Some are filled with them. For others, they’re a rarity. While we all love a great beach bar, not every island is a true beach bar destination — where the beach bar is an art form, and where pilgrims make their way to the best ones.
We like to consider ourselves beach bar experts, and that’s probably because we’ve visited more of them than just about anyone else on the planet, making a point to check out new ones and old reliables whenever we’re on the ground in the Caribbean.
Whether you’re beach-bar-hopping on a tiny island in the BVI, or enjoying the gourmet watering holes in the north of Martinique, consider this your guide to the Caribbean’s true beach bar capitals. Note, of course, that we mention several standouts on each island, but this is a guide to the islands themselves, not a comprehensive ranking of the best beach bars. (Fear not, we do that every year, too).
Martinique It may not be the first name you expected. But Martinique’s beaches just might be one of the best-kept secrets in the Caribbean. It’s not a small island, and the place just teems with picture-perfect beaches: the chain of white-sand stunners called Anses d’Arlet, the tourist capital of Trois Ilets, the charming southern town of Diamant, the beloved beach shacks in Le Carbet. All of them are blessed with beautiful sand — and all of them come with an outstanding array of toes-in-the-sand spots: think Ti’ Sable in Grand Anse; Le Petibonum in Le Carbet; Barracuda in Trois Ilets; the list goes on and on, and you can visit the island five times and not even come close to seeing them all.
Anguilla A beach bar legend. Anguilla is home to beaches so spectacularly beautiful that they make much of the rest of the Caribbean blush, from Rendezvous to Maundays to Meads. And that includes an enviable roster of top-flight beach spots: the diverse selection in Sandy Ground (we’re partial to Johnno’s); the music-filled Dune Preserve; and our all-time favorite on the island, Garvey’s SunShine Shack on Rendezvous.
Antigua Antigua and Barbuda is famously home to 365 different beaches, so it’s no surprise that you’ll find a vast number of beach bars. The standout here is the diversity: you can find high-cuisine spots like Catherine’s Cafe (the product of the team behind the island’s fabulous Rocks Group culinary team), breezy, old-school spots like Turner’s and the mostly barefoot chic (and some just barefoot) beach bars and lounges up and down island’s western coast.
St Kitts There are two superb beach bar destinations on this island. One is Frigate Bay, the original home of tourism on the island, where you’ll find a seemingly never-ending stream of beach bar after beach bar after beach bar, anchored by the legendary Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack. But travel across the island’s Southeastern Peninsula and you’ll find something, in our opinion, even more amazing: the shimmering sands of Cockleshell Bay, with an endless row of beach bars big and small, gourmet and barefoot, from the chic Spice Mill to the beloved Reggae Beach Bar.
St Barth The Caribbean’s luxury capital may be tiny, but it punches above its weight when it comes to great beach bars. From the fantastic Shellona right in the heart of Gustavia to the impressive array of beach bars on its famous St Jean beach (Pearl Beach is great, as is Gyp Sea) to the lovely, low-key spots in places like L’Orient and Cul de Sac, St Barth is a full-fledged beach bar hotspot.
St Martin You could just go to Orient Bay and find a lifetime’s worth of beach bars: KKO, Bikini, Kontiki, and more. Or you could spend your days alternative between Karibuni and Yellow Beach on Pinel Island. Or you could head to the secluded sands of Friar’s Bay. Or savor the unique toes-in-the-sand bars and restaurants in Grand Case. Or you could … well, you get the point.
Jost Van Dyke Yes, it starts with Soggy. How couldn’t it? But Jost is so much more, both on White Bay, which is home to the aforementioned classic and other favorites like Hendo’s and One Love; and then, of course, Great Harbour, with the impossible-to-miss Foxy’s. These are the big names, but you’ll also find a charming assortment of smaller, lower-key shacks and stalls on this little island that is a place where beach bar fantasies come true.
Curacao The beach bars here tend toward the cosmopolitan, much like the island itself. Think the Ibiza-style scene at Mambo Beach, a spot that is practically half beach bar, half city. Or the modern, sleek beach lounges on Jan Thiel Beach. And did we mention the decidedly lovely Kokomo on Curacao’s under-the-radar west coast?
Dominican Republic This is a very large country with lots of great beaches. That’s no surprise. You also shouldn’t find it shocking that the Dominican Republic has an overwhelming number of top-level beach bars in every one of its top tourism destinations: the rows and rows of Brugal-perfect spots in Bavaro; the active, bohemian bars in Cabarete. Every one of them is perfect for cracking a Presidente and enjoying a never-ending afternoon on pure Caribbean sand.
Nevis We’ve long said that Sunshine’s beach bar in Nevis is home to the best rum punch in the Caribbean. Don’t trust us? Try a few of the eponymous Sunshine’s “Killer Bees” and you’ll, well, you’ll forget what it was you were investigating. But tiny Nevis is also home to a daunting lineup of beach bars, both the competitors that surround Sunshine’s on Pinneys Beach and the other tiny spots that dot the island’s other coastlines, from the excellent Yachtsman Grill on Hamilton Beach to Barefoot Beach and Christi Beach further north.
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