British Virgin Islands
Short, protected hops between forty-odd islands — granite grottoes, beach-bar legends and reliable trade winds all winter.
December – April · Nearest jet: EIS, Tortola · The vibe: easy-hop
The BVI is where modern yacht chartering was born — a tight archipelago of green peaks and reef-fringed cays where every anchorage is a short, sheltered hop from the last. The Baths' granite boulders, Jost Van Dyke's beach bars and Anegada's flat coral reef give a week here more variety per mile than almost anywhere in the Caribbean.
"You can see the next island from the last one. That's the whole trick of the BVI."
The islands, in seven frames
The Baths, Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island's Treasure Point and the flat coral horizon of Anegada.
The destination. Nearby lies Norman Island — profiled in full on our sister site, privateisland.pro.
Signature anchorages
Deep, protected water throughout — the whole chain is line-of-sight sailing between islands.
- The Bight, Norman IslandDeep, wide and well-protected at the archipelago's south end — one of the Caribbean's most storied careenage sites (once used to beach and clean a ship's hull). Home to the Willy T floating bar and the Treasure Point sea caves.
- The Baths, Virgin GordaNational Park mooring balls off the beach and at Devil's Bay — anchoring prohibited, water very deep close to the granite boulders. The BVI's single most-photographed anchorage.
- White Bay, Jost Van DykeOpen, shallow roadstead (an unsheltered anchorage, not an enclosed bay) facing a half-mile beach; moderate shelter, the busiest bar-hop anchorage in the islands.
- Great Harbour, Jost Van DykeWell-sheltered village harbour in front of Foxy's Tamarind Bar, the bar credited with founding BVI charter yachting.
- Setting Point, AnegadaShallow, 6-8ft over sand, inside the 18-mile Horseshoe Reef. Anchoring on the reef itself is illegal — use the moorings, and mind the draft.
- Manchioneel Bay, Cooper IslandThirty first-come Moor-SeaCure mooring balls off an eco-run beach club — a quieter stop between Virgin Gorda and Tortola.
The scene
Beach bars that built an industry, a private-island empire next door, and a regatta week that fills every mooring in the chain.
Willy T
The Bight, Norman Island. A bar-restaurant afloat since 1989, rebuilt and returned to its original mooring in 2019 after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Lunch, dinner, and a jump off the top deck.
Soggy Dollar Bar
White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. Birthplace of the Painkiller in the 1970s — named for the soaked dollar bills of sailors who swam ashore before the bar had a dock.
Foxy's Tamarind Bar
Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke. Founded by Philicianno "Foxy" Callwood MBE — widely credited as the birthplace of BVI yacht-charter tourism.
BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival
Nanny Cay, Tortola. 2026 edition March 23-29, its 53rd running — Scrub Island and Round Tortola races, three days of racing, nightly Regatta Village entertainment.
Necker & Moskito
North of Virgin Gorda. Sir Richard Branson has owned Necker Island since 1979; neighbouring Moskito is a short boat ride away. North Sound offers safe mooring nearby.
Table & stay ashore
Nova, Oil Nut Bay
The marina village's signature table on Virgin Gorda's eastern tip — dockmaster concierge service laid on for arriving yachts.
Cooper Island Beach Club
Manchioneel Bay. Over 400 rums, an eco-run beach club, and one of the chain's best first-night stops off the water.
Rosewood Little Dix Bay
Virgin Gorda. A former Laurance Rockefeller eco-retreat that joined Rosewood in 1993, on a white-sand crescent that once hosted Queen Elizabeth II.
Necker Island
Virgin Limited Edition. Richard Branson's fully private island, whole-island buyouts to roughly 56 guests, boat or helicopter access only.
A week, sketched
Short hops from Road Town and Nanny Cay, the territory's superyacht hub on Tortola.
Road Town/Nanny Cay to Norman Island
Provision and depart Tortola; anchor in The Bight for an evening at the Willy T and a snorkel at the Treasure Point caves.
The Baths, Virgin Gorda
Cruise north to Spanish Town; pick up a National Park mooring and spend the morning threading the granite grottoes between Spring Bay and Devil's Bay.
North Sound & Oil Nut Bay
Round to North Sound for Oil Nut Bay's marina village and a look across to Necker and Moskito islands.
Anegada
Make the run north to the flat coral island; mooring off Setting Point, lobster ashore, and a look at the Horseshoe Reef.
Cooper Island
Head south to Manchioneel Bay for a quieter night on a Moor-SeaCure mooring and dinner at the Rum Bar.
Jost Van Dyke — White Bay
Cross to White Bay for a beach day and sundowners at the Soggy Dollar Bar.
Great Harbour & return
Morning at Foxy's in Great Harbour, then the short hop back to Road Town/Nanny Cay to close the loop.
The close-in loop
The nearest anchorages only, each within a short hop of Road Town, for a charter without the run to Anegada.
Norman Island
Depart Road Town or Nanny Cay for The Bight, the archipelago's south-end anchorage; a first night at the Willy T floating bar, snorkel gear ready for the Treasure Point sea caves.
The Baths, Virgin Gorda
North to Spanish Town; a National Park mooring off the beach, no anchoring permitted, for an unhurried look at the granite boulders between Spring Bay and Devil's Bay.
Cooper Island
A short, easy hop to Manchioneel Bay; pick up a first-come Moor-SeaCure mooring off the eco-run beach club and work through the Rum Bar's four-hundred-odd list.
Jost Van Dyke
Round to White Bay for the beach and the Soggy Dollar by day, then the short move into Great Harbour for Foxy's Tamarind Bar by night.
Return to Road Town / Nanny Cay
Retrace the short hop back to Tortola to close the loop and disembark.
The bar-hop expedition
Every named anchorage in the chain, at a slower pace — worth timing against the Spring Regatta at Nanny Cay if the dates allow.
Norman Island
Depart Road Town or Nanny Cay for The Bight, one of the Caribbean's most storied careenage sites; the Willy T afloat since 1989, and the Treasure Point caves to snorkel before dark.
The Baths, Virgin Gorda
A National Park mooring off Spring Bay or Devil's Bay, no anchoring permitted; the water runs deep right up against the granite boulders that make this the archipelago's most photographed stop.
North Sound & Oil Nut Bay
Round to North Sound for the marina village at Oil Nut Bay, dinner at Nova, and a look across the water to Necker and Moskito.
Anegada
North to the flat coral island; a mooring off Setting Point inside the 18-mile Horseshoe Reef, shallow at 6-8ft over sand — anchoring on the reef itself is illegal, so mind the draft on the approach — then lobster ashore.
Cooper Island
South to Manchioneel Bay for a first-come Moor-SeaCure mooring and an evening working through the Rum Bar's four-hundred-plus list.
Jost Van Dyke — Great Harbour
Into the well-sheltered village harbour for Foxy's Tamarind Bar, the room widely credited with founding BVI charter yachting.
Jost Van Dyke — White Bay
Round the point to the open roadstead at White Bay for a beach day and the Painkiller at its birthplace, the Soggy Dollar Bar.
Return to Road Town / Nanny Cay
The short hop back to Tortola to close the loop — Nanny Cay's dedicated 180ft superyacht marina, due late 2026, will shorten the walk ashore.
Pair with
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Sea °C | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
| Wind, peak kt | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
Read on: WAKE — the magazine · the guides · the glossary