North Sound Archives | Rum Therapy

August 27, 2014July 19, 2020

What to See and Do in North Sound, Virgin Gorda

North Sound is an area of water on the northern tip of Virgin Gorda that is edged not only by Virgin Gorda, but by the smaller islands of Moskito, Prickly Pear and Saba Rock. North Sound not only offers protected anchorage, lovely resorts, good dining options and watersports, it is a visual treat with beautiful green hills and colorful villas set against it’s stunning blue waters.

copyright Rum Therapy — View of North Sound, Virgin Gorda

View of North Sound from Hog Heaven Bar & Grill, high atop Virgin Gorda

While parts of North Sound, such as Leverick Bay and Gun Creek, are accessible by road, many of the other places shown on the map are accessible only by water. A small ferry carries passengers from Gun Creek to Bitter End and also to Saba Rock for dining. Otherwise, dinghy’s and small motor boats are the transportation of choice to explore as much of the area as you can.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to spend some time in North Sound, here are a few things you might want to check out.

Leverick Bay has accommodations, a small grocery store, a couple of gift shops, two restaurants – Leverick Bay Restaurant and The Cove – and a Bar/Restaurant called Jumbies. Enjoy a rum punch and roti at Jumbies under the shade of a thatched umbrella with your toes in the sand.

During the high season, be sure to check out Michael Bean, the singing pirate, who performs during Happy Arrr Monday through Thursday. On Friday nights, the huge Mocko Jumbies show up for the beach party.

Dinghy’s can also be rented for the day from Leverick Bay Marina, but be sure to call ahead to see if you can reserve one. Read about our visits to Leverick Bay here: Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda

Leaving Leverick Bay and traveling east past Gun Creek, you’ll spot a little dining spot right on the water named Fat Virgin’s Cafe. Stop by and say hi to owner Esther and order some delicious conch fritters and rum punch. Tasty West Indian-cuisine, friendly people, a gift shop, good drinks and a beautiful view make this a place worth stopping.

Behind Fat Virgin’s Cafe lies the luxury resort – Biras Creek. Accessible only by boat or helicopter this gorgeous resort is the ultimate secluded escape. If you want to dress up (check the dress code) for an excellent dinner experience, call for reservations in the main restaurant a Biras Creek. You’ll be treated to spectacular food and views.

Just north of Biras Creek, is yet another amazing resort – The Bitter End Yacht Club. Bitter End offers accommodations, fine and casual dining, a sailing school, and a wide variety of water sports and activities. Rent a Hobie Cat and glide across the turquoise waters of the Sound, then stop by the Crawl Pub for a cold beverage and a game of pool or foosball.

Saba Rock, a small rock oasis in between Bitter End and Prickly Pear Island, is a popular stop for boaters for it’s great food and lively bar with comfortable seating – all at the waters edge. Saba Rock also offers a boutique hotel, a small marina, a gift shop and a great view of Eustatia Island. Banana Daiquiris are a Saba Rock specialty and the Anegada Lobster Dinner is top notch.

See more in our post entitled Saba Rock, British Virgin Islands.

Continuing around the Sound you’ll run into Prickly Pear Island. Vixen Point is one of the best beaches in the area and is also the home of Sandbox Bar & Grill. Play volleyball on the beach, swim in the calm blue water, or just pull up a chair and catch some rays. Lunch, dinner and drinks are available at Sandbox.

Take the hiking path from Sandbox to North Beach, another beautiful beach on Prickly Pear Island with good snorkeling and beautiful views of Eustatia and Necker Islands.

To round out your day of exploring, dinghy past Moskito Island. This island was purchased recently by Sir Richard Branson who also owns the nearby Necker Island. He has plans to turn Moskito Island into an eco-resort that will use renewable energy.

Have you had the chance to explore the beautiful North Sound of Virgin Gorda? What were the highlights of your time there?

To see more posts on Virgin Gorda and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013, 2014
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

February 18, 2014April 19, 2021

Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda

We first set eyes on Leverick Bay in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda in 2006 when we moored there for a night during our first BVI sail. Enamored by the beautiful colors, water and amenities there, we’ve returned twice and hope to again this spring.

Since 2006, Leverick Bay has done a major expansion to its marina and is now a favorite spot for boaters to stop and stay awhile. Or, if you wish to stay on island, Leverick Bay has its own accommodations and many of the rooms overlook the beautiful bay, North Sound and Mosquito Island.

Why do we like this area so much? Let us show you through some pictures we’ve taken during our visits.

View of the restaurants from the marina. Fine dining is available on the upper floor and a pub-style eatery called The Cove is on the lower level.

Looking at the marina from the beach. Guests can use the lounge chairs or rent water toys.

A pool next to the restaurants. Other amenities include a couple of gift shops, a small supermarket/deli, spa services, tennis and boat rental.

This pic was taken before the marina expansion but shows the gorgeous color of the water and marina buildings.

The Telephone Booth Shower on a dock in the marina

A map of the BVI on the side of the watersports building showing the location of Leverick Bay Resort and Marina.

Nick’s Weather Forecast for the day! Nick was the General Manager of Leverick Bay Resort & Marina at the time and was quite the funny and personable guy. We got the chance to briefly visit with him when we checked out a dinghy to explore North Sound and he was working the shop for one of his employees.

Jumbies Beach Bar. We enjoyed some tasty beverages and chicken roti while lounging around Jumbies.

The bar has several tiers of seating and a very comfortable hammock to lounge the day away in.

You can meet some new friends from all over the world at Jumbies

Enjoy a few more drinks by the waterside

And, if you’re visiting during the high season – January through May, be sure to stop by Monday through Thursday from 5 – 7 p.m. at Happy Arrrr!

To hear Michael Bean – the singing pirate!

