--- title: "Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda: A Free Reef Beach Near The Baths" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/savannah-bay description: "Savannah Bay on Virgin Gorda is a long, free beach with a reef near shore, 10 minutes from the Spanish Town dock, with no facilities and little shade." updated: 2026-10-22 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/savannah-bay --- [British Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi) · [Beaches](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches) · Virgin Gorda · North of Spanish Town # Savannah Bay Savannah Bay is Virgin Gorda's long, quiet beach, a curve of sand where the island narrows between The Valley and North Sound, with a reef close to shore and nothing for sale on it. It costs nothing, which makes it the counterweight to The Baths: the swim for a day you would rather not share, if you bring the water and the shade. **Conditions:** Calm on most days, with a reef close to shore. It faces northwest, so a winter north swell reaches the sand, by our read of the map. No lifeguard and no facilities as of October 2026. *Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda, from the overlook: white beach, reef-streaked water, a green headland* ## Savannah Bay at a glance | | | | --- | --- | | Entry | Free; no authority posts a fee or manages the beach, as of October 2026 | | Hours | None posted | | Parking | At the end of the Savannah Bay access road off North Sound Road, a short walk to the sand; room for a few cars by our read of the map | | Restrooms | None | | Shade | Sparse | | Snorkeling | 4 of 5, Very good | | Crowds | Quiet | | Drive from Spanish Town | about 10 minutes by car | | Lifeguard | No | Facts checked Oct 16, 2026. ## Conditions today at Savannah 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 6 seconds; Savannah 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 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 Savannah Bay About 10 minutes by car from Spanish 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). ## Getting to Savannah Bay off North Sound Road By car or taxi from Spanish Town: north on North Sound Road, then down the short access road on the left where the island narrows, 10 minutes from the ferry dock. The road ends just short of the sand. No lot is mapped, and there is room for a few cars on the verge. Without a car, take a taxi from the dock. Fares are set by the government's taxi tariff, last revised in December 2022, so ask the driver for the tariff fare to Savannah Bay and agree the pickup before they leave: there is nobody at the beach to call a ride. The Baths sit the same distance from the dock in the opposite direction, which makes the pair a natural day: the boulders at the 8:30 am opening, before the cruise tenders, and Savannah Bay for the afternoon. ## Savannah Bay beach: free, bare and quiet Long, quiet and bare. The sand curves away to the northwest, with a reef across the bay, and every account we read agrees on what is missing: no restrooms, no food, no chair or umbrella to rent, very little shade. For most people who make the drive, that absence is the point. On a day when The Baths are full of cruise passengers on the other side of Spanish Town, this beach usually has a handful of people on it. It is free. No authority posts a fee, opening hours or rules for Savannah Bay, and the National Parks Trust's pages do not list it. Accounts mention a short walk along the shore to Pond Bay, the next cove, where a few palms give some shade. The tradeoff: you carry everything. Water, lunch, shade and a mask come in the car and go home in it, and the nearest food is back in Spanish Town or up at North Sound. ## Snorkeling the reef at Savannah Bay On most days the water is calm and the reef is a short swim from the sand, which is why we rate the snorkeling 4 of 5. Reports differ on the fish, some describing plenty and one or two very little, so treat it as a good reef swim rather than a sure thing. Facing northwest shelters the bay from the trade wind but not from a winter north swell, and on those days, by our read, the reef takes the break and the snorkeling is off. No authority lists a lifeguard, and you may well be the only people in the water, so swim with someone. Savannah Bay suits a couple or a family who want a long beach to themselves for a morning and need nothing handed to them. ## Questions people ask about Savannah Bay ### Where is Savannah Bay on Virgin Gorda? On the northwest coast, where the island narrows between The Valley and North Sound. Take North Sound Road north from Spanish Town and the short access road down to the bay, 10 minutes by car from the ferry dock by our measurement. ### Is Savannah Bay free? Yes. No authority charges or manages the beach as of October 2026, and the National Parks Trust's Virgin Gorda pages do not list it. The Baths, 10 minutes the other side of Spanish Town, charge $3 an adult on the Trust's day pass. ### How far is Savannah Bay from The Baths? About 20 minutes by car, back through Spanish Town: each is 10 minutes from the ferry dock, in opposite directions. The two pair well: The Baths at the 8:30 am opening, Savannah Bay for the afternoon. Written by Virgin Islands Villas. Facts checked Oct 16, 2026. Updated Oct 22, 2026. [Open Savannah Bay in Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=7440506129139866038) Facts checked against [the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands](https://www.bvinpt.org/virgin-gorda). Checked October 2026. No villa listed with us is within ten minutes of Savannah Bay yet. [See every villa in the BVI](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/villas), with its rates and dates. ## Other beaches near Savannah Bay - [Mahoe Bay Virgin Gorda · 1.4 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/mahoe-bay) - [Spring Bay Spanish Town and The Valley · 4.4 km away · entry fee](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/spring-bay) - [The Baths Spanish Town and The Valley · 4.6 km away · entry fee](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/the-baths) [Every beach in the BVI, compared](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches)