Anguilla: Dune Preserve (April 2016)

My spouse and I visited Bankie Banx Dune Preserve in Rendezvous Bay on two occasions during our 4-night stay next door at Cuisinart in late April 2016. We visited one time for drinks in the late afternoon (when we were the only customers present), and we visited a second time on a Friday night when live music was offered. On that evening, the Dune Preserve requested a $20 per person cover charge, and we wondered whether the cost would be worth it. We decided that “we only live once” and that had we not been staying just next door, we probably would have made a drive to the Dune Preserve because we had heard and read so much about this Anguilla institution. (CNN once voted the Dune Preserve the #1 beach bar in the world!) The crowd was small that evening when a 4-member band was playing, perhaps 20 guests maximum, but everyone seemed to have a good time. Bankie Banx himself joined the group for a few songs, and we were amazed at his great voice projecting from his tall, thin frame.

The Dune Preserve consists of various rustic structures cobbled together from whatever flotsam and jetsam has washed up on shore over the years, such as driftwood and pieces of old boats. The location offers plenty of complimentary parking, which must fill to capacity when the annual Moonsplash reggae music festival occurs (the “party” occurred just days before we visited). Part of the Dune Preserve property contains a large stage and some low bleacher seating. Moonsplash, which began in 1991, is the longest-running independent music festival in the Caribbean, when musicians perform from dawn to dusk for three straight days.

“The Dune” is certainly something to see if you are in the area!



















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