White sand on the Atlantic shore of Anegada, the flat coral island at the top of the British Virgin Islands, with reef starting a short swim off the beach and surf breaking on the outer reef beyond. Big Bamboo, at the west end, has served lobster here since the 1980s; Flash of Beauty is at the east end. You come by ferry or small plane, then a taxi across the island from Setting Point.
The north shore of Anegada, British Virgin Islands — across the island from the Setting Point ferry dock
The beach
White sand facing the open Atlantic, from Big Bamboo at the west end about a kilometre east along the shore to Flash of Beauty
The reef
Coral patches start in the shallows a short swim off the sand; the outer reef breaks the swell further out
The island
Anegada is coral and limestone, not volcanic like the other Virgin Islands, and its highest ground is about 28 ft above the sea
Entry
Free: a public beach with no gate
On the sand
Big Bamboo's restaurant, bar and cottages at the west end; Flash of Beauty's bar at the east end
Getting here
Smith's Ferry from Road Town on published dates, Inter Island's day trip from Red Hook and Cruz Bay, or a charter flight — then a taxi from Setting Point
Papers
A passport and the BVI's online ED card for everyone arriving from the U.S. Virgin Islands; from Tortola the trip is domestic
Money
U.S. dollars
Webcam
None — there is no public live camera on Anegada; the nearest is Saba Rock in North Sound, Virgin Gorda
Today
Is Loblolly Bay good today?
Skip today Rough — 4.2 ft NNW swell, shore break · Thunderstorms in the forecast. If you go, the least bad stretch left is 8 am–11 am.
Day
The call
Why
Best time
Cruise guests here
Sea at the beach
Rain
Today
Skip today
Rough — 4.2 ft NNW swell, shore break · Thunderstorms in the forecast
8 am–11 am
—
Some chop · 2.7 ft
Thunder
Tomorrow
Skip today
Rough — 4.7 ft NW swell, shore break · Thunderstorms in the forecast
11 am–2 pm
—
Rough · 3 ft
Thunder
Sun, Nov 8
Skip today
Rough — 4.5 ft N swell, shore break · Sargassum offshore
3 pm–6 pm
—
Rough · 2.9 ft
57%
Mon, Nov 9
Skip today
Sargassum offshore · Choppy — NNE swell into the bay
9 am–12 pm
—
Some chop · 2.4 ft
31%
Tue, Nov 10
Skip today
Sargassum offshore · Choppy — NNE swell into the bay
2 pm–5 pm
—
Some chop · 2.2 ft
33%
The call is the same one our beach report makes, refreshed every half hour: the swell reaching the north shore (Open-Meteo's marine forecast off Anegada), NOAA's sargassum satellite and the rain forecast. No cruise ship calls at Anegada, so there is no crowd model here. It is a model, not a report from the beach — the reef in front of you has the last word. The bars under each call are the hours from 8 am to 5 pm. Today's beach report
The taxi from the ferry, the boats from Tortola and the USVI, what the BVI charges at the border, today's beach and weather reads and the island around it — each one opens the full page.
Loblolly Bay from OpenStreetMap: the sand where the road reaches the beach at the west end, the cottages behind it, the shore east to Flash of Beauty and its parking, and the roads inland toward the airport and The Settlement. OpenStreetMap does not map Big Bamboo; it is at the road's end. Tap a pin for its section.
Getting there
How to get to Loblolly Bay
Anegada sits on its own about 15 miles north of Virgin Gorda, and there is no daily boat. From Tortola, Smith's Ferry sails from Road Town to Setting Point, on the south shore, on the dates its schedule lists — seven days a month in October and November 2026. From St. Thomas and St. John, Inter Island Boat Services runs a day trip from Red Hook and Cruz Bay on the dates it sells. Fly BVI flies on-demand charters, including Anegada day trips, from Beef Island and around the region.
Loblolly Bay is on the other side of the island from the dock. Taxis meet the boats at Setting Point and charge the official BVI fare in the table, per person by the size of your party; there is no bus. Many visitors rent a car, jeep or scooter instead — the island is flat and the roads quiet. Drive on the left.
Anegada from the cockpit of a small plane: the flat island and the pale reef water around it, under scattered cloud (March 2011) Photo: Shawn from Airdrie, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0
One way, per person by the size of the party: fares set by the BVI Road Traffic (Passenger Fares) Regulations (rates revised December 2022). Drive times are Google's for an ordinary day. Fare calculator for any two stops
Check the date, not the weekday: Smith's Ferry sails to Anegada only on the dates on its schedule, and weather can cancel a crossing. Check in 35 minutes before.
