Sir Richard Branson's private island: about 74 acres of low hills, beaches and reef just beyond North Sound, less than two miles off Virgin Gorda's north-east tip. It is a resort, hired whole or room by room in set Celebration Weeks — there is no public landing, no beach bar and no day visit. What you can do is sail past it, and spend the day in North Sound next door.
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Necker Island and the north side of Virgin Gorda's North Sound, drawn from the OpenStreetMap shoreline: Necker top right, Eustatia and Saba Rock below it, Prickly Pear and Moskito Island to the west. Only the North Sound pins are open to the public. Tap a pin for more.
Only resort guests land on Necker. Virgin Limited Edition, Branson's hotel company, sells the island two ways: the whole island on an exclusive hire, or individual rooms during Celebration Weeks, the set weeks it publishes each year (some adults-only). Every stay includes the boat transfers. There is no ferry, no public dock and no day pass.
Guests fly into Beef Island (EIS), the airport joined by bridge to Tortola, where the resort's driver meets them for the two-minute drive to the dock and a speedboat crossing of about 30 minutes; the resort also collects from Virgin Gorda. From St. Thomas you connect by air to Beef Island or Virgin Gorda, or the resort can arrange a charter boat or a helicopter. Coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands is an international trip: bring a passport and clear BVI customs on arrival.
Beef Island (EIS) flights · Virgin Gorda & North Sound · Request a day charter · BVI sailing: the chart table · BVI customs & entry fees · Do you need a passport?
The nearest you can get is North Sound, Virgin Gorda's big sheltered bay, ringed by Moskito Island, Prickly Pear and Eustatia. Drive or taxi to Gun Creek or Leverick Bay and take a water taxi or the resorts' own boats across to the Bitter End and Saba Rock. From inside the sound, Prickly Pear and Eustatia stand between you and Necker; you see it properly from the water north of the reef.
On a boat — a day charter out of Tortola or Virgin Gorda, or your own — Necker is the island just north of Eustatia, less than two miles off Virgin Gorda's north-east tip. Boats heading out of North Sound for Anegada pass it at a distance. Keep well off: there is reef round much of the island, and the shore is private.
Necker's beaches belong to the resort and are for its guests only, so there is no public beach to feature here. For a beach nearby, go to Prickly Pear, the national-park island on the north side of North Sound, or to Virgin Gorda's beaches in the island guide.
Photo: Legis, Public domainThe way most people see Necker: from the deck of a boat. Day charters out of Tortola and Virgin Gorda can take in North Sound, Saba Rock and the island's coast from a respectful distance, and bareboat crews pass it on the run north to Anegada. The reef round it is the reason to stay well off — and there is no landing anyway.
Photo: Gruepig, CC BY-SA 4.0The public half of this corner of the BVI. Saba Rock, a tiny island with a bar and a small resort, sits at the sound's north-east corner; the Bitter End and Leverick Bay are across the water, with moorings, marinas and water-taxi docks. The live webcam on Saba Rock shows the mooring field before you go.
Photo: giggel, CC BY 3.0The island that closes North Sound to the north: declared a bird sanctuary in 1980 and a national park in 1988 for its salt ponds, mangroves and turtle-nesting beaches, and looked after by the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands. Anchor or take a dinghy to its sandy shore and walk the edge of the ponds for wading birds.
The bigger island on North Sound's west side, also Branson's: he bought it in 2007. For years it was the sail-in Drake's Anchorage dive resort; today it is private estates, some rented through Virgin Limited Edition, and like Necker it is not open to the public. You see it from Leverick Bay and from any boat in the sound.
Photo: David Pettigrew, Public domainThe small island between North Sound and Necker, privately owned, with Eustatia Reef running east from it. The reef-sheltered water inside it is a favourite of kitesurfers and windsurfers out of North Sound, but it is shallow and coral-strewn: many charter companies keep bareboats out of it, so check your chart briefing before you go near.
Caribbean flamingos were wiped out in the Virgin Islands by the mid-20th century. Branson brought a flock to Necker's ponds in 2008 and it has grown since — but only guests see it. The wild colony you can visit is on Anegada, the flat island to the north, where flamingos were brought back to the salt ponds in the 1990s.
Photo: Mazzy02, CC BY-SA 4.0Branson bought the uninhabited island in 1978 and built the resort round a hilltop Great House. On 22 August 2011, as Tropical Storm Irene passed, lightning set the Great House on fire; the guests, Kate Winslet among them, got out unhurt, and it was rebuilt. On 6 September 2017 Hurricane Irma, a Category 5, wrecked most of the island; most of the buildings were rebuilt in 2018.
