Caribbean · The Virgin Islands
Line-of-sight islands and a calm channel: the first charter we recommend
Sixty islands inside a sheltered channel, every anchorage an hour from the next, a different beach bar every night. The BVI is where we send first-time charterers and most families, and a full week without repeating an anchorage. British and US together: the border is a formality on a yacht.
Where
The Virgin Islands, 80 nm west of St Maarten
Fly to
St Thomas (STT) direct from the US, or Tortola (EIS) via San Juan or Antigua
Best months
December to April
Give it
A full week on its own
Known for
The Baths, Anegada’s lobster, the Soggy Dollar, the Indians
Water
Flat inside the Sir Francis Drake Channel; the islands break the swell
Why go
The British Virgin Islands, honestly
The BVI works because of geography. Tortola, Virgin Gorda and a dozen smaller islands enclose the Sir Francis Drake Channel, so the water is flat, the next island is always in sight and no leg is more than an hour or two. It is the easiest cruising in the Caribbean, which is why it is where the whole bareboat industry started and why we send first-timers here.
Easy does not mean dull. The Baths on Virgin Gorda are granite boulders the size of houses with grottoes and pools between them. Anegada is a flat coral atoll ringed by reef where lobster is grilled on the beach. Norman Island has the Caves and the Indians, the best snorkelling in the group. Jost Van Dyke has the Soggy Dollar and Foxy’s, the beach bars that invented the genre.
We run it as a week from St Thomas, because the direct US flights land there, and clear into the BVI at Soper’s Hole on the first morning. Ten to fourteen nights adds St Barths and Anguilla at the far end, with one overnight passage between.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- Norman Island, the BightAnchorageTreasure Island, with the Caves and the Indians a tender ride away and the Willy T floating bar for those who want it.
- Cooper Island, Manchioneel BayMooringTurtles at Cistern Point, the rum bar and the microbrewery ashore. The easy day.
- Virgin Gorda, the North SoundAnchorage, overnightA lagoon ringed by islands. Saba Rock and the Bitter End for the night, the Baths an hour away for the morning.
- Anegada, Setting PointAnchorage, overnightInside the reef at the only coral island in the group. Lobster on the beach, book it before lunch.
- Jost Van Dyke, White BayAnchorageSwim ashore to the Soggy Dollar. Great Harbour round the corner for Foxy’s and a calmer night.
Ashore
The British Virgin Islands off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
Beach bars first, restaurants second. The lobster is the dish.
- Anegada lobster on the beachGrilled at the shacks on Setting Point at sunset. The best meal in the Virgins and the simplest.
CocoMaya, Virgin GordaBeachfront dinners at golden hour, the one dressed-up table in the group.
- Sugar Mill, TortolaDinner in a 350-year-old sugar mill above Apple Bay.
Drink and dance
The BVI invented the yacht beach bar.
- The Soggy DollarWhite Bay, Jost Van Dyke. Swim ashore, order a Painkiller where it was invented, and understand the name.
- Foxy’sGreat Harbour, Jost Van Dyke. Foxy himself still sings most nights.
- The Willy TA floating bar off Norman Island. People jump off the top deck. Optional.
- Saba RockA bar on an island the size of the bar, in the North Sound.
Do
The water is the point.
- The BathsGo at first light before the day boats: the boulders, the grottoes, the trail to Devil’s Bay.
- The Caves and the IndiansNorman Island’s snorkelling, four rock pinnacles with the best fish life in the islands.
Anegada’s reefHorseshoe Reef, Loblolly Bay and Cow Wreck Beach, and the flamingos in the salt ponds.
Where it sits
The British Virgin Islands on the chart
The Virgin Islands sit eighty miles west of St Maarten across the Anegada Passage, a day’s run or an overnight. They are a week of their own; add St Barths and Anguilla only on ten nights or more.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in The British Virgin Islands
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season. Steady trades, flat water in the channel, every bar open.
- Christmas and New Year: the busiest fortnight, but the BVI never feels crowded from a yacht.
- March and April: the BVI Spring Regatta and the quietest good weather of the year.
- May to November: hot, quiet, and the hurricane season from July. The fleet is in the Mediterranean.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at The British Virgin Islands
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
A week in the Virgin Islands
St John7 stopsSt Thomas
From St Thomas: St John's park, the Caves at Norman Island, the Baths, Anegada's lobster and the Soggy Dollar. The first charter we recommend to most families.
Open
St Barths then the Virgin Islands
St Barths8 stopsSt John
A weekend in St Barths and Anguilla's beach picnic, an overnight passage downwind, then a week in the Virgins. St Maarten to St Thomas.