A day trip on the Road Town ferry works only on a sailing date: the morning boat up and the afternoon boat back. Otherwise plan a night or two.
Taxis are few: take your driver's number at Setting Point and book the ride back to the boat.
Coming from St. Thomas or St. John, everyone needs a passport — U.S. citizens and children included.
Sailing up? Many charter companies keep boats away from Anegada unless a captain who knows the reef is aboard: come in through the marked channel to Setting Point in good light.
Loblolly Bay: the boats, the charges and the hours
The beach is free — a public beach with no gate. What a day at Loblolly costs is getting to Anegada: the ferry or the plane, the taxi across the island, and, from St. Thomas or St. John, the British Virgin Islands' charges at the border. The boats run on set dates, not every day, so the dates matter as much as the times.
What getting here costs
Loblolly Bay beach
Free
Inter Island, Red Hook or Cruz Bay round trip, adult (12+)
$220
The same, booked a day ahead
$200
Inter Island round trip, child (3–11)
$170 ($150 a day ahead)
BVI environmental and tourism levy, arriving from the USVI
$10
BVI departure tax, leaving by ferry
$20
Inter Island's fares are from its own trip page; the levy and departure tax are the UK government's figures, and apply only when you cross from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Smith's Ferry sells Road Town–Anegada tickets through its booking page and does not print the fare on its website; our route page has the fare we hold. The taxi fare from Setting Point is the official one, in the table above.
The boats and the restaurants
Smith's Ferry, Road Town → Anegada
7:00 am · 3:30 pm
Smith's Ferry, Anegada → Road Town
8:30 am · 5:00 pm
Inter Island, from Red Hook
7:00 am
Inter Island, from Cruz Bay
7:30 am
Inter Island, from Anegada
4:00 pm
Big Bamboo restaurant
10 am – 6 pm daily
Flash of Beauty
Lunch and dinner — call for dinner
Smith's Ferry sails to Anegada only on the dates on its schedule: in October 2026 the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 14th and 30th; in November the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 11th, 27th and 30th; check-in is 35 minutes before. Its Anegada page says it sails twice a week; the schedule shows up to three Anegada days a week. Inter Island runs on the dates in its booking calendar, with check-in 45 minutes before. Big Bamboo's hours are from its own website, whose restaurant page dates from 2019. Flash of Beauty publishes no hours: the BVI Tourist Board's listing says it serves lunch and dinner and asks you to call ahead for dinner, on (284) 343-8403.
Papers and the reef
✓A passport, arriving from the USVI — for everyone, U.S. citizens and children included — Inter Island requires one
✓The BVI's online ED card — required of every traveller entering the BVI since January 1, 2025; fill it in up to 72 hours ahead
✓U.S. customs on the way back — when the boat lands in Cruz Bay or Red Hook
✕Anchoring on the reef — the BVI authorities restrict it to protect the reef, as Big Bamboo's site notes
Loblolly is a quiet beach with two places to eat on it: Big Bamboo where the road reaches the sand at the west end, and Flash of Beauty about a kilometre east along the shore. Prices and hours are the businesses' own, as listed in October 2026.
Restaurant & bar
Big Bamboo
Aubrey and Diana Levons put up Big Bamboo's first building at Loblolly in 1983, after running a club of the same name on Virgin Gorda; the beach bar followed in 1987, and a gift shop, dive shop and showers in 2006, its own history says. Its website lists the restaurant open 10 am to 6 pm daily — lobster, conch and conch fritters, fish, shrimp, ribs and more, with no prices published. Dinner is by reservation on VHF 16 or (284) 346-5850 / 499-1680, and the reservation includes free transport there and back. OpenStreetMap does not map it; it is where the road meets the beach.
Big Bamboo rents four villas a few steps from the sand — two with two bedrooms, two with one — each with a stove and fridge; its website lists winter rates from $250 a night. Loblolly Beach Cottages, on the same beach, let colour-named cottages through Airbnb. Staying means the beach in the early morning, before the day's taxis arrive.
The water is shallow and clear over sand at the edge, then dark patches of coral begin a short swim out, and the outer reef breaks the Atlantic swell further off. You can snorkel straight from the beach on a calm day. The Caribbean Journal, writing in June 2026, counted parrotfish, rays and the odd reef shark along the coral. Do not stand on the coral, and watch the current where water runs out through gaps in the reef.
