Map

Half Moon Bay

East Coast

A near-perfect crescent of white sand on the Atlantic side, backed by low scrub and almost always empty. The swell breaks along the open end of the curve and dies away towards the sheltered corner, so the same beach gives you surf or flat water depending on where you put your towel.

Darkwood Beach

West Coast

A long, shallow strip on the Caribbean coast where the road runs close enough that you can stop, walk down and be in the water in a minute. Calm most days, and the view west means it holds the light until the sun goes down.

Dickenson Bay

The island's busiest beach, and the one with everything on it: flat water, sun loungers, boat trips and somewhere to eat without leaving the sand. If you want a beach that is set up rather than empty, this is it.

Ffryes Beach

West Coast

A wide, open bay in Saint Mary with pale sand and a headland at each end. It sits between Darkwood and Valley Church on the same coastal road, which makes it easy to see all three in an afternoon.

Galleon Beach

English Harbour

Across the water from the dockyard, on the far side of English Harbour, with the ridge of Shirley Heights standing over it. Sheltered, easy to swim, and the only beach on the island where the view is a working yacht harbour.

Long Bay

East Coast

On the east coast at Willikies, where a reef lies close enough offshore to take the Atlantic swell before it reaches the sand. That reef is what makes it one of the calmest beaches on this side of the island, and the best of them for snorkelling.

Turner's Beach

West Coast

The southern end of the west-coast run, closed off by a rocky point that keeps the water clear and makes the snorkelling worthwhile. On a clear day Montserrat sits on the horizon.

Valley Church Beach

West Coast

The most sheltered of the western bays, tucked behind a headland so the water stays shallow and still a long way out. The pale sand and the reef further offshore give it the flat turquoise you see from the plane on the way in.