Want to see more of the island from Leverick Bay? Take a taxi or rent a car to tour the island (see The Baths and Savannah Bay), rent a dinghy to zip around North Sound (check out Prickly Pear Island and The Sandbox) or take the water taxi from Leverick to Saba Rock.

Quiet, but not too quiet…Leverick Bay is a great place to hang out and relax on Virgin Gorda.

Ready to go?

Find out more on the Leverick Bay Website

To see more posts on Virgin Gorda and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

August 28, 2013April 23, 2021

Sandbox Bar & Grill, Prickly Pear Island, BVI

On a beautiful white sand beach on the uninhabited Prickly Pear Island in the BVI, sits a great little beach bar called Sandbox Bar & Grill. In the picture above, taken from Hog Heaven, which sits high atop Virgin Gorda, you can see North Sound, Prickly Pear Island and Sandbox. Sandbox is only accessible by boat.

Update: Many of the businesses, buildings and residences in North Sound, Virgin Gorda were damaged or destroyed in the 2017 hurricanes including Sandbox Bar & Grill. They did rebuild and the four photos below are current as of March 2020. The original article is below the new photos.

To see more posts on Virgin Gorda and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Original Article

During our most recent visit to Virgin Gorda, we rented a luxurious dinghy (last one available – that’s what we get for not planning ahead!) from Leverick Bay Resort & Marina and set off to explore the beautiful North Sound.

Sandbox was our last planned stop of the day, so we tied up our dinghy at the dock at Vixen Point and scurried ashore to check it out.

There were just a few people sitting at the bar that early afternoon, but the bartender said it would soon be VERY busy as a huge private party was was making their way to Sandbox from the Bitter End Yacht Club for some fun in the sun, beautiful water and the white sand.

Due to the incoming party, there were a lot of beach chairs situated that day on the beautiful beach.

Since we still had the place nearly to ourselves, we picked out a prime spot and ordered a really tasty Rum Punch.

We enjoyed the beautiful view of the North Sound, all the boats, and watched a seaplane land in the water not too far away. If we had more time, we would have really loved to take the hike on the path from Vixen Point around the salt ponds to what we heard were two more beautiful and secluded beaches on the north shore of Prickly Pear Island – another reason to go back I guess…

Having arranged ahead of time which one of us would be the designated dinghy driver that day and to avoid a DDD (drunk dinghy driving), we thought it best to stop at one Rum Punch (although we REALLY wanted another!) As we made our way back to the dock, we noticed that it was starting to get busy at the Sandbox.

As we headed back to Leverick Bay (with Mosquito Island off to the right), we realized just how many great things there are to see and do in the North Sound area and how we’d love to come back and stay for a week, a month, or maybe a lifetime??

To see more posts on Virgin Gorda and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

July 16, 2013April 23, 2021

Saba Rock, British Virgin Islands

Saba Rock is a small, private island that sits in the beautiful North Sound of Virgin Gorda.

Update: Many of the businesses, buildings and residences in North Sound, Virgin Gorda were damaged or destroyed in the 2017 hurricanes including Saba Rock. They are rebuilding and hope to open in Fall 2021. Check their website for more information. The photo below was taken of Saba Rock in March 2020.

To see more posts on the British Virgin Islands and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Saba Rock is less than an acre in size and accessible by boat or ferry. We first visited Saba Rock during a sail trip when we stopped for just a few minutes to get gas and ice. During a recent trip to Virgin Gorda, we wanted to get back to Saba Rock to experience more of it, so we rented a dinghy from Leverick Bay Marina. By having a dinghy for the day, we were also able to explore neighboring Prickly Pear Island and enjoy a rum beverage at the Fat Virgin Cafe.

Saba Rock houses a restaurant – which we hear serves up succulent land & sea dinners, an over water lounge/bar, a boutique hotel, a full service marina, gift shoppe, 10 deep water slips and boat moorings.

View of Eustatia Island from the terrace at the Saba Rock Hotel.

Saba Rock has a ferry that will pick you up from several locations in the North Sound, such as Gun Creek and Leverick Bay – just call them to make arrangements.

Out back they have an excellent area to relax and enjoy the view of North Sound and the Bitter End Yacht Club, with nice soft sand and hammocks.

We spent some time lounging in the hammocks before heading back in to sample a Saba Rock Banana Daiquiri – recommended to us by a friend who thought they were absolutely the best around.

They were pretty darn good and the view made it even better…

To find out more, visit their website: Saba Rock

To see more posts on the British Virgin Islands and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

October 12, 2012April 27, 2021

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 2)

If you missed Part 1 of this series, click here: Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 1) – Norman Island and Peter Island.

Virgin Gorda
We rose early the next day in anticipation of our sail to Virgin Gorda. On our way, we passed Salt Island, Cooper Island and Ginger Island, which we didn’t have time to explore this sail, so they’ll remain on our “need to explore” list. Previously we had an overnight stop at Cooper Island, but because we arrived late and left early, we got a few sunset pics and that’s about it – for now…

View from Cooper Island

First stop in Virgin Gorda – The Baths

Explored the massive boulders and crystal clear water of The Baths and Devil’s Bay.

From the Baths, we took a hike to the top and enjoyed a dip in the pool, a few Piña Coladas and a gorgeous view at the Top Of The Baths.

Next stop – North Sound

Enjoyed a wonderful dinner overlooking North Sound at Leverick Bay Resort & Marina.

Last Stop – Bitter End Yacht Club for the night.

Played pool, foosball and darts while while enjoying some beverages at the Bitter End Crawl Pub (good selection of rums!), then headed back to the boat for several very spirited rounds of Liar’s Dice!

Up next: Our time on Anegada “The Drowned Island”
Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 3)

To see more posts on Virgin Gorda and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory