Bight Reef

Coral Gardens, usually called Bight Reef, is a shallow patch of coral lying a short swim off the beach in the middle of the Grace Bay strip, marked out with buoys and guide ropes so that anyone can find it and stay off it. It is the easiest snorkelling in the territory: parrotfish, sergeant majors, blue tangs, occasional turtles and rays, in water three to five metres deep with no current on a normal day. The reef has been damaged over the years by trampling and by anchor strikes, and stony coral tissue loss disease has hit the region hard, which the ropes and the buoys are an attempt to slow.

What you actually see

• The coral patch - a short swim from the sand, marked with buoys.
• Reef fish - parrotfish, tangs and sergeant majors in numbers.
• Turtles and rays - regular over the surrounding seagrass.
• The guide ropes - there to keep swimmers off the coral.

When to go

November to May is the calmest and clearest. Mornings before the wind builds are best. The reef is busiest in the middle of the day when the resorts empty onto the beach.

Honest expectations

Do not stand on or touch the coral; the ropes exist because trampling has done real damage here. The reef has declined markedly and stony coral tissue loss disease has affected the region badly, so it is not what older accounts describe. It gets crowded. There is no lifeguard.

Nearby

Grace Bay beach runs either side; Bight Park is behind the sand.