Ginger Island, BVI: The Quiet Channel Stop Most Guests Miss

Most guests who charter with us have never heard of Ginger Island, and that’s exactly the point. It sits quietly in the Sir Francis Drake Channel between Virgin Gorda and Cooper Island, with no dock, no beach bar, and no resort — just 258 acres of hills rising straight out of the water and four named dive and snorkel sites ringing its shoreline. We slip in there on days when guests tell us they’ve already done the Baths, already done Norman Island, and want to see something most charter itineraries skip entirely.

It isn’t a place you go ashore. There’s no landing, no trail, nothing built on it at all. What you’re coming for is what’s underwater, and the view of the hills from the boat while you’re doing it.

Where Ginger Island Actually Is

Ginger Island sits in open water in the middle of the Sir Francis Drake Channel, roughly between Cooper Island and Virgin Gorda, with Salt Island and the wreck of the RMS Rhone a short run to the west. Its hills climb to somewhere around 200 to 300 feet, which gives the whole island a dramatic, cliffy look from the water that’s out of proportion to how little most visitors know about it. On a clear day, the high ground reportedly gives a view over more than a dozen surrounding islands — not that many people are climbing it, since there’s nowhere to land.

Because it’s tucked between two of the most heavily charted stops in the BVI, it’s an easy add rather than a detour. We usually work it into a day that also touches Cooper Island or the Rhone, so guests get the quiet water without giving up a headline stop.

The Dive and Snorkel Sites Around the Island

Ginger Island is ringed by four named sites, and they’re not all built for the same kind of guest. This is the part worth understanding before you ask us to add it to your itinerary.

• Alice in Wonderland — the best-known site, named for its garden of mushroom-shaped coral heads. It’s shallow enough to work well for both snorkelers and divers, which makes it the site we lean on most for charter guests.
• Ginger Steps — a calmer, gentler site with coral formations stepping down from shallower water, generally a comfortable option if conditions elsewhere in the channel are choppy.
• Alice’s Backside (also called Ginger Patches) — reef ledges on the opposite side of the same formation, less crowded simply because fewer people know it’s there.
• Carvel Rock — a deeper, more advanced site known for sharks and barracuda. This one is for certified scuba divers, not a stop we’d send snorkelers into.

For a private powerboat charter built around snorkeling rather than certified diving, Alice in Wonderland and Ginger Steps are the two we actually use. Both sit in water calm and shallow enough for confident snorkelers, and both reward you with coral structure you won’t see at the more heavily trafficked stops closer to Tortola.

Why It Never Feels Crowded

A few things keep Ginger Island quiet. It isn’t part of the ferry network, so day-trippers on the interisland boats never see it. It has no beach, no bar, and no mooring field that draws a bareboat fleet the way North Sound or the Bight at Norman Island do. And because it’s privately owned rather than National Parks Trust land, it doesn’t show up on the standard checklist of “must-see” park stops that every visiting sailor works through — which means you won’t find twenty other boats stacked up on the same reef.

That last point also means there’s no park mooring fee to plan around here the way there is at some of the National Parks Trust sites managed by the BVI’s protected parks system — our crew simply holds position or picks up an available mooring where one exists, and you’re in the water within minutes.

What to Expect on the Water

Because there’s no shore to walk and no bar to order from, a stop at Ginger Island is purely about the time you spend snorkeling and the run in and out. We’d plan on 45 minutes to an hour in the water at Alice in Wonderland or Ginger Steps — enough time to work the reef properly without feeling rushed, but not so long that it eats into a full day that also includes a beach stop or lunch spot. It pairs naturally with Cooper Island’s calmer anchorage or a run past the Rhone, since all three sit within a short distance of each other in the same channel.

How Ginger Island Compares to the BVI’s Other Quiet Stops

If you’ve read our guide to Prickly Pear, Ginger Island will feel like a cousin of sorts — small, undeveloped, built around the water rather than the land. The difference is ownership and access. Prickly Pear is National Parks Trust land, which means they’re protected, moored, and on the radar of every charter captain in the territory, even if the crowds are lighter than at the Baths. Ginger Island isn’t on anyone’s official checklist. It’s privately held, it’s never been developed, and because it doesn’t come with a park mooring field, plenty of boats simply motor past it on the way to somewhere with a beach. That’s the whole appeal — the reef structure around Alice in Wonderland is as good as anything at the more famous stops, and you’re far more likely to have it to yourselves.

It also sits in a slightly different part of the channel than the outer islands we cover around Anegada or the Dogs. Where a trip to the Dog Islands or Anegada is a commitment — often the whole day, given the distance — Ginger Island is a short detour off a route you’re probably already running between Tortola and Virgin Gorda. That makes it an easy yes rather than a trade-off against another stop.

Getting There on a Private Charter

Because Ginger Island has no ferry service and nowhere to tie up, it’s a stop that really only works with a private boat — this isn’t a place you’re reaching on a scheduled interisland ferry or a shared tour boat that has to stick to a fixed route. On our full day charter, we build it in as one of your four stops, usually timed for mid-morning when the channel is calmest and the light is best for spotting the coral heads at Alice in Wonderland from the surface. Guests who book a half day charter can still fit it in if it’s paired with just one other nearby stop like Cooper Island or Salt Island, since the run between all three is short.

The starting price for either package already includes captain, crew, fuel, snorkel gear, and the cruising permit, so an off-the-beaten-path stop like this one doesn’t come with any add-on fee beyond what you’d already be paying for the day.

Pairing Ginger Island With the Rest of Your Day

We rarely book Ginger Island as a single destination — it works best as one of the stops on a full day charter, sandwiched between a snorkel-heavy morning and a beach or lunch stop in the afternoon. Guests who’ve already done the well-known spots tend to be the ones who ask us about it directly. If you’re deciding between a full dive certification trip and a snorkel-focused day, our snorkeling vs. scuba diving guide walks through which approach fits your trip better — Ginger Island happens to be one of the few spots in the territory where both crowds show up, just at different depths.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you snorkel at Ginger Island?
Yes. Alice in Wonderland and Ginger Steps are both shallow enough for snorkelers and are the two sites we typically use for charter guests. Carvel Rock is deeper and better suited to certified scuba divers.

Is Ginger Island part of a national park?
No. Unlike nearby National Parks Trust sites such as Prickly Pear, Ginger Island is privately owned. There’s no mooring or park fee to account for.

Can you go ashore on Ginger Island?
There’s no dock, beach landing, or trail, so it isn’t a stop you get off the boat for — it’s strictly a snorkeling and diving destination.

How far is Ginger Island from Tortola?
It sits in the Sir Francis Drake Channel between Virgin Gorda and Cooper Island, a comfortable run from Road Town or Nanny Cay and an easy pairing with a Cooper Island or Salt Island stop.

What’s the best time of day to snorkel Ginger Island?
Mid-morning, before the afternoon breeze picks up across the channel, generally gives the calmest water and the best visibility at Alice in Wonderland.

Is Ginger Island good for beginners or nervous swimmers?
Ginger Steps is the gentler of the two snorkel-friendly sites and a reasonable option for less confident swimmers, though as with any open-water stop, we’d rather match the site to your comfort level on the day than promise a guarantee in advance.

If a quiet reef most charter guests never ask about sounds like the kind of stop you want on your itinerary, get in touch and we’ll build it into your day.