An Excursion to Cane Garden Bay: Eat, Sun, Snorkel!
By Clint Van Hellemont
As regular visitors to the BVI that often have friends in tow, we are always looking for a low stress beach day that offers something for everyone in the group. When our appetite for planning another adventure is low, we have found that a simple excursion to Cane Garden Bay has been a great time for all.
Now unless you’re looking to share your beach with (literally) a boatload of people, it is important to check the cruise ship schedule online at the BVI port site (bviports.org) — because the beach at Cane Garden Bay is where principally all the cruise passengers will be enjoying their day. So, if you’re following our recommendation, step one is to select a day that does not have any cruise ships in port.
Getting to Cane Garden Bay and getting comfortable…
If you plan to drive down from the west side of the bay, then consider a stop off for refreshments at Stoutt’s Lookout, located just before the road turns downward toward the bay. You can enjoy some panoramic views and a friendly atmosphere before you descend to the beach.
Once you’ve made it down the hill to the shore road behind Cane Garden Bay beach, you should be able to find ample parking in a lot near the center of the bay behind some of the restaurants on the sand. This parking lot is also strategically adjacent to Glen’s Seaside, which is one of our favorite spots to set up for our beach day at CGB and do a bit of lunching in the sand. Glen’s has plenty of chairs and umbrellas at the water’s edge, and in addition to great daiquiris and ice cold buckets of beer they usually offer some of the more interesting local cuisine that you can find on the beach. For instance, you may find whole-fried parrot fish or angel fish, curry goat, conch stew, and the like. There is a standard menu with plenty on it, but we recommend inquiring about the specials.
Cane Garden Bay’s Sunken Treasure
Cane Garden Bay is reliably one of the calmest and most swimmable bays around, but some folks might lament that this beautifully clear stretch of flat sand beneath the surface does not warrant packing the snorkel masks— not so! Thanks to a small sunken barge toward the east side of the bay that is brimming with colorful marine life, there is some really fun snorkeling to be done on this beach.
When the barge, which for years had been anchored off the dock at the eastern end of the bay, eventually sank, its misfortune became an underwater bonanza. New inhabitants happily moved in populating the area with a variety of sea life. So, grab your snorkel and walk down the beach past the old jetty by Quito’s, and keep going farther a couple hundred feet or so.
You can get in and swim out toward the barge at any point past the jetty but if you want the most direct route I think it’s located (more or less) straight out from the two-story house on the shore road. From that point it might be a few minutes swim, but the water is calm and clear and easy to negotiate. Part of the fun is finding it, and going with a group helps. It can feel like there’s nothing to see but sand and you should try looking elsewhere and then suddenly it seems to just appear.
The vessel (or what’s left of it) is not terribly large, but the rectangular chambers of its hull structure have served as a rare and premium type of shelter for all kinds of small tropical fish. You can float effortlessly just a few feet over the top of the barge and watch the brightly colored inhabitants bustling about. Look a little deeper into any of the open chambers and you may find some more solitary residents that prefer the shadows. Hang out long enough and you may find a tarpon or baby barracuda watching you from a distance to see what you’re doing lingering in their domain.
However, you decide to enjoy it, this little hidden gem has regularly added a touch of adventure to a great beach day for our guests, and requires very little planning or logistics!
You can find more information on activities in The BVI, here:
For another fun day trip, go to Jost Van DYke
Some diving and snorkeling info can be found at
