Trip report: Virgin Gorda
 

My fiance and I and my two sons (11 & 9) were on Virgin Gorda just before Christmas last year. I have been to VG before and said then that I would post a review about how great it was. Needless to say, I didn't, and this year I had to make it a New Year's resolution just to get it done by March.

I love Virgin Gorda. I've been a number of places in the Caribbean and feel like VG is the right blend of classic 'Yeah, Mon' laid back style with just enough good food and wine to banish any thought of roughing it. I was amazed at how many locals remembered and greeted me. I realize it is considered poor manners to encounter someone without saying 'good morning' but a few people said 'Welcome back' so I know they weren't just being polite. The island is still unspoiled. No traffic lights, no traffic jams. The beach down at the Baths can get a bit crowded on days when cruiseships disgorge passengers for a day tour, but that is pretty infrequent and my experience is that any number of other great beaches are completely deserted on those days.

We stayed at Villa LaVida out in Nail Bay. The villa is brand new and unbelievable, right on the Nail Bay beach. For a couple of days there was a significant ocean swell and we were seranaded to sleep, windows and doors open (screens closed!), by the sound of crashing surf just outside our doors. We considered Aquamare and Sol y Sombra which are also beautiful villas but the huge infinity pool and the incredible privacy of LaVida made our decision easy. We dealt with the owners directly from the website www.villalavida.com and found them to be very helpful and reasonable.

Snorkelling out at the Dog Islands near Nail Bay was some of the best snorkelling I've ever seen. Between the two Dog Islands is a narrow, shallow shelf with tons of fish and the seaward sides of both islands offer dramatic walls to explore. My son and I spent about 10 minutes following a huge eagle ray. Easily the best snorkelling memory I have.

We ate mostly at the villa but were told by others that The Rock was a great place to eat. The restaurant at Little Dix Bay was also highly recommended. We greatly enjoyed lunch out at Saba Rock, a short ferry ride from Gun Creek at the north end of the island. Adjacent to Saba Rock is the Bitter End Yacht Club where we rented Hobie Cats for a couple hours and only managed to capsize twice. Per boat.

Downsides? On one calm night we found the mosquitoes pretty fierce. Also, not a place for nightlife apart from a few small bars that get hopping, but not in a nightclub kind of way. The trip to get there is a bit lengthy too, with most decent flights landing near Tortola, a 20 minute ferry ride away. There is a small airline, Air Sunshine, that files direct to VG but after two miserable, rude, awful experiences I can't recommend them. There are also several charter companies that fly into Virgin Gorda for larger groups or small groups with extra cash.

Summary: my favorite island.

Thanks for the report, floatpilot! We were there 2 years ago and loved it too!!! The villa you stayed in looks amazing, way out of my budget though. Maybe someday...... :)

Thanks for the trip report! Do you have any photos you can share? We were there about 5 years ago and loved it as well. We stayed on Mahoe Bay. We too had an awful experience w/Air Sunshine. But the island was one of our favorites we've been to! The villa you stayed in looks beautiful!

Wow, that villa is super beautiful and super expensive.

Thank you for posting this report! It has settled my mind and given me a few thoughts as far as checking out "other" areas. How did you get to the Dog Islands? Did you rent a car? Did the villa have any staples on hand (such as spices for cooking)? What was the nearest grocery store? Any other helpful info as far as staying at the villa specifically? Sorry for the questions and thanks again for your report!

@b2b11: we kayaked from the villa out to the Dogs. I think it took about 45 minutes, maybe a bit longer. We rented a car, but it sat in the driveway most of the time. The villa had a bunch of spices and stuff. There are a number of grocery stores in town, about 20 minutes away, one of the prettiest drives ever, complete with goats and stunning beach views.

It sounds from your other posting like you will really enjoy Saba Rock. It is a bar/restaurant that is slightly larger than the tiny island it sits upon. It is right next to the Bitter End Yacht Club and just around the corner from Necker Island. Sometimes it is a laid back beach bar, other times it goes off. The food is pretty good. Try a bushwacker or two but don't hold me accountable for your behaviour afterwards.

For anyone going snorkeling while The Dogs offers pretty good snorkeling Monkey Point is probably the best snorkeling witthin the immediate area of of VG. Diamond Point not far away is a close second. We used DoubleD Charters to take us to Monkey Pount and Thedogs one day and it was some of the best inthe BVI's. The only other good spot is Norman Island and the Indians near Peter Island.

Floatpilot,

Terrific trip report. I enjoyed especially reading about your following the eagle ray while snorkeling (looked that one up on Wikipedia ;) ... must have been amazing) and loved that the folks on Virgin Gorda (Virgin Gordans? Virgin Gordanians?) remembered you.

Best wishes, Daniel

Great report. We visited VG last year, and I've been hankering to return. Love that laid-back feeling of the island, as well. We stayed on the other side in Leverick Bay and although it was nice, we spent every day mostly on the other side of the island at Savannah Bay.

Peace, Greenie

I have no idea how I've managed to not see this trip report before, because I've become totally obsessed with Virgin Gorda. We too stayed at Villa LaVida!! Thanks so much for a great trip report... written much better than I could ever do and I took note of a few of your suggestions (snorkeling sites especially). Cheers to you for capturing the beauty of the island and the villa. Not sure about you guys but we are all counting the days until we return. My husband really loved the grotto near the beach where he could smoke his cigars in peace. The kids and I loved the pool! To each his own I say :)

Only thing for us, was a bit of a downside was the wifi. It was hit and miss but we were told that "they" (am assuming the internet provider) had been doing lots of work to upgrade the system. In truth it was nice to be forced to decompress but old habits hard and I was itchy for internet. Never went a full 24 hours without, but well like I said... old habits die hard.