We know of no lifeguard service at Loblolly Bay or anywhere on Anegada: swim and snorkel with someone, and stay in on a day when a north swell is breaking hard on the reef — the call at the top of the page reads the swell every half hour. Shade is the scrub at the back of the beach and whatever the restaurants have; bring a hat and water.
Bar & restaurant
Flash of Beauty
At the east end of the bay, about a kilometre along the shore from Big Bamboo. The BVI Tourist Board's listing says it is owned by the lobster and conch fisherman Egbert and run by Monica, with a mix-your-own-drinks honour tab, open for lunch and dinner — call ahead for dinner, on (284) 343-8403. It publishes no hours. The reef close in front of it is the snorkel the beach is named for.
There is no taxi stand at Loblolly. Taxis drop you where the road meets the beach at the west end, or at Flash of Beauty, where OpenStreetMap maps a small parking area; take your driver's number and book the ride back, especially to make a ferry. Driving yourself, Loblolly Bay Road runs out to the beach from The Settlement, and Airport Road from the west.
Wade in and swim out to the coral: the reef starts close to the sand, so there is no boat to book. Go on a calm morning — when a north swell is running the reef breaks hard and the water pulls. Big Bamboo's history lists a dive shop on the beach; ask there about gear, or bring your own mask and fins.
Between the sand and the coral the water is shallow and clear, and on a quiet day you may have it to yourselves. On a rough day the swell finds its way over the reef — the call at the top of the page reads it.
The shore runs about a kilometre east from Big Bamboo to Flash of Beauty, with the reef alongside all the way. Walk it at the water's edge, snorkel the reef in front of Flash of Beauty, and walk back.
The salt ponds at the west end of the island hold a flock of Caribbean flamingos. Hunting had wiped them out on Anegada; in 1992 The Conservation Agency, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo and the Guana Island Wildlife Sanctuary brought 22 birds from Bermuda and released them here, and the Western Salt Ponds became a protected Ramsar wetland in 1999. Look on the way across the island from Setting Point, keep your distance, and bring binoculars.
The great reef off Anegada's east end, and the reason so many ships never made it past the island — wrecks lie on and around it. It is protected: anchoring on the reef is restricted, and charter companies keep their boats clear. See it with a licensed dive or snorkel operator, not your own boat.
The other famous beach, near the island's north-west tip: shallow water inside the reef and the Cow Wreck Beach Bar on the sand. The taxis run there from Setting Point at the same official fare, so a Loblolly morning and a Cow Wreck afternoon is a common day.
The Anegada rock iguana lives wild on this island and nowhere else, and is critically endangered. The BVI National Parks Trust raises young iguanas at a headstart facility in The Settlement, the village a short drive south of Loblolly, and releases them when they are big enough to survive.
Eating at Loblolly means Big Bamboo or Flash of Beauty, and on Anegada it means lobster: Big Bamboo's menu leads with it. Kitchens here cook what has been ordered, so call ahead — for dinner especially. Bring cash as well as a card; taxis and some bars prefer it.
Every year in late November the island's restaurants hold the Anegada Lobster Festival — 27 to 29 November in 2026, the BVI Tourist Board's event page says — with extra boats from Tortola and the USVI. In 2025, its thirteenth year, nine restaurants took part.
Sorting spiny lobsters at a waterfront stand on Anegada during the Lobster Festival (November 2019) Photo: anoldent, CC BY-SA 2.0
At Loblolly Bay
Big BambooLobster, conch, fish and the bar at the west end; 10 am–6 pm daily, its website says. Dinner by reservation, with free transport.
Flash of BeautyThe bar at the east end; lunch and dinner, call ahead for dinner on (284) 343-8403. No published hours.
Elsewhere on Anegada
Cow Wreck Beach BarOn the sand near the north-west tip; the island's other beach lunch.
Setting PointThe restaurants by the ferry dock and the anchorage, where lobster is grilled on the beach at night.
Weather & sea
Loblolly Bay weather and the best time to go
Warm all year, with a steady easterly trade wind blowing across the flat island and short tropical showers rather than all-day rain; the forecast below has this week's numbers. December to April is the dry, busy sailing season. June to November is hurricane season, and in late summer some of the island's restaurants close for a few weeks.
Loblolly faces north onto the open Atlantic, with the reef between the beach and the ocean. Most days the reef takes the swell and the water inside is calm and clear. In winter, swells from storms far up the North Atlantic arrive from the north and break hard on the reef; then the water inside surges, currents run through the gaps, and snorkelling is for another day. The call at the top of this page reads the swell every half hour.
