Rendezvous Bay
Best for. Families and slow walkers who want the longest, calmest beach on the island, soft sand and shallow gentle water, with views across the channel to the green hills of St Martin.
Best spot. A long barefoot walk from end to end in the morning, a swim in the shallow calm water, and a reggae lunch and rum at the Sunshine Shack as the afternoon eases.
Know this. It is broad and breezy with little shade along much of its length, so bring your own cover and water, and you will trade the beach bars of Shoal Bay for space and quiet.
Rendezvous Bay is the long, quiet counterweight to Shoal Bay, a broad crescent of soft pale sand that curls for well over a mile along the sheltered south coast. Where the famous northeast beach is about powder and reef, this one is about space and calm, a place to walk barefoot from end to end with the warm shallow water on one side and the green hills of St Martin floating across the channel on the other. For travellers who measure a beach by how slow it lets them go, this is the one, and it is often nearly empty even when the island is busy.
The honest read is that its size is both the draw and the catch. The water here is some of the gentlest in Anguilla, slow shelving and reliably calm, which makes it a genuinely easy beach for families and unhurried swimmers. But much of that long sweep has no facilities and very little natural shade, the resorts and the one famous beach bar aside, and the open aspect can make it breezy. Come with your own water, an umbrella and sun cover, and you will have a vast, beautiful beach almost to yourself rather than a serviced strip.
Use it for the walk and the wind down. Park near the Sunshine Shack or a resort, swim in the shallow calm water, then walk the full curve of the bay in the cool of the morning or the gold of the late afternoon, when the light on St Martin is at its best. Lunch is easy, a plate of barbecue and a rum at the Sunshine Shack with reggae drifting over the sand, or a longer table at one of the resort restaurants behind the beach. It rewards a slow, low key day, and that is exactly what it is built for.
Clubs near this beach
Rendezvous Bay is a long, mostly open beach with one beloved barefoot bar and a couple of resort kitchens, rather than any cabana scene, which is the south coast at its calmest.
Photo: Sunshine Shack via GoogleSunshine Shack
When Anguillians name a favourite beach bar, the Sunshine Shack on Rendezvous Bay almost always comes up. It is a brightly painted reggae grill run by Garvey, serving barbecue chicken, ribs and fish and a strong rum punch, with live music, hammocks and views of the yachts and the hills of St Martin. Not a club, just the most loved barefoot bar on the south coast. Cash is handy and the vibe is best at lunch.
The resort beach restaurants
Behind the long beach sit a couple of resorts whose restaurants open to non guests for a more polished lunch or a sunset table, the kind of place to book ahead in the December to April peak. They are calmer and pricier than the Sunshine Shack rather than a daybed scene, and any minimum or dress code is set by the venue. We are happy to help arrange a table through the form below, and mark anything uncertain to be confirmed.
The south coast, by car
Rendezvous Bay lies on the south coast of Anguilla, a short drive of about ten to fifteen minutes from the airport and the Blowing Point ferry, which makes it one of the easier beaches to reach. A hire car or taxi brings you to the access points by the resorts or the Sunshine Shack, and from there the long crescent stretches away in both directions. Because the beach is so long, it pays to pick your end and settle in rather than trying to cover all of it from one spot.
Pack as if there is little on the sand, because along much of the bay there is, with water, an umbrella and sun cover the things you will be glad of in the open midday sun. Bring some cash for the Sunshine Shack and any sunbed, walk the beach early or late when the light on St Martin is loveliest, and keep an eye on children even though the water is gentle, since there are no lifeguards. Take your litter with you and leave the long quiet beach as open as you found it.
Photo: Laura Cohen via GoogleNot ready to book?
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Book a beach club
Tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a table or a beach day at the Sunshine Shack, a resort restaurant or elsewhere in Anguilla. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Rendezvous Bay
Is Rendezvous Bay good for families?
Yes, it is one of the easier family beaches on the island. The water on this sheltered south coast is shallow and among the calmest in Anguilla, slow to deepen and usually gentle, which suits young children and nervous swimmers on a typical day. The catch is the lack of shade along much of the long beach, so bring an umbrella, water and sun cover, watch children as there are no lifeguards, and treat the calm conditions as typical rather than guaranteed.
How long is Rendezvous Bay?
Rendezvous Bay is one of the longest beaches in Anguilla, a broad crescent of soft sand that runs for well over a mile along the south coast. That length is the whole appeal, since it means the beach rarely feels crowded and you can walk from end to end barefoot. Park once near the Sunshine Shack or a resort and settle in, rather than trying to take in the full sweep from a single spot.
What is the Sunshine Shack?
The Sunshine Shack is the famous beach bar on Rendezvous Bay, a brightly painted reggae grill run by Garvey that serves barbecue chicken, ribs and fish with a strong rum punch. It is a relaxed, barefoot spot with live music and hammocks rather than a club, and it is one of the most loved beach bars on the island. Bring cash, time your visit for lunch, and check opening days in the quieter low season.
Does Rendezvous Bay get seaweed?
Rarely compared with the Atlantic side. As a leeward south coast beach, Rendezvous Bay usually stays clear of the sargassum seaweed that can drift onto the northeast facing beaches such as Shoal Bay East in the warmer months. The dry season from December to April is the most reliable stretch for clear water here. If the Atlantic beaches are weedy on your trip, the south and west coast beaches are the dependable fallback.
Rendezvous Bay or Shoal Bay East?
They offer different days. Rendezvous Bay is the longer, calmer, quieter beach, with soft sand, gentle shallow water and views to St Martin, which makes it the relaxed choice for families and long walks. Shoal Bay East is the iconic powder sand beach on the northeast coast, with reef snorkelling and a cluster of beach bars but more day visitors. See both if you can, since together they show the two sides of Anguilla.
