids. Bring snorkeling gear, because the rock pools between the boulders are a labyrinth you can swim through. So cool.
The walk comes out at The Baths beach, where you can swim and snorkel straight off the sand, and Poor Man’s Bar is right there for a drink.
Back on the boat every water toy came out, and we spent the rest of the afternoon on them: practicing the eFoil, and drinking birthday champagne in a floating donut. Amazing.
In the evening we went to CocoMaya for sushi and drinks. The best food I have had in the BVI, with amazing vegan options, and the drinks were just as good. An upscale restaurant in a beach setting: sunset view, the catamaran lit up in the anchorage, like a dream. There are hammocks right on the waterline and a fireplace where kids can make s’mores. Later the beach bar turns into a beach party, with a DJ and a dance floor.
Klara Jakobsen, Yacht Reviewer at DMA Yachting, November 2025
The south end: The Baths, Spring Bay and Devil’s Bay
The Baths is the Virgin Gorda headline: giant granite boulders tumbled along the shore, shaded pools between them, and a marked trail that wades and climbs through the rocks between The Baths beach and Devil’s Bay. It is the stop most first-time guests already know by name, and it lives up to the photos.
Yachts use the National Parks Trust day moorings just outside the rocks. There are about 15, day use only, and dinghies may not land on the beach, so everyone swims or wades in from the line. In a winter north swell the park flies a red flag and closes the landing, and your crew handles the park fee along with the cruising permit.
Timing is the whole game here. Cruise excursions and day-boats from Tortola all arrive mid-morning, so the two quiet windows are first thing and after three, and how to get the early version is in The Baths, Virgin Gorda: How to See Them Before the Boats Arrive.
Spring Bay sits just north of The Baths and Devil’s Bay just south, and they turn “we saw the famous rocks” into a proper beach day. Both are calm swims and easy snorkeling off the sand without the crowd. If the group wants the quietest beach on the island we point them elsewhere, but for the classic Virgin Gorda picture this is it.
Spanish Town, the Yacht Harbour and CocoMaya
Spanish Town is the island’s main town and its working end. Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour has the marina berths, fuel and provisioning, and it is the port of entry when a yacht arrives from outside the BVI: crews coming up from St Barths or the other Leeward Islands clear customs and immigration here and pick up the route mid-charter.
Getting here without the yacht is easy. The ferry from Tortola is frequent and comfortable, and our team rates it well above a water taxi for this crossing. One large charter operator moved its base to the Yacht Harbour for the 2025-26 season, so more weeks now start on Virgin Gorda, though most crewed catamarans still board on Tortola or in St Thomas.
CocoMaya
CocoMaya is the one dinner ashore on Virgin Gorda our clients ask for by name, and the captains’ first pick. It sits on the beach a few minutes from the harbour, and your crew books the table.
When the weather permits the yacht anchors inside the reef right in front of it, so dinner is a two-minute tender ride. If the yacht is in the harbour or the anchorage is not on, it is a short taxi ride from Spanish Town.
The west coast: Savannah Bay, Mountain Point and Gorda Peak
Between Spanish Town and the North Sound the island goes quiet. Savannah Bay is the long beach on the west side, a lunch-and-swim anchorage in settled weather, and Mountain Point at the northwest tip is a mile from Spanish Town and a snorkel stop the captains like on the way north.
Above it all is Gorda Peak, the island’s highest point at about 1,370 feet, with a trail to the summit and a view over the whole North Sound.
There is also a road route to The Baths. Captain Tim Clark of INDULGENCE sometimes rents a car in the North Sound and drives his guests across the island to the park entrance, stopping at the lookouts on the way. It is the answer for grandparents or small children who would rather not do the swim in from the mooring.
The North Sound: Bitter End, Saba Rock and Leverick Bay
This is where Virgin Gorda changes personality. You enter between the reefs into flat, protected water, with Prickly Pear, Eustatia and Necker Island closing the north side. Ask a BVI captain for a favorite anchorage and this is the answer we hear most.
The captain of A3 puts it plainly: Saba Rock, Bitter End, Eustatia, Necker just north of you, and flat water to rent a Hobie or kitesurf. The crew of SERENITY call it the sound with the secret snorkel spots, and a power-cat captain who has run five seasons here likes to anchor off Eustatia and drift-snorkel the reef.
Which club for which evening
- Saba Rock: the small island with the bar and the conch fritters, compact and fun.
- Bitter End: the yacht club rebuilt after Irma, with the kite school and the Hobies.
- Leverick Bay: the practical one, with the marina, fuel, a spa, and the jet skis.
Susannah, who lives here, rents her jet ski at Leverick. It is one of only two places in the BVI grandfathered in after the ban, and last time they told her she could take it anywhere in the sound and dock it to go and get a cocktail.
Mooring balls sit between Bitter End and Saba Rock, and Bitter End’s ferry collects you from your mooring once the crew has paid the ball. Daniel’s rule for the evening is about ages: older groups to Bitter End, younger groups to Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke. On the right nights the Necker Island fireworks are visible from an anchorage off Eustatia, one of the quieter anchorages in the sound.
Fitting Virgin Gorda into the week
Virgin Gorda is not a single-anchorage island. It is a routing decision, and it rewards a little space: we do not squeeze The Baths, a long lunch, the North Sound, water toys and a dinner reservation into one day. If the group has never been to the BVI, include The Baths. If they want comfort, toys and polished stops, give the North Sound time. If they want both, make it a proper two-part stop.
Most first-time weeks pair it with Cooper Island the night before and Anegada or Guana Island the night after. Passage times as we sail them:
- Nanny Cay to the Virgin Gorda west coast: about two hours.
- West End, Tortola to The Baths: about three hours under sail.
- The Baths to the North Sound: about two hours.
- The North Sound to Anegada: two to three hours, weather allowing.
People also ask about Virgin Gorda
Is Virgin Gorda worth visiting on a BVI yacht charter?
Yes. We usually include Virgin Gorda on first-time BVI yacht charters because The Baths and North Sound give the route both a major landmark and a strong overnight area.
When should Virgin Gorda fit into the itinerary?
Virgin Gorda often works well mid-charter, after Cooper Island or before Anegada, but the best order depends on wind, swell, and whether the yacht is spending time in North Sound.
Can you visit The Baths by yacht?
Yes. Yachts pick up one of the roughly 15 National Parks Trust day moorings outside the rocks and everyone swims in from the line; dinghies may not land. Go first thing or after three to have the boulders to yourselves.
Is North Sound better for overnighting than The Baths?
Often, yes. The Baths are usually treated as a day stop, while North Sound gives more protected options, resort access, marina support, and evening choices.
Can you start or end a charter in Virgin Gorda?
Yes, and it is getting easier: at least one large operator now bases its fleet at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour. Most crewed catamarans still board on Tortola or in St Thomas, and the Tortola ferry is the way to get here if the yacht is elsewhere.
Is CocoMaya worth an evening off the yacht?
Yes. It is the one dinner ashore on Virgin Gorda our clients ask for by name, your crew books the table, and the dress code is beachwear.
BVI itineraries that include Virgin Gorda.
