Cane Garden Bay

Cane Garden Bay is the best-known beach on Tortola, a wide curve of sand on the north shore under steep green hills, with a sheltered anchorage that fills with charter yachts and a line of bars and restaurants along the back of the beach. It has been the island's party beach for decades, which is either the attraction or the problem. A rum distillery in the valley behind has been making from cane since the eighteenth century.

What you actually see

• The beach curve - a wide sand bay under the steep north shore hills.
• The anchorage - the sheltered water that fills with charter yachts.
• The bar strip - the run of beach bars and restaurants along the sand.
• The Callwood distillery - the rum works in the valley behind.

When to go

December to May is the season. Cruise days and evenings are busiest. Hurricane season runs June to November and brings north swell.

Honest expectations

It is loud, particularly in the evenings, and cruise days fill it. North swell in winter can make the bay rough and dangerous. Prices along the strip are high.

Nearby

Callwood Distillery is behind, and Brewers Bay is west.