Based on reports to Noonsite from cruisers, petty theft is on the rise in the Caribbean in general. Cruisers should take basic safety precautions and use common sense when ashore. Avoid walking alone in isolated areas, especially at night. Don’t carry large amounts of cash around or wear expensive jewelry.
The risks of petty theft, pickpocketing and assault increases during regattas and festivals. Do not leave drinks unattended.
Most visits to Montserrat are trouble-free, however, petty crime such as pickpocketing and purse snatching can occur. The main tourist areas are generally safe, but you should take normal precautions. Avoid remote areas at night. Make sure your personal belongings are secure.
Dinghy thieves operate throughout the Caribbean. Be sure to lift, chain, and lock your dinghy and outboard when not in use, especially at night. When leaving your dinghy ashore, ensure that your dinghy and outboard are securely locked.
AirTags and other cell based/Bluetooth tracking devices are being used by cruisers to track their dinghys/outboards. Some thieves are aware of this practice and may detect, locate and disable them. Understand the limitations of using tracking devices. (See this May 24 Jost Van Dyke, BVI CSSN report.) The use of GPS trackers (rather than Bluetooth trackers) is recommended. See this Report by David Lyman.
Advice throughout the Caribbean is to remove items from the deck that may be tempting for thieves. When going ashore close all hatches, lock your boat, hide valuables out of sight and secure any loose items, including fuel/jerry cans and jugs. Keep the boat well-lit to deter boarders. It is also advisable to keep your cockpit/salon areas and hatches locked at night when sleeping onboard.
A new method of corruption appearing in Caribbean islands is for a “finders” fee to be demanded when a stolen dinghy is “found”. (See this Nov 23 Tyrell Bay, Carriacou CSSN report and this Apr 24 Clifton Harbour, SVG CSSN report.)
The Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN) collects and shares reliable reports of crimes against yachts in the Caribbean, helping cruisers make informed decisions.
The CSSN website offers current and past incident reports, stats, regional piracy info, and annual summaries. Here are some of the ways to use their site:
Visit the CSSN Interactive Map to keep up to date with the latest incident reports for Montserrat. As of June 2025, no reports have been made regarding Montserrat.
Users can also check related security reports for Montserrat.
See Emergencies for more details.
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The best restaurant on Montserrat is Ziggy’s; Marcia and John are delightful, and to the extent that any place on Montserrat is “upscale”, Ziggy’s is it. It is a little hard to find, but they are on Google Maps.
The last time I cleared in, I was told that it was permitted to anchor in Isles Bay, (4.5 miles south of Little Bay), which is a better anchorage in most ways than Little Bay. But the Customs agent told us we were only permitted to leave the boat in Little Bay. That said, I have seen many people come and go off their boats while anchored in Isles Bay. The holding in Isles Bay is excellent, since the bottom is thick mud laid down by ash from the volcano over the last 30 years.
And uf somebody can tell somebody at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (website mvo.ms) that their website does not work, that would be nice (I forgot).
The MVO is a must see, especially for the movie about the eruption.
Montserrat is a lovely green island with nice inhabitants and a history shattered by the volcanic eruption. .
We visited the outskirts of the buried capital, Plymouth, and other parts of the island, with Cecil Wade, +16644922814, who made the visit very interesting and lively.
There is extensive dredging going on in Montserrat, Little Bay as of August 2023, which unsettles the sea floor. That means your anchor won’t hold well, and in addition you may be in the way of a 80m Ro-Ro cargo ship anchoring stern-to to the crumbling wharf, or facing a dredging barge, both prospects being stressful. In addition, two wrecks marked on the map in front of the beach seem to exist.
All the formerit existing moorings for yachts have been removed, as well as those for the local fishermen.
All this makes anchoring in Rendezvous Bay (north), or maybe Carr’s Bay, just south, the only reasonable option. The Cap’t’n alone must dinghy to the wharf for formalities.
Tying the dinghy to the wharf can be done on the south side. This is a rough place, do not go barefeet (customs won’t let you in without shoes and shirt anyway).
We enjoyed our visit at Montserrat.
Visiting the volcanic-buried town of Plymouth was a special experience of a lifetime.
The Montserrat Tourism Division, phone +1664 491 4703, was very helpful in finding a tour guide. We connected with L&Yve’s Tours, phone +16644935031, visit Plymouth and many more. We enjoyed the tour with highly recommended guides.
Free Wifi in the harbour. Try to go during the week as museums and Volcano Observatory are closed not the weekend.
I can recommend the following Tour Guide – Joe Philips. His knowledge of the island and it’s history is extensive and he complements the tour with pictures and videos of the island both before and after the extensive volcano devastation. At the end of the tour he will email a link to some of the information that he has provided. His tours last 3-5 to 4 hours.Contact details are:
Joe Phillip
Box 432
Brades
Montserrat
West Indies
Phone: 1-(664)-492-1565
Email: joephillip@live.com
Marine VHF Channel 08: Avalon