--- title: "Josiah's Bay Beach: Tortola's Surf Break, and When to Swim" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/josiahs-bay description: "Josiah's Bay beach is Tortola's surf break, a free north-shore strand 23 minutes from the Road Town ferry, with winter rips, no lifeguard and one bar." updated: 2026-10-22 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/josiahs-bay --- [British Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi) · [Beaches](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches) · Tortola · North shore, East End side # Josiah's Bay on Tortola Josiah's Bay beach is Tortola's surf beach: a wide, open strand on the north shore toward the East End, with a pond behind it and a green valley climbing away from the sand. Come in winter to surf or to watch, in summer to swim. The catch is the rip on a surf day, with no lifeguard. **Conditions:** The bay opens north-northwest, so a winter north swell runs straight in and breaks over sand, with dangerous rips on surf days. Summer is mostly flat. No lifeguard on duty, per the Department of Disaster Management in January 2022. ## Josiah's Bay at a glance | | | | --- | --- | | Entry | Free; no authority posts a fee or manages the beach, as of October 2026 | | Hours | None posted | | Parking | Where Josiah's Bay Road ends, at the east end of the beach by the pond; the middle of the sand is a 4 minute walk along the beach; no lot is mapped | | Restrooms | None | | Shade | Sparse | | Snorkeling | 1 of 5, Poor | | Crowds | Quiet | | Drive from Road Town | about 24 minutes by car | | Lifeguard | No | Facts checked Oct 18, 2026. ## Conditions today at Josiah's Bay As of 7:00 AM on Oct 22, 2026, island time. Read each morning from Open-Meteo at the pin, the one feed that covers the British Virgin Islands; the bay opens north, by our read from the map. **Sea state** **Sheltered.** The swell is from the east-southeast at 0.7 m, period 6 seconds; Josiah's Bay opens north, so the bay sits in the lee. Open-Meteo wave model at the nearest ocean cell; the bay's opening is our read from the map. **Surf and water test** No forecast office writes a surf zone forecast for these beaches and the British Virgin Islands publish no weekly water test we can read, so the sea state above is our read from the wave model at the pin, and this page carries no water-quality line. Open-Meteo wave model at the pin; no BVI agency publishes a beach advisory. **Rain** Dry through the day; the chance of rain peaks at 2%. Open-Meteo hourly forecast at the pin. **The day** UV index up to 8; sunset 5:50 pm; sea 30 °C, 86 °F. Open-Meteo. ## Routes to Josiah's Bay About 24 minutes by car from Road Town. How to reach the British Virgin Islands: [British Virgin Islands map](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/map), [British Virgin Islands weather, month by month](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/weather), [Ferries between the British Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/ferry), [Getting to the British Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/getting-there), [Things to do in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/things-to-do). ## Driving to Josiah's Bay from Road Town or the airport By car, over the ridge from the south side of the island and down into the valley on the north shore. From Road Town it is a 24 minute drive to the end of Josiah's Bay Road, which stops at the east end of the sand by Josiah's Bay Pond, and the middle of the beach is a 4 minute walk along it. The roads into the valley are steep, as most of Tortola's are, and driving is on the left. No lot is mapped at the road's end. The airport on Beef Island is closer still, which makes this the easy north-shore beach for a first afternoon or a last morning before a flight. The long drive is from the West End ferry terminal, where the Red Hook boats land: the whole length of the island. Taxis will make the run, but there is no stand at the beach, so agree the fare and a time to be picked up before the driver leaves. ## Josiah's Bay beach: one bar and a surf school Wide, open and mostly empty. The sand runs across the mouth of the valley with Josiah's Bay Pond behind it, and the hillside above holds villas rather than hotels. On most days the people on the beach are a handful of surfers, a family or two, and whoever is at the bar. Two businesses share the sand. Serves Up BVI is the restaurant and bar, the one on the beach since the 2017 storms took its predecessor, by its own page; it publishes a phone number and no hours, so call ahead. Surf School BVI works out of two shipping containers, renting boards and teaching, and posts no rates. Everything else is a drive, Road Town for the big shop and a wider choice of lunch. The tradeoff: the open water that brings the surf is the reason this is no beach for a weak swimmer in winter. A family that wants flat water for small children from December to March should look past Tortola's north shore altogether; the winter swell reaches Cane Garden Bay and Brewers Bay too. Lambert Beach is the next bay east along the same coast. ## Surf season at Josiah's Bay, and the rip The bay faces north-northwest, by our read from the map, wide and unprotected, so a north swell runs straight onto the sand. That happens most reliably from about November to March, when it is a consistent beach break with mainly rights; summer is mostly flat and the swimming is easy. We rate the snorkeling 1 of 5. This is a surf beach, and it does not pretend otherwise. The hazard is the rip, dangerous on any surf day, and the Department of Disaster Management, warning in January 2022 of high surf and rip currents on every North Shore beach, named Josiah's Bay as one of two with no lifeguard on duty. Nothing we read since says a guard is posted, as of October 2026. Our rule, built on the department's advice: on a surf day a non-surfer stays waist-deep and nobody swims alone. If a current takes you, float, do not fight it, and swim along the shore until it lets go. For a first wave, take a lesson with the school on the sand, whose instructors are in that water every day. ## Questions people ask about Josiah's Bay ### How do you get to Josiah's Bay beach? 23 minutes by car from the Road Town ferry terminal to the end of Josiah's Bay Road, at the east end of the sand, by our measurement, and 21 from the airport on Beef Island; the middle of the beach is a 4 minute walk along the sand. No lot is mapped, there is no taxi stand, and the roads into the valley are steep. ### Is it safe to swim at Josiah's Bay? In summer, when the bay is mostly flat, yes for a confident swimmer. From about November to March the north swell brings surf and dangerous rips, and there is no lifeguard on duty, per the Department of Disaster Management's 2022 notice. On a surf day stay waist-deep, never swim alone, and if a current takes you, float and swim along the shore. ### When is the surf at Josiah's Bay? Most reliably November to March, on a north swell into a bay that faces north-northwest; a consistent beach break, mainly rights, best in winter and spring. Summer is mostly flat. Surf School BVI rents boards and teaches from its containers on the sand and posts no rates online, as of October 2026. ### Is there food at Josiah's Bay? One place: Serves Up BVI, the restaurant and bar on the sand, by its own page as of October 2026. It publishes a phone number and no opening hours, so call before you plan lunch around it. Nothing else is on the beach; for groceries and more choice, Road Town is the drive back over the ridge. Written by Virgin Islands Villas. Facts checked Oct 18, 2026. Updated Oct 22, 2026. [Open Josiah's Bay in Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13816629296710351736) Facts checked against [the Department of Disaster Management](https://www.bviddm.com/) and [Serves Up BVI](https://www.facebook.com/p/Serves-Up-BVI-100093673328304/). Checked October 2026. No villa listed with us is within ten minutes of Josiah's Bay yet. [See every villa in the BVI](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/villas), with its rates and dates. ## Other beaches near Josiah's Bay - [Lambert Beach Tortola · 1.1 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/lambert-beach) - [Brewers Bay Brewers Bay · 5.8 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/brewers-bay) - [Cane Garden Bay Cane Garden Bay · 7.4 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/cane-garden-bay) [Every beach in the BVI, compared](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches)