The Easiest Cruising Ground in the Caribbean.
Line-of-sight sailing, mooring fields everywhere worth stopping, customs you clear in a morning.
Overview
The BVI is where every first-time bareboat charterer in the Western Hemisphere ends up. The reasons are good ones: short hops between islands, mooring fields rather than anchorages, predictable trade winds, customs that clear in a morning, and inventory deep enough that you can almost always get the boat you want. The drawback is the popularity — The Bight at Norman Island will have forty boats in it by 4pm in February. We plan around that.
What's hard: it's crowded in season. Mooring fields fill by mid-afternoon at the headliner anchorages. Charter rates are at the higher end of our launch destinations.
Best for first-time bareboat charterers, sailors who want short hops and shore-side stops every night, and charterers traveling with people new to sailing.
Quick Facts
- Best months
- December – May. Hurricane season June–November; we don't book there.
- Sailing conditions
- Trades 15–22 knots from the E most of winter.
- Water temperature
- 76–82°F seasonal range.
- Typical trip length
- 7-day most-booked.
- Cruising character
- Mooring-heavy, short hops, line-of-sight sailing. The most beginner-friendly Caribbean.
- Customs
- Charter base handles clearance. Bring passport.
- Currency
- US Dollar.
Sample Itineraries
All depart and return from the charter base. Distances are approximate nautical miles.
7-Day Classic
- Day 1 — Tortola → Norman Island. ~6nm S. Pick up a mooring in The Bight by mid-afternoon (they fill). Snorkel the Indians and the Caves at sunset.
- Day 2 — Norman → Cooper Island. ~5nm E. Mooring at Manchioneel Bay. Cooper Island Beach Club for dinner; the rum bar has over 280 rums.
- Day 3 — Cooper → Virgin Gorda (The Baths). ~6nm N. Mooring at The Baths or Devil's Bay. Snorkel through the granite-boulder formations early morning before day-trippers arrive.
- Day 4 — Virgin Gorda → North Sound. ~8nm NE. Bitter End or Saba Rock.
- Day 5 — North Sound → Anegada. ~14nm N. The flat coral atoll, completely different cruising character. Lobster at Anegada Beach Club or Cow Wreck.
- Day 6 — Anegada → Jost Van Dyke (White Bay). ~25nm SW. The Soggy Dollar Bar for the Painkiller — where they were invented.
- Day 7 — Jost Van Dyke → Tortola. ~5nm S. Easy return.
Available Yachts in British Virgin Islands
Fleet
No published boats for British Virgin Islands yet
We’re writing up the British Virgin Islands fleet from Dream Yacht Charter and Navigare Yachting. Boats appear here once they’re published — not before. The destination guide is the real resource until then. If you’re planning dates, send an inquiry and we’ll match you from what’s actually available.
Anchorages Worth Planning Around
The Indians
West of Norman Island.
Getting There
Similar Destinations
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