The next 7 days on Anegada
Day
Sky
High / low
Rain
Wind
Seas offshore
Today
Thunderstorms
85° / 80°F
87%
SW 18 mph, gusts 30
3.6 ft
Tomorrow
Thunderstorms
83° / 79°F
90%
WSW 20 mph, gusts 28
4.1 ft
Sun, Nov 8
Thunderstorms
84° / 80°F
66%
W 15 mph
3.8 ft
Mon, Nov 9
Partly cloudy
84° / 82°F
18%
NNW 8 mph
3.2 ft
Tue, Nov 10
Overcast
83° / 82°F
24%
NE 13 mph
2.8 ft
Wed, Nov 11
Overcast
83° / 82°F
21%
E 13 mph
2.8 ft
Thu, Nov 12
Drizzle
84° / 82°F
24%
ESE 11 mph
3.2 ft
Open-Meteo forecast for Anegada, refreshed every half hour. The seas are offshore; how much of it reaches the sand is the call above. BVI weather & sailing week · North swell season
Sea temperature by month
80°Jan
79°Feb
80°Mar
81°Apr
84°May
85°Jun
85°Jul
85°Aug
87°Sep
86°Oct
84°Nov
81°Dec
Daily-mean sea-surface temperature off Anegada, averaged 2021–2024 (Open-Meteo marine reanalysis): warmest in Sep (86.5°F), coolest in Feb (79.4°F).
Live cameras
Is there a Loblolly Bay webcam?
No. There is no public live camera at Loblolly Bay or anywhere on Anegada that we can embed, and we would rather say so than show a still photo dressed up as live. The nearest live camera is at Saba Rock, in North Sound at the east end of Virgin Gorda — about 15 miles south, and a different coast.
R. H. Schomburgk's survey, “Anegada, with its Reefs”, is published by the Royal Geographical Society. On the north shore it marks “Lob Lolly B. & Channel” — the bay, and a channel through the reef.
1973
The Big Bamboo
On Virgin Gorda, Aubrey Levons, of the Vibration band, renames the club he manages The Big Bamboo, after the Mighty Sparrow calypso.
1981
Land at Loblolly
Aubrey and Diana Levons clear the land at Loblolly Bay and start day trips to Anegada for Virgin Gorda's hotels, which they call Discover Anegada.
1983
Big Bamboo moves to Anegada
The first Big Bamboo building goes up at Loblolly Bay; the beach bar follows in 1987.
1992
Flamingos come back
Twenty-two flamingos bred in Bermuda are released in Anegada's salt ponds, where hunting had wiped out the island's flock.
May 11, 1999
A protected wetland
The Western Salt Ponds of Anegada, 1,071 hectares of lagoons, mudflats and mangrove, are designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
2006
Showers and a dive shop
Big Bamboo adds a gift shop, a dive shop and showers on the beach.
November 3, 2017
Aubrey Levons
Aubrey Levons, Big Bamboo's owner and a prominent voice of Anegada, dies at his home, days before his 68th birthday.
November 2025
The thirteenth Lobster Festival
Nine of the island's restaurants serve lobster for the annual festival, produced by the BVI Tourist Board with the Anegada community.
“Anegada, with its Reefs”: R. H. Schomburgk's survey, published by the Royal Geographical Society in July 1832 — “Lob Lolly B. & Channel” is marked on the north shore Photo: R. H. Schomburgk, Public domain
By ferry or plane to Anegada, then a taxi across the island. Smith's Ferry sails from Road Town, Tortola, to the Setting Point dock on the dates its schedule lists; Inter Island Boat Services runs a day trip from Red Hook (St. Thomas) and Cruz Bay (St. John) on the dates it sells; Fly BVI flies on-demand charters to the island. Taxis meet the boats at Setting Point and run to Loblolly Bay at the official fare, or you can rent a car or scooter.
How much is a taxi from Setting Point to Loblolly Bay?
Taxis on Anegada charge fixed BVI fares, per person by the size of the party. From the Setting Point ferry dock to Loblolly Bay it is $20 for one rider, $10 each for three or more. The ride is about 10 minutes (6.9 km). There are only a few taxis, so book the ride back.
Can you snorkel at Loblolly Bay?
Yes — it is the reason most people come. Coral patches start a short swim off the sand, and the outer reef breaks the swell further out, so you can snorkel straight from the beach on a calm day. On a day when a north swell is running the reef breaks hard and the water pulls: stay on the sand.
Is Big Bamboo open?
