Palm tree and rocks at The Baths beach.

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The Baths

Top choice in Virgin Gorda


This collection of sky-high boulders marks a national park and the BVI’s most popular attraction. The rocks – volcanic-lava leftovers from some 70 million years ago – form a series of grottoes that flood with seawater. The area makes for unique swimming and snorkeling, but the coolest part is the trail through the 'Caves' to Devil's Bay. During the 20-minute trek, you’ll clamber over boulders, slosh through tidal pools, squeeze into impossibly narrow passages, then drop onto a sugar-sand beach.

While the Baths and environs stir the imagination, they're often overrun with tourists. By 9am each morning fleets of yachts have moored off the coast, and visitors have been shuttled in from resorts and cruise ships. All you have to do, though, is come at sunrise or late in the day and you’ll get a lot more elbow room.

The Baths’ beach has bathrooms with showers, a snack shack and snorkel-gear rental (US$10). Taxis run constantly between the park and the ferry dock in Spanish Town.