Saba Rock 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

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

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.

December 19, 2012April 27, 2021

Rum Therapy On Virgin Gorda

We’d spent the better part of two days on Virgin Gorda in the past – both times on sail trips, and saw just bits and pieces of what this island has to offer. During our recent trip to the VI’s, we had a chance to stay “on island” which gave us a better opportunity to explore this British Virgin Island reportedly dubbed “Fat Virgin” by Christopher Columbus.

What did we experience on Virgin Gorda this time? It took several weeks to sift through our very full photo memory cards, but here are some of the highlights through pictures.

We arrived in Spanish Town on the ferry from Tortola, and rented a car through Mahogany Rentals (they met us at the ferry dock with our vehicle for the week – very convenient!) Our beautiful oceanside accommodations were graciously provided by Lorna at Rambutan Villa (more on that later) and we made our way up to Nail Bay to locate the villa before continuing up the hill to the highly recommended Hog Heaven.

Hog Heaven is a bar/grill overlooking North Sound with a spectacular view of Necker Island, Prickly Pear Island, Saba Rock and on a clear day you can even make out Anegada.

We lingered at Hog Heaven for quite a while enjoying the views, a Blondie Special (their specialty rum drink) and some tasty BBQ ribs.

From there we headed directly to The Baths, making a quick stop at Mad Dog for a beverage and Top Of The Baths to take in the view.

Mad Dog

Top Of the Baths

We then headed down the path towards The Baths. Although we’d been to The Baths twice before, the beauty never ceases to amaze us and the vibrant colors change depending on the time of day and the angle of the sun.

We continued on the trail to Devils Bay

Devil’s Bay

During the rest of our time on VG, we took in as much as we could, including:

Spring Bay

Big Trunk Bay

Savannah Bay, Pond Bay, Mahoe Bay Overlook

Savannah Bay

Jumbies, Leverick Bay

On our last day, we rented a dinghy from the extremely accommodating General Manager of Leverick Bay Marina. We arrived later in the morning and by then they only had one dinghy left, but he graciously set us up, gave us directions to the places we wanted to see in North Sound that are accessible only by boat, told us to watch for seaplanes and set us on our way.

Our yacht for the day! From Leverick Bay, we headed over to Biras Creek to make a quick stop at the Fat Virgin Cafe to enjoy a rum punch and the view.

We hopped back in dinghy and headed straight to Saba Rock passing the Bitter End Yacht Club. BEYC was closed for the week for a private function so were only able to enjoy its beauty from the water – this time.

Bitter End Yacht Club

We’d briefly stopped at Saba Rock before during a sail, but there’s enough to do on “The Rock” that you could easily spend an afternoon lounging in the hammocks or in the bar enjoying the sunshine and tales from the many sailors that visit.

Before heading out to our last stop, we ordered one of their rum drink specialties – the Saba Rock Banana Daiquiri.

Just a short dinghy away, The Sandbox beckoned. The Sandbox is located on Prickly Pear Island and we docked to enjoy some time in the sun.

Prickly Pear Island and The Sandbox

Heading back to Leverick Bay we took a quick pass by Mosquito Island, a private island purchased by Sir Richard Branson that he hopes to develop into a premiere eco-tourism resort.

Mosquito Island

Sun kissed and satisfied with our afternoon of captaining our dinghy through the beautiful North Sound, we headed back to our tropical oasis at Rambutan Villa to enjoy the remnants of the days sun rays and listen to the waves gently lap the shore.

The owners of Rambutan Villa also own the stunning Villa LaVida next door. Both are available for weekly rental. If you are interested in finding out more about renting these oceanfront properties, email them at [email protected] or
[email protected]

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

All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

November 8, 2012September 25, 2019

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 3)

Saba Rock
We pulled up anchor the next morning and made a quick stop at Saba Rock Resort for some ice before our sail to Anegada. We only had a few minutes, so we quickly explored the Gift Shop, Restaurant/Bar and hammocks out back. We were too early to enjoy a Painkiller or Rum Punch at the bar which has a great view of North Sound, so we’ll have to return again to fully experience the “Rock”.

Saba Rock

From Saba we set sail for Anegada, about 15 miles north of North Sound.

Rush Hour in the BVI…

On our way we spotted a whale breaching – three times – as if he were putting on a show for us!

Thanks to our boatmate Jimmy for capturing images of the whale. We somehow managed to only get sky and water…

Shortly after the excitement of watching the whale, we could see Anegada in the distance. Only 28 feet in elevation at its highest point, the first thing you spot is a few trees and a white strip of sand.

The shallow reef around Anegada is tricky to navigate and has claimed hundreds of vessels (we read around 500 shipwrecks) over the years, so we were more than happy to have an experienced Captain at the helm.

Once ashore, we spent the day exploring the incredible beaches of Anegada,

Loblolly Beach

Pomato Point

Then spent the evening dining on Caribbean Lobster that had just been pulled from the ocean that day,

while sipping Pinot Grigio with our toes in the sand just feet from the waters edge…

And if that weren’t perfect enough, when we got back to the boat for the evening, we were treated to an absolutely stunning Anegada sunset. A day we’ll never forget.

Find the rest of the Rum Therapy Sailing in the BVI series here:
Part 1 (Norman and Peter Island

Part 2 (Virgin Gorda)

Part 4 (Great Camanoe, Trellis Bay, Beef Island)

Part 5 (The Wrap Up)

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