Big Bamboo's website lists the restaurant open 10 am to 6 pm daily, with dinner by reservation on VHF 16 or (284) 346-5850 / 499-1680 and free transport for diners; that page dates from 2019, so call before you go. The Caribbean Journal still wrote about it in 2026.
What is Flash of Beauty?
The bar and restaurant at the east end of Loblolly Bay, about a kilometre along the shore from Big Bamboo, with reef close in front of it. The BVI Tourist Board's listing says it serves lunch and dinner and asks you to call ahead for dinner on (284) 343-8403; it publishes no hours.
Can you do a day trip to Loblolly Bay?
Yes, on the right day. On a Smith's Ferry sailing date the morning boat reaches Anegada and the afternoon boat goes back to Road Town, which leaves the middle of the day for the beach. Inter Island's trip from Red Hook and Cruz Bay is run as a day trip, leaving Anegada at 4 pm. A charter flight works any day.
Do you need a passport to visit Loblolly Bay?
From the U.S. Virgin Islands, yes: Anegada is in the British Virgin Islands, so everyone arriving from St. Thomas or St. John — U.S. citizens included — needs a passport and the BVI's online ED card, and pays the BVI's $10 arrival levy and $20 ferry departure tax. From Tortola or Virgin Gorda it is a domestic trip.
Are there lifeguards at Loblolly Bay?
We know of no lifeguard service at Loblolly Bay or anywhere on Anegada. Swim and snorkel with someone, keep out of the water when a north swell is breaking on the reef, and watch for currents where water runs out through gaps in the reef.
Where can you see flamingos on Anegada?
In the salt ponds at the west end of the island, on the way from Setting Point. A flock of Caribbean flamingos lives there: 22 birds bred in Bermuda were released in 1992, after hunting had wiped out the island's flamingos, and the Western Salt Ponds were declared a Ramsar wetland in 1999.
Is there a webcam at Loblolly Bay?
No. There is no public live camera at Loblolly Bay or anywhere on Anegada. The nearest live camera is at Saba Rock in North Sound, Virgin Gorda, about 15 miles south.
Photo & map credits
Loblolly Bay from under a thatched shade: white sand curving away east along the north shore, two swimmers in the turquoise shallows and the reef dark beneath the water — Kathleen Tyler Conklin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Swimmers in the shallows at Loblolly Bay, with the outer reef breaking white on the horizon and a beach chair on the sand (May 2008) — ScubaBear68, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
The reef from the sand at Loblolly Bay: dark coral patches in the clear water a short swim out, and the surf on the outer reef beyond (May 2008) — ScubaBear68, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
A rock ledge running from the sand into the water at Loblolly Bay, with reef under the surface beside it and surf breaking on the outer reef — Cayeldo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
The shore at Loblolly Bay: pale sand and low green scrub, clear shallow water and waves breaking on the reef offshore — Cayeldo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Three round cottages with blue roofs in the scrub behind the beach at Loblolly Bay — Cayeldo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Anegada from the cockpit of a small plane: the flat island and the pale reef water around it, under scattered cloud (March 2011) — Shawn from Airdrie, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Anegada from the air: a long, low island with the salt ponds inside it, ringed by sand and the turquoise water over the reef — David Broad, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Horseshoe Reef from the air: coral heads in turquoise shallows running out from Anegada, the island low on the horizon — Walker Mangum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Sorting spiny lobsters at a waterfront stand on Anegada during the Lobster Festival (November 2019) — anoldent, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Cow Wreck Beach on Anegada's west end, seen from the bar: palms, picnic tables and swimmers in shallow water (November 2019) — anoldent, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
An Anegada rock iguana (Cyclura pinguis) on Anegada — Alejandro Sanchez, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
“Anegada, with its Reefs”: R. H. Schomburgk's survey, published by the Royal Geographical Society in July 1832 — “Lob Lolly B. & Channel” is marked on the north shore — R. H. Schomburgk, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Loblolly Bay looking east along Anegada's north shore from under a thatched shade: white sand, two swimmers in the turquoise shallows, the reef dark under the water, and the far end of the bay — Flash of Beauty's end — on the horizon — Kathleen Tyler Conklin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Cow Wreck Beach from the bar: palms, picnic tables and swimmers in shallow turquoise water — anoldent, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
White sand and a low dune of scrub on Anegada, photographed on the drive to Cow Wreck Beach: shallow green water inside the reef and the flat shore running away into the distance (May 2008) — ScubaBear68, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
A coconut palm leaning out over clear, shallow water on white sand at Anegada's westernmost tip — the same shore as Pomato Point, about 1.5 km north of it (May 2008) — ScubaBear68, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
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