The Best of … Five Top Beach Bars in the British Virgin Islands
The qualifications necessary to make this distinguished list were: A full-service bar with an impressive selection of tropical cocktails; a beautiful beach; a good menu; Wi-Fi; entertainment (some days) and an all-round great ambience.
The Soggy Dollar Bar
This watering hole is on Jost van Dyke’s most beautiful white sand beach and it has crystal clear turquoise water lapping onto the sand. Its popularity is partly due to the tropical cocktail, Painkiller, first mixed and presented at this bar back in the 1970s. The ingredients are amber rum, orange and pineapple juices, sweetened coconut cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg … and they serve hundreds of them daily. The lunch menu is simple but good with favorites like West Indian roti, cheeseburgers, fish and chips, wraps and salads. Crowds come here from the US Virgin Islands on day trips and often jump into the water and run to the bar before the anchor is set – hence soggy dollars. There are bar games too: hook the ring, Jenga and the nail puzzle, and sometimes live music.
Foxy’s Tamarind Bar
Foxy’s may be the most famous beach bar in the Caribbean. Situated in the eastern corner of Great Harbour, Jost van Dyke, Foxy’s has been a BVI institution since 1970. It is named as one of the top five places to be for New Year’s Eve; an unparalleled Caribbean bash. But it is Foxy’s magnetic personality and his impromptu calypsos made up of just about anything that keep people coming back. He’ll laugh at you, he’ll laugh at himself and then he’ll laugh with you. The bar is open daily and is festooned with memorabilia from decades of visitors. Their local lunch menu is popular and every Friday and Saturday Foxy’s fires up the Grillzebo for their famous Caribbean barbecue with fresh salads, fruits, vegetables, chicken, ribs and mahi-mahi. After dinner, there is dancing to live music. Their gift shop is one of the best stocked in the BVI.
Myett’s
The most stunning beach on Tortola’s north coast is Cane Garden Bay and plumb in the middle is Myett’s. Jimmy Buffett helped make Cane Garden Bay famous with his song *Manana, in which he mentions a shortage of women, water and dope, and how he’s heard that everything will get better once they arrive in Cane Garden Bay.
Primarily a beach bar, Myett’s is also a small hotel; a restaurant, with Caribbean style dishes at reasonable prices, and a spa with a full treatment menu. The bar is popular at happy hour when live music is played; guests join in and dancing can happen. The sunset here is always spectacular and bathers emerge from their last dip to enjoy the scene from a deck lounge on the sand. The bar menu has some great choices such as cracked conch, wings, quesadillas, nachos and burgers. There’s a great gift shop too.
Jumbies
The name comes from African folklore and describes stilt walkers in fancy costume who originally placated evil spirits. Today they perform at Jumbies beach bar on Friday nights as part of a pig roast and party with a live band. Jumbies is at Leverick, on Virgin Gorda. The beach bar’s menu has some outstanding dishes including mahi tacos, fish ‘n chips and West Indian roti. The tropical cocktails are awesome with the favorites being the Bushwacker and the Painkiller. Jumbies is especially famous for the happy hour pirate show starring one-man-band Michael Beans playing from January to May. Leverick Bay has a full service marina, a small sand beach, swimming pool, water sports outlet and a new jet ski rental operation. The complex also includes a good grocery, the Chef’s Pantry, and several gift shops.
Cooper Island
Cooper Island Beach Club
Cooper Island is one of the southern cays and on its leeward side a palm fringed sandy beach hosts the Cooper Island Beach Club. The name belies its true nature; it’s a beach bar and restaurant with rental cottages and is open to all comers. Recently up-graded, the restaurant has become a favorite amongst the boating crowd particularly for lunch. Dishes include sirloin burgers, conch fritters, yellowfin tuna and jerk chicken wrap. For drinks try a frozen virgin, mango mojito, or bushwacker. An underwater web cam shows pictures on a large screen in the bar. New additions to the small complex are an Italian ice cream bar, a coffee shop and a rum bar, all with al fresco seating. The beach with deck loungers is open to all and a short dinghy ride away is good snorkeling at Cistern Rock. A water sports outfit supplies rental equipment and scuba diving tours. Many wrecks are nearby.
The BVI has an abundance of beautiful, safe anchorages with fine shore-side attractions. It makes a perfect stop for cruising yachts on their year-long Caribbean cruise and is often the first choice for those who have decided on a charter yacht vacation.
*Writer: Jimmy Buffett. Copyright: Coral Reefer Music
Julian Putley has written for ALL AT SEA since 2005.
Worth your time?
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I’m a Soggy Dollar kind of guy? What is your favorite?