Provo - Beaches (Secluded) other than Grace Bay
 

Hello friends:

Can someone please share with us your experience with beaches other than Grace Bay on Provo?

Malcolm's is highly recommended in the Fodor's guide but they recommend a "high clearance" vehicle (Jeep?) for access. Is Malcolm's road really rough? Just want to see if anyone can verify this.

In a nutshell we are looking for a secluded stretches of sand for some solitude. We are sure some parts of Grace Bay can be quiet as well - please advise also.

We are going in July/August so I think Grace Bay should not be too busy. That said, with a rental car may be you could help guide us to your favorite spots on the island.

Cheers and thanks for your help.
Ed and Peg

yes you need the jeep to go to malcolm but it's worth it. see if you can exchange you car for jeep for one day.
most of the road is just dusty & bumpy, but about a mile before you actually get there - you can see the ocean in front of you - the is a drop off that has gotten very rutted- and you'll need the clearance and maybe the 4wheel. very short spot - then on to the beach. once there you can walk quite a ways to the right, the snorkeling is good, the view is gorgeous. the wall drops off not to far from shore so the change in water color is dramatic.
there is a beach found by not turning into northwest point resort after you go out the blue hills hwy. you take a narrow sandy unmarked road. the beach is not cleaned, has some shells, we did not swim. no people!
sopadilla and taylor are on the south side. you take the south dock road out to turn right onto chalk sound road. almost immediately on the left is sopadilla. maybe another 1/2 mile down the road is the left into ocean point villas. park on that road just before the opv gates/where pavement ends. on the right are large rocks blocking an old sand road. walk down, beach is just past where you can see to. neither is likely to be deserted. taylor to shallow to swim.
2 places a bit harder to access are leeward (east end of grace bay beach) - you need to drive around the neighborhood to find how to get onto the beach. the other is long bay beach. this is where you'll have the best chance of privacy. the beach has very few villas & again it's hard to find the access points. for both ask locals when you're there. we found our way using the map they offer at the airport & rental ofc.
which villa are you getting? depending on where it is you may have some privacy or not...
honestly the only place that really seems crowded is in front of Beaches.
if you haven't looked at one this map will help you orient: http://www.aquamarinebeachhouses.com/map.htm

We rented a villa on Sapodilla Bay Beach in May and loved it...very secluded, hardly anyone there and it was soooo nice. Also Taylor Bay Beach around the corner...we actually only went over to Grace Bay one day and kicked ourselves for leaving what we had!!! It couldn't get any better than Sapodilla or Taylor, if your into just floating, a little snorkeling and laying around with a book and cold drink!

"...we actually only went over to Grace Bay one day and kicked ourselves for leaving what we had" A bit extreme don't you think? Grace Bay is on most lists as one of the best/most beautiful beaches in the world...visiting a public access is nothing compared to some of the most beautiful spots in front of the resorts!

jgarlich:

We are looking forward to our visit to Taylor and Sapodilla bays. But reminded us of our awesome experience at Ten Bay Beach on Eleuthera.

Since you stayed on that side of the island can you comment on the road conditions of Chalk Sound Dr. and the roads leading down to both beaches?

Did you find Grace Bay busy at all?

Cheers,
Ed and Peg

"Busy" is a relative term for me. Grace Bay isn't busy in the South Beach kind of way. There are people but you are not lined up like sardines. At RWI we had two rows of maybe 10 loungers that did fill up every day. It depends on what you consider "busy" as on Eleuthera you can have some of the beaches all to yourself. I have to laugh as when we were on Club Med beach one day there were two other couples and we jokes that it was "busy" that day!

I thought Malcom's Beach was similar to one on Eleuthera as it was very quiet & had only one other couple at the end. Now, Amanyara resort is at the other end but it is far enough away from the beach entrance it will be of no worry.

BeachGirl247 thanks for the feedback.

If you had been to Malcolm's recently can you comment on the condition of the road leading to the beach? There are mixed reports on its conditions, as some suggested a Jeep to reach the end of the road - but that report may be a little dated. With the development of the Amanyara resort one would assume that the road may be fixed.

We had been stuck in the mud on a bad road before (in Eleuthera actually) so we just want to be super informed before venturing down.

Cheers,
Ed

Amanyara was there already. It's a different road than the resort road once you turn to go to the beach access. It's just as Virginia explained. It's downhill with large potholes. That's why you need the high clearance. You would bottom out with a regular vehicle.