The Bubbly Pool

The Bubbly Pool is a natural basin on the exposed northeastern shore of Jost Van Dyke, enclosed by rock with a narrow gap to the open Atlantic, and when swell is running the waves force through that gap and turn the pool into a churning jacuzzi. When the sea is flat it is a still pond and nothing happens. A walk of around twenty minutes from the bar at Foxy's Taboo across rock and scrub reaches it.

What you actually see

• The surge - swell forcing through the rock gap and churning the pool.
• The rock enclosure - the basin the water is trapped in.
• The walk in - the twenty-minute route across rock and scrub.
• The exposed coast - the Atlantic side of the island the pool sits on.

When to go

December to March is when north swell is most likely and the pool works. On flat days it does nothing. Hurricane season runs June to November.

Honest expectations

With no swell there is nothing to see; the effect is entirely conditional. In big swell the pool is genuinely dangerous and people have been injured. The walk is over rough rock with no marking.

Nearby

Foxy's Taboo is at the trailhead, and Great Harbour is west.