Apple Bay, Tortola: Surfer's Paradise 

The Caribbean is a little iffy when it comes to surfing, but in Apple Bay, you can always find rideable waves. This pretty stretch of beach is blessed with six-foot waves during the winter months, and decent waves for most of the rest of the year.

But don't think Apple Bay is just for surfers. The community around the beach is a collection of little European-flavored villages filled with excellent restaurants, hideaway hotels, and gorgeous scenery around every corner.

Possibly the best restaurant in the Caribbean is in Apple Bay: Sugar Mill Restaurant. Attached to the Sugar Mill Hotel, which is one of Fodor's favorite hotels on Tortola, this excellent restaurant was founded by two writers for Bon Apetit magazine, Jeff and Jinx Morgan. It's open for dinner only (jacket and tie required) but you can get breakfast and lunch from the hotel out on the terrace. With each room no more than a minute's walk to the beach and the proprietors ready to cater to guests' every need, just Sugar Mill itself is a great vacation.

The Bomba Shack

But there's more to Apple Bay. For the other end of luxury is Bomba's Shack, which resembles nothing so much as a colorful junkyard from the outside. Bomba's is famous for real rum punch, and every month (sometimes twice) there's a Full Moon Party, which always draws such a crowd that the beach becomes an extension of the bar. With great live entertainment and local color, Bomba's is the place to go when you need partying to offset all that relaxing.

During the day, drive out on short trips, hang out at the beach, snorkel, or just sun yourself, but don't miss the food bazaar at Little Apple Bay. This is a perfect place to have lunch. You have your choice of a multitude of restaurants, food stalls, and small bars. Or you can head over to the Fish Fry, an informal collection of roadside stalls centered under an enormous old fig tree where local entrepreneurs fry up and sell the freshest fish on the island, seasoned Caribbean-style.

While other communities on Tortola focus on upscale clothing and hand-crafted jewelry, the Apple Bay area is distinctly Caribbean. You can find shops for all kinds of wonderful souvenirs and items that perfectly complement your island décor at home. For instance, Nan's Gallery sells Moko Jumbee masks, images of African spirits of the dead used by carnival stilt dancers. There are several other stores here that sell hand-crafted art and housewares that you'll treasure every day you use them.

Apple Bay Places to stay.

Besides the Sugar Mill, there are several places where you can stay at Apple Bay. Sebastian's On The Beach, home of another wonderful restaurant, also rents gorgeous beachside rooms and suites convenient to the food bazaar. And Coconut Point Vacation Apartments offers beach front rooms and suites in an old-world ambiance, giving you a quiet place to retreat to after long days on the beach.

If the vacation you want is a relaxed Caribbean hideaway, then Apple Bay is an ideal place for you to go. Every amenity is in walking distance, and you can forget about the rest of the world as you just soak up the sun.

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