Sombrero Island, Caribbean feels like another world. No sandy beaches, no resort, no crowds — just dramatic cliffs rising straight out of the open sea, thousands of nesting seabirds, and the ruins of a 19th-century guano mining operation left exactly where it was abandoned. If you’re planning a one-way charter from St Martin to the British Virgin Islands, Sombrero Island is one of the most unique stops you’ll ever make. Just don’t count on it — this one is entirely at the mercy of the weather.
What Is Sombrero Island?
Sombrero Island is a 93-acre rock belonging to Anguilla, sitting approximately 34 miles from the Anguillian mainland and roughly halfway between St Martin and the British Virgin Islands. It stands 36 feet above sea level and has no natural harbor, no sandy beaches, and no permanent residents. The island once looked like a sombrero from the sea — hence the name — until guano mining in the 1800s removed the top of the “hat” and left the flat, lunar surface you’ll find today.
History of Sombrero Island
Sombrero’s history is stranger than you’d expect from a deserted rock in the middle of the Caribbean:
- In 1807, a sailor was marooned here — a reminder that this stretch of water has been on major trade routes for centuries.
- British geologists documented the island’s significant guano deposits in the early 1800s.
- In 1856, the Americans claimed Sombrero under the Guano Islands Act and mined approximately 100,000 tons of guano before Britain reclaimed it in 1867.
- In 1871, the New Sombrero Phosphate Company purchased a lease for £55,000 and worked the island until 1890, when operations were abandoned entirely.
- The first lighthouse was erected in 1868, requested specifically because so many ships were wrecking on Horseshoe Reef near Anegada — Sombrero sits directly on the approach route.
- A 1960 hurricane heavily damaged the lighthouse, which was rebuilt in 1962.
- The lighthouse became fully automated in 2002, ending over a century of lighthouse keepers living on the island.
Bird Sanctuary
We were lucky enough to visit during nesting season, and the sheer volume of birds on this island is remarkable. Brown Boobies, Blue-Footed Boobies, Terns, and Noddies nest here in huge numbers — approximately 5% of the entire Caribbean population of these species calls Sombrero home. The entire time you’re exploring the island, the seabirds are squawking and swooping overhead, and you’ll need to watch where you step.
Gigantic tortoises once lived here too, though they’re long gone now.
Getting to Sombrero Island
By yacht charter, of course. If you’re planning a one-way charter from St Martin through Anguilla and on to the British Virgin Islands, Sombrero is a natural stop along the route. We have anchored here several times over the years — though the last visit was some time ago.
The critical caveat: the seas have to be genuinely calm and flat even to stop here. There is no protected anchorage and no natural harbor. If there’s any swell running, you move on. The best window is typically summer, when the trade winds lighten and conditions have the best chance of cooperating.
This is not a charter you can book online. It requires advance approval from the Anguilla government and the right weather window. Contact us directly to discuss planning.
Getting Onto Sombrero Island
This is where it gets interesting. The island looks like the white cliffs of Dover — straight vertical rock faces with no beach and no dock. Getting ashore means taking your tender to a spot on the cliff face where a dubious-looking ladder is bolted to the rock. You grab it from the tender, haul yourself up, and climb.
You need some coordination and arm strength. Flat seas are not optional here — this is a calm-weather-only operation.
Once you’re on top, you’ll find old machinery, building ruins, crumbling chimneys, old generators, and holes in the surface that look like the surface of the moon. The remains of the crane used to haul supplies up and down the cliff face are still visible at the edge. Land crabs are underfoot everywhere you walk.
SCUBA Diving at Sombrero Island
When conditions allow an anchorage, the diving is exceptional. The water is clear, open ocean blue — the kind of visibility you don’t get in more sheltered anchorages. We found hawksbill turtles, multiple shark species, and lobsters walking around the seafloor eyeing us curiously.
Standing on the cliff edge and looking straight down into the water, you can often spot sharks and turtles without getting wet. The water is that clear.
Fish life was lighter than expected — likely because local fishermen work the area when conditions are flat enough to get out there. But the pelagic life more than makes up for it.
Plan Your Sombrero Island Caribbean Charter
Sombrero Island can never be a guaranteed stop. Weather is everything here, and the summer season offers the best odds. We do work with a couple crewed yachts willing to run one-way charters from St Martin through Anguilla, with Sombrero as a weather-dependent stop along the route to the British Virgin Islands.
If this sounds like your kind of adventure, get in touch. Planning and timing are everything on a trip like this.
Contact Epic Yacht Charters to start planning your St Martin to BVI charter.
