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It's so easy to rent a boat or charter a yacht in Belize with Yachtious. Book Now!
It's so easy to rent a boat or charter a yacht in Belize with Yachtious. Book Now!
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
DISCOVER THE SAILING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
The British Virgin Islands is one of the most sought-after cruising destinations in the world that offers tremendous cruising diversity in a compact space.
The island offers one of the world's most incredible crystal clear warm waters teeming with beautiful reefs and tropical fish, and stretches of deserted sugar sand beaches for miles. This sunny oasis sits beautifully to the North of the Caribbean Sea and the east of both Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. They are part of the Leeward Island chain.
The 58 square miles (150 square km) of British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays to form a unique and diverse archipelago. Tortola is the most developed and the largest island. It is the hub of this chain of islands and is also where the BVI capital city, Road Town, is located. Most charters will start and end here.
Since most of the fifty islands that make up the BVI are inaccessible except by water, the main action on the BVI is off the island. Cruising a private yacht is an ideal way to explore this gorgeous archipelago. The best part of these islands is the short passages between them, from as little as half an hour and rarely more than three hours. The island’s comfortable anchorings and moorings along with its proximity to the United States with English speaking community also make BVI appealing to cruisers.
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BEST TIMES TO VISIT BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Your best chance to charter a yacht to the British Virgin Islands is between September and November once hurricane season has mostly passed and before the throngs of tourists descend upon the place for winter vacations. As the BVI can be notoriously pricey, the room rates during this time are the lowest.
Winter, during mid-December to mid-April is the priciest for hotels, but packages and resort rates are often lower in January since the tourist rate drops off right after Christmas. February by far is the busiest month of all. If you’re planning a yacht charter to BVI during this time, make your reservations as far in advance as you can to avoid disappointment. If you love diving, come in winter or spring as summer doesn’t offer much visibility. Sailing the seas is the best during March, particularly because of the BVI Spring Regatta.
Traveling to BVI during the off-season from mid-April to mid-December holds many advantages. Hotel rates get as low as 50% less, plus there are far fewer crowds to share pools, beaches, restaurants, resorts, and shops with. St. Thomas and St. Croix have a much slower pace during this time and it’s perfect for those who charter a yacht because you’ll have a better chance to enjoy the local culture and sample the cuisine.
The downside of coming to BVI during this time is that many of the hotels use these quieter months to renovate their properties. There are also more closures during slow business times, so you should always check when booking to ensure your satisfaction. For solo travelers to BVI during the off-season, you may feel lonely without the crowds. The social scene is wild from mid-December to mid-April. If you crave solitude and don’t care about making new friends when you are aboard your yacht charter, come in summer.
QUICK FACTS
BEST FOR CRUISING: DECEMBER TO APRIL
TIME ZONE: GMT−04:00
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
CURRENCY: UNITED STATES DOLLAR
REASONS TO VISIT
BEACHES
COCKTAILS
DIVING AND SNORKELING
EVENTS
ISLAND HOPPING
ROMANTIC GETAWAYS
THE BATHS
WATER SPORTS
EXPLORE OTHER CHARTER AREAS WITHIN THE CARIBBEAN
GETTING TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
From the USA, Canada, South America, or Europe, there are no direct flights to BVI’s main airport, Terrence B. Lettsome Airport (EIS) on Beef Island, Tortola. You must connect through another Caribbean airport like the ones in Puerto Rico, Antigua, St. Thomas, or St. Maarten. A travel agent can be most helpful and even international airlines can make it easy to book your flights. If you’d prefer to do it yourself, you’ll need to make sure your flight requests are to Tortola (EIS).
For those heading onward to Virgin Gorda (VIJ), Peter Island, Anegada, or Jost van Dyke, you should check with your place of accommodation to be sure the charter flight or ferry service will be available should you arrive beyond 4pm. Other additional major airports are Auguste George Airport, Anegada (NGD) and Taddy Bay Airport, Virgin Gorda (VIJ). You can get regular service coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) that goes to Virgin Gorda (VIJ) through Cape Air. Additionally, VI Airlink features commercial and charter flights coming out of Beef Island, Tortola to Anegada (NGD). Most charters also have service to Anegada.
Your most direct flight from North America to BVI is through San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU). Cape Air, Seaborne, and interCaribbean Airways offer the most frequent connections, though you can occasionally find serve by other major airlines and charter flights. You can arrange charter airline service from almost any other place in the Caribbean.
You can also rent a private jet and enjoy the freedom of choice, total comfort and flexible terms for your travel.
Always bear in mind that the airline industry is a fluid one and the services detailed here may change, sometimes from month to month. Please do not rely solely on this information for your travel plans. To keep an eye out for any new flights and to search for excellent flight deals, a website such as Tripadvisor can be a handy resource.
WHERE TO STAY IN BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Gorgeous resorts, villas, and cottages abound but you’ll also find campgrounds and marinas to tether your yacht charter and explore your own private island. Hospitable culture and traditional styling can make your Caribbean vacation all the more extraordinary. It’s the ideal place to set sail on your yacht charter, exploring over 60 stunning islands. Staying on the yacht is wonderful, but it is lovely to hop off for a spell and indulge in the charming, friendly culture here. Beach-side resorts will pamper you to perfection, making the BVI the ideal vacation destination both from your yacht charter and from your perch on the shore of these glorious islands.
WINING AND DINING IN BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Like other Caribbean destinations, you’ll find the cuisine here full of johnnycakes, peas and rice, fish including salted fish, mutton, and goat. You’ll also find sweet potatoes, tania, plantains, and plenty of soups that have seemingly normal ingredients like fish and then others with more unusual offerings like goat head or bullfoot. The seasonings are brilliant and dumplings often come with your soup.
Plenty of outstanding restaurants are available with local and international foods. The food is mostly imported but local island tastes are available. Outside the hotels, you can find places to eat on Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Jon Van Dyke. Seafood, particularly lobster like the Anegada lobster, are not to be missed. Fish chowder and conch stew are amazing, and if you love seafood, don’t miss snapper, whelks, mussel pie or shark. Roti is also available, a nod to the Indian culture and filled with meats or vegetables. Even if you hate mushrooms, don’t be put off by fungi here. It has no mushrooms in it. It’s a lovely cornmeal and okra mixture you’ll usually be served with seafood and is similar to Italian polenta.
Callaloo is a soup of west Indian origin that is popular everywhere in the Caribbean, especially in BVI. It usually contains okra, chilies, eggplant, potatoes, dasheen, onions, lobster, crab, and ham. Plenty of other stuff gets added too and everyone makes it differently, though no less deliciously.
Be sure to try local fruits like mango, papaya, soursop, guava, pineapple, tamarind, sugar apple, and passion fruit. And don’t miss jerk chicken, pate which is a baked or grilled spiced meat dish stuffed into pita, two of the most popular BVI dishes.
