COOPER ISLAND

Cooper Island is a small island of the British Virgin Islands, located just off of the coast of Virgin Gorda, between Salt Island and Ginger Island. There are five privately owned properties on the island, plus a small beach club resort, Cooper Island Beach Resort.

Manchioneel Bay, the bay that houses the Cooper Island Beach Resort, is a popular anchorage for term charters, and with 40 mooring balls, can accommodate quite a few, on top of the great dock for day boat charters to utilize. The hotel houses 9 rooms and is an eco-friendly, sustainable hotel. In 2008, when the hotel was turned over to its current owners, the hotel took on the sustainable philosophy, even adding 90 solar panels to support the hotel and restaurant, as well as using the restaurant fryer fat to power the island’s generator.

Cooper Island is a great place to stop after a morning at the Baths in Virgin Gorda, or after a snorkel and swim at the Caves of Norman Island or a stop at Peter Island. Cooper island is a favorite for our St. Thomas and St. John charter boat groups and we agree! The restaurant features an international menu as well as some local Caribbean favorites. Lunch at the wonderful outdoor lounge seating area is open from 12-3 and whether you are stopping in the morning or the afternoon, the beach at Cooper Island is a great place to relax, do a bit of snorkeling and just enjoy your St. Thomas or St. John boat rental. Sonic Charters recommends trying the fish and chips, you won’t be disappointed!

The island lies adjacent to “wreck alley”, a popular wreck diving site in the British Virgin Islands where a number of vessels have been deliberately sunk as dive sites. The most popular snorkeling location, Little Carvel Rock, is home to schools of tropical fish, lobsters, green moray eels, as well as large barracuda and kingfish.