Warm all year: highs in the mid-80s °F and a steady easterly trade wind, with the full Atlantic swell on Necker's north and east sides. North Sound stays sheltered when the sea outside is rough — the day to sail past Necker is a calm one. December to April is the dry, busy season. June to November is hurricane season, with the peak from mid-August to mid-October; several North Sound resorts close for part of the autumn.
| Day | Sky | High / low | Rain | Wind | Seas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Drizzle | 86° / 83°F | 33% | ESE 19 mph | 3.5 ft |
| Tomorrow | Showers | 85° / 81°F | 78% | ESE 19 mph, gusts 26 | 3.9 ft |
| Wed, Oct 7 | Showers | 83° / 80°F | 79% | ESE 19 mph, gusts 25 | 3.5 ft |
| Thu, Oct 8 | Thunderstorms | 85° / 79°F | 51% | E 17 mph | 3.1 ft |
| Fri, Oct 9 | Drizzle | 84° / 83°F | 53% | E 18 mph | 3.2 ft |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Drizzle | 83° / 80°F | 72% | ENE 14 mph, gusts 22 | 2.8 ft |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Showers | 82° / 79°F | 71% | ESE 14 mph, gusts 22 | 2.3 ft |
Open-Meteo forecast for Necker Island, refreshed every half hour. Live weather map · BVI sailing weather & marine zones
Necker Island has no reading of its own; these are the waters off Virgin Gorda, less than two miles south. Daily-mean sea-surface temperature, averaged 2021–2024 (Open-Meteo marine reanalysis): warmest in Sep (86.3°F), coolest in Feb (79.5°F). Hurricane history map
Necker is a private resort. Only booked guests go ashore — there is no day pass, no beach bar and no public dock.
Saba Rock, the Bitter End and Leverick Bay are open to everyone and are as close to Necker as most visitors get.
Reef surrounds much of Necker and runs east from Eustatia. Stay in deep water, follow your chart briefing and do not anchor near the island.
Necker is in the BVI. Coming from St. Thomas or St. John, every passenger needs a passport and clears BVI customs.
Guests' transfers leave from beside Beef Island airport (EIS); Virgin Gorda is the other pick-up.
Necker's north and east sides face the open Atlantic. When the trade wind is up, the run outside North Sound is rough.
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U.S. Virgin IslandsSt. JohnFerries, taxis, beaches, hikes and a true map of St. John — two-thirds national park — with today's weather and the next boat from Red Hook.
U.S. Virgin IslandsSt. CroixGetting from St. Thomas to St. Croix by seaplane or ferry, the airport, taxi fares, Buck Island, Christiansted, Frederiksted and every main beach on a true map.
U.S. Virgin IslandsWater IslandThe ferry from Crown Bay, Honeymoon Beach, Fort Segarra and a true map of the smallest U.S. Virgin Island, with today's weather and the next boat.
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British Virgin IslandsVirgin GordaThe Baths, Spring Bay, Savannah Bay and North Sound on a true map, with the next ferry from Road Town, the official taxi fares and today's weather.
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British Virgin IslandsNorman IslandThe boat-only island: day sails and charters from St. Thomas, St. John and Tortola, the Caves at Treasure Point, the Indians, the Bight and its floating bar.
British Virgin IslandsPeter IslandThe private island across the channel from Road Town: getting there by the resort's ferry or your own boat, Deadman's Bay, the anchorages, Dead Chest and the RMS Rhone.
British Virgin IslandsCooper IslandThe boat-only island across the channel from Tortola: the beach club and its moorings on Manchioneel Bay, Cistern Point, Wreck Alley and the RMS Rhone next door.
British Virgin IslandsScrub IslandThe private resort island off Tortola's east end: how the launch from Trellis Bay works, the 55-slip marina, three small beaches, Marina Cay and the live marina cam.Not unless you are staying there. Necker is Sir Richard Branson's private island, run as a resort by Virgin Limited Edition: there is no day visit, no public dock and no bar for passing boats. You can see it from a boat, and spend the day in North Sound next door — Saba Rock, the Bitter End and Leverick Bay are open to all.
Two ways: hire the whole island exclusively, or book a room during one of the Celebration Weeks Virgin Limited Edition sets each year, some of them adults-only. Stays are all-inclusive — food, drink, most activities and the boat transfers. Bookings go through Virgin Limited Edition.
A great deal: hiring the whole island runs to six figures in U.S. dollars a night, and Celebration Week rooms cost much less than the whole island but are sold for set weeks. Rates change by season and are set by Virgin Limited Edition — ask them for current prices.
They fly into Beef Island (EIS), next to Tortola, and the resort's driver takes them two minutes to the dock for a speedboat crossing of about 30 minutes; the resort also collects from Virgin Gorda. From St. Thomas, guests connect by air to Beef Island or Virgin Gorda, or come by charter boat or helicopter.
In the British Virgin Islands, less than two miles north of Virgin Gorda's north-east tip, just outside North Sound and directly north of Eustatia. Moskito Island and Prickly Pear are its other neighbours; Anegada is about 12 miles north.
Sir Richard Branson, who bought it, uninhabited, in 1978 and built the resort. He also owns Moskito Island, on the west side of North Sound, bought in 2007.
On 22 August 2011, during Tropical Storm Irene, lightning set the Great House on fire and it burned down; the guests, Kate Winslet among them, escaped unhurt, and it was rebuilt. On 6 September 2017 Hurricane Irma, a Category 5, destroyed most of the island; most of the buildings were rebuilt in 2018.
No. Moskito (Mosquito) Island, on the west side of North Sound, is also Branson's and is private estates, some rented through Virgin Limited Edition. You can see it from Leverick Bay and from any boat in the sound.