OpenYachts
Yachts in the Caribbean now
The whole fleet works the Virgins in winter. Smaller boats fit the North Sound moorings; the big ones anchor outside.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
BARBARA
Oceanco · 89m · 2017
12 guests | 8 cabins | 27 crew
Price on request
LAURENTIA
Heesen · 55m · 2017
12 guests | 6 cabins | 13 crew
Price on request
SURINA
Trident · 45m · 2000, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$148k – 168k
NAILED IT
Viking Yachts · 25m · 2017, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$55k
LAUREL
Delta Marine · 73m · 2006, refit 2014
12 guests | 7 cabins | 24 crew
€525k
ADASTRA
Moonen · 37m · 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$168k – 182k
SLIPSTREAM
CMN · 60m · 2009
12 guests | 6 cabins | 15 crew
€350k – 455k
MUCHOS MAS
Crescent Yachts · 44m · 2016, refit 2025
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$198k – 238k
MAVERICK
Mangusta (Overmarine) · 50m · 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
US$295k – 320k
NORTH STAR
Sunrise Yachts · 63m · 2019, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 16 crew
€430k
Katana
Westport · 26m · 2012
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$48k – 54k
SIREN
Nobiskrug · 74m · 2008, refit 2018
12 guests | 6 cabins | 18 crew
€500k – 580k
REMEMBER WHEN
Christensen · 49m · 2011, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 10 crew
US$230k – 260k
AKULA
Baglietto · 52m · 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
US$325k – 350k
LES CINQ
Feadship · 76m · 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 21 crew
€825k – 930k
VICTORIA DEL MAR
Delta Marine · 50m · 2006, refit 2026
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
€245k – 270k
ILLUSION
Heesen · 65m · 2013, refit 2019
12 guests | 6 cabins | 15 crew
Price on request
HEMISPHERE
Pendennis · 44m · 2011, refit 2023
12 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
US$260k – 280k
MOUSEA
Sunseeker · 40m · 2016, refit 2026
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€169k – 187k
BATON ROUGE
Icon · 63m · 2010, refit 2026
12 guests | 7 cabins | 18 crew
€455k – 500k
OCULUS
Numarine · 37m · 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 7 crew
US$180k – 210k
SYNTHESIS
Amels · 74m · 2021, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 19 crew
US$830k – 930k
NEFESH
Lagoon · 23m · 2022
6 guests | 3 cabins | 4 crew
€49k – 69k
NORMA JEAN
Palmer Johnson · 46m · 2009, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$160k – 180k
SEA CLASS
Christensen · 47m · 1997, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 10 crew
US$190k – 230k
BLU
Breaux Bay · 38m · 1979, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$95k – 115k
CynderElla
Hargrave · 35m · 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$125k – 145k
JOY
Feadship · 70m · 2016
12 guests | 7 cabins | 19 crew
€650k – 780k
LA LA LAND
Sanlorenzo · 44m · 2023
12 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
€325k – 390k
AVALON
Delta Marine · 46m · 2009, refit 2024
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$185k – 230k
AS YOU WISH
Westport · 50m · 2011, refit 2026
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
US$252k – 277k
CARPE DIEM
Trinity Yachts · 58m · 2011, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
€294k – 375k
DEJA TOO
Amels · 52m · 2003, refit 2025
11 guests | 6 cabins | 13 crew
€259k – 280k
SYCARA V
Nobiskrug · 68m · 2010, refit 2024
12 guests | 7 cabins | 16 crew
US$650k
JODI ANN
Benetti · 43m · 2019, refit 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$199k – 228k
ODESSA
Christensen · 49m · 2009, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$250k – 275k
DIRT POOR
Trinity Yachts · 49m · 2007, refit 2026
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$195k – 225k
ATLAS
Lurssen · 74m · 2007, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 19 crew
US$950k
SPIRIT
Amels · 54m · 2011, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 14 crew
€295k – 325k
BATELLO
Oceanco · 80m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 9 cabins | 26 crew
€735k – 850k
TITANIA
Lurssen · 73m · 2006, refit 2018
12 guests | 7 cabins | 21 crew
€660k – 760k
ARTHURS WAY
Benetti · 44m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$150k – 165k
SEVEN SINS
Sanlorenzo · 52m · 2017
10 guests | 5 cabins | 11 crew
US$300k – 315k
HOLDIN' MY OWN
Turquoise · 55m · 2011, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 13 crew
€350k – 390k
AWAY
Sanlorenzo · 37m · 2009, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$120k – 145k
ALTA
Palmer Johnson · 44m · 2004, refit 2024
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€185k – 220k
KOJU
Benetti · 37m · 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$160k – 175k
48 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
The British Virgin Islands, answered
Common questions
Why do you recommend the BVI for a first charter?
Flat water, short legs and islands always in sight. Nobody is seasick, nobody is bored, and a different beach bar every night keeps a mixed group happy. A week here is the gentlest introduction to a yacht there is.
Where do we fly into for the BVI?
St Thomas, with direct flights from across the US, then an hour by yacht to the BVI border at Soper’s Hole. Tortola’s own airport is reached via San Juan or Antigua. The crew handle clearing in and out.
Can we combine the BVI with St Barths?
Yes, on ten nights or more. We start in St Maarten, take St Barths over a weekend and Anguilla for the beach picnic, then make the eighty-mile passage west overnight and wake up in Virgin Gorda with a week ahead.
Is the BVI crowded?
More boats than anywhere else in the Caribbean, mostly small bareboats, and still never crowded from a superyacht. Anchor off the mooring fields and the beach is yours by evening.
Want The British Virgin Islands in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.