virgin Gorda by car

A couple of questions for day car trip. Best place for a light lunch? Do you pay at baths if you have a parks permit? "Not to miss" things to do ?We have been coming for years but never done the 'land thing' . Suspect this group has tons of knowledge on this.

We usually leave Leverick in the morning and have breakfast at the baths and a snack or lunch at Hog Heaven.

If you bring your permit, you don't need to pay at the baths.

Copper Mine point is worth a visit - pretty cool spot - great for pictures. There's a number of spots to use the drinking man's guide too. And just the drive from Leverick to the Baths and back are a highlight. If you are planning on leaving from Leverick, I'd recommend spending two nights and doing dinner at Coco Maya. There's a number of other good spots too.

I love a cold one at " Mermaids" next to " Coco Maya" and highly recommend dinner at "The Restaurant"..upstairs at Leverick..

This will be our fifth year in a row on VG and a lunch at Hog Heaven is a must! Dinner at Chez Bamboo is awesome as well.

Without question, Hog Heaven for lunch.

Dinner at CocoMaya was incomparable- get there before your reservation to have a drink on the beach. We got there just in time for our reservation & regretted it because it's SOOOO beautiful there!! I wasn't ready to go to our table!!

I second 'Mermaids'...even for lunch. It's a hidden gem. Great food - very often fresh fish and lobster. Great conversation if you care to chat with some of the locals who hang there. One showed me the entrance to a secret tunnel used in colonial times....which shall remain secret.

I know that Coco Maya is 'de rigueur', but I find it really pretentious, and quite pricey.

Coco Maya is pretty pricey but what's pretentious there? Servers were friendly, food was good... Maybe we got lucky but I found it pretty laid-back.

Was at Coco Maya mid February. Definitely a laid back, comfortable feel. I heard that there had been some changes in recent months, apparently for the better.

Had a very special treat at "Mermaids" one time..a fungi band was practising in the old building there and invited us in to listen to them..terrific private concert!

I love a light lunch at Mad Dogs near the Baths. Good food and drinks.

We had an excellent lunch at"Top of the Baths".

Our favourite places on VG - Coco Maya, Chez Bamboo or The Rock for dinner - for lunch Hog Heaven or Rendezvous -

Where is the rendezvous?

Top of the baths is very relaxing for breakfast.

The outside bar at the Bath and Turtle, at VGYH

We are regulars at Mad Dogs for lunch. Limited menu, but good. You can get hot dogs, BLTs, shrimp salad and chicken salad (at least that is what I recall). Edith is you awesome, as are the other ladies. We like watching the kestrels hunt for lizards in the field off the porch. Of course, we stay pretty much right there, so it is easy for us. My husband likes Coco Maya and I like the restaurant at Leverick upstairs for dinner. Last year we had a very nice dinner at the place at Nail Bay. Lobster Risotto. We also usually head to the Mine Shaft for a roti. We have not had great luck at Hoggy's, though it gets good reviews.

Hogs Heaven gets my vote for the ribs as well as the views. Both are stunning.

We always enjoy a light lunch at Top of the Baths. The view is so beautiful there. We visited Hog Heaven several times on our last trip and consider it a must-do. The view is spectacular there and the people who run the place were very friendly.

On our last trip, we hiked to Gorda Peak for the first time. There are 2 routes - one is longer than the other. We took the longer, not as steep route. (Its the first entry point you come to when driving from The Valley to Leverick.) It was an awesome hike and not very difficult. Saw lots of butterflies in the woods. The view from the top is amazing. It was a clear day and we could see all the way to Anegada. Well worth the hike. We were there in October, so it wasn't too humid, but still a hot hike. We took lots of water and had icy cold drinks in the cooler in the car for when we finished the hike.

We got carry-out from Bath and Turtle several times and took it back to our villa so we could enjoy our beautiful porch and view. Everything we had from there was delicious and the salads were very fresh. Their chicken curry was especially good and it was nice you could order a small portion.

In addition to The Baths, we always stop at Savannah Bay for a walk along the beach and a swim. Beautiful location!

As someone stated - make sure to bring your parks permit with you so that you do not have to pay entrance fee at the Baths. We usually bring it in a dry bag in the event we get wet between the baths and devils bay.