Long Bay Beach, Tortola
Long Bay Beach is a mile of sand on Tortola's West End, below Belmont on the north shore, with Long Bay Beach Resort behind it and Jost Van Dyke across the channel. It is free and public, a swim rather than a snorkel, and on a calm morning there is room to spare. The catch is the winter north swell.
Conditions: Mostly sand with rocks at the ends. It faces north-northwest, so a winter north swell breaks straight onto it, by our read of the map; on a calm day it is a long, easy swim. No lifeguard listed as of October 2026.
Long Bay at a glance
| Entry | Free; no authority posts a fee, as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours | None posted for the beach; Long Bay Beach Resort publishes no hours for its bars |
| Parking | Where Long Bay Road meets the sand, a minute's walk from the beach by our measurement; the resort's lot is for its guests |
| Restrooms | None |
| Shade | Some |
| Snorkeling | 2 of 5, Limited |
| Crowds | Quiet |
| Drive from Road Town | about 35 minutes by car |
| Lifeguard | No |
Facts checked Oct 16, 2026.
Conditions today at Long 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 northwest, by our read from the map.
- Sea state
- Sheltered. The swell is from the east-southeast at 0.6 m, period 5 seconds; Long Bay opens northwest, 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 8%.
Open-Meteo hourly forecast at the pin.
- The day
- UV index up to 8; sunset 5:51 pm; sea 30 °C, 86 °F.
Open-Meteo.
Routes to Long Bay
About 35 minutes by car from Road Town. How to reach the British Virgin Islands: British Virgin Islands map, British Virgin Islands weather, month by month, Ferries between the British Virgin Islands, Getting to the British Virgin Islands, Things to do in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands.
Over the hill to Long Bay from the ferry
Over the hill from West End, where the Red Hook boats from St. Thomas land; the drive from the ferry terminal is 8 minutes. The road climbs over Belmont and drops to the north shore, and Long Bay Road reaches the sand a minute's walk from the beach. The resort's lot is for its guests, so leave the car where the road meets the beach.
Be specific with a driver. This is the West End's Long Bay; Tortola has a second beach of the same name on Beef Island, beside the airport runway at the other end of the island, and a taxi driver asked for Long Bay will want to know which. Fares are set by the government's taxi tariff, last revised in December 2022, so ask the driver for the tariff fare from the terminal before you set off.
Long Bay beach: a mile of sand below the resort
Long Bay Beach Resort describes the beach as a mile of white sand, and it is the long walk at this end of Tortola, facing north-northwest with Jost Van Dyke across the water. It is free, and no authority posts a fee or hours.
The resort sits behind the sand and names two places on its own site, Johnny's Beach Bar and 1748 Sushi Bar, with no hours for either. Its chairs, umbrellas and restrooms are for its guests, so bring your own shade, and call the resort on +1 284 494 1222 before you count on a table.
The tradeoff: Long Bay is a beach for walking and swimming, not for a reef. Most of its length is sand over sand, and on a winter day with a north swell the water comes straight in.
Calm most of the year, surf in a north swell
On a calm day, which in the trade wind is most of the year, Long Bay is an easy swim off a long beach. We rate the snorkeling 2 of 5: a few fish along the rocks at either end, and sand in the middle. For a mask, Smuggler's Cove, the next cove west, is the reef at this end of the island.
A north or north-northwest swell, most likely between late fall and spring, runs straight onto the beach, and then the shore break is no place for small children. No authority lists a lifeguard. Long Bay suits a long walk at either end of the day, a swim when the sea is flat, and a party staying on the West End hill who want sand a few minutes from the door.
Questions people ask about Long Bay
Where is Long Bay on Tortola?
On the north shore of the West End, below Belmont and in front of Long Bay Beach Resort, 8 minutes by car from the West End ferry terminal by our measurement. It is not Long Bay on Beef Island, which is beside the airport runway 16 km east.
Is Long Bay beach public?
The beach is free and no authority charges for it as of October 2026; reach it where Long Bay Road meets the sand. The resort's chairs, bars and restrooms are its own, and it publishes no day pass or hours on its site.
How far is Long Bay from West End?
8 minutes by car from the West End ferry terminal and 4 from Belmont on the hill above. Smuggler's Cove, the next cove west, is 7 minutes from the terminal.
Written by Virgin Islands Villas. Facts checked Oct 16, 2026. Updated Oct 22, 2026.
No villa listed with us is within ten minutes of Long Bay yet. See every villa in the BVI, with its rates and dates.
