I’m calling this post “First Trip to British Virgin Islands” because I know we’ll be back. That’s how much we loved it. I’m sharing this 7 day BVI itinerary to help others plan their next trip, including where to stay, how to get to BVI, how to island hop on the ferries, fun things to do and lots of photos.
Many visitors charter a boat when they visit BVI but this post is focused on actually staying on the islands because that’s what we did.
We visited St John in the US Virgin Islands several years ago, and loved it, but we wanted to see more of the islands and decided to stay in BVI the entire time so that we wouldn’t have to deal with customs and additional fees by making multiple trips between USVI & BVI.
We decided to split up our trip to the British Virgin Islands by staying the first 3 nights in Tortola, an ideal base for day trips to other islands, and 4 nights in Jost Van Dyke to hang out at beach bars and just chill on the beautiful White Bay beach.
Getting To BVI
There’s three primary ways to reach BVI from the U.S.
1) Fly to St. Thomas (STT) on USVI and take the ferry to BVI. This is what we did. This is usually the most affordable option with the most scheduled flights.
2) Fly directly to Tortola (Beef Island, EIS) from Miami on American Airlines. This is the best option if you can find an affordable flight and the limited number of flights works with your schedule.
3) Fly to Puerto Rico, then transfer to a smaller plane on Silver Airways and fly to Beef Island, Tortola. Might be more cost effective than flying directly to Tortola but higher chance of issues in connecting flight in PR.
Virgin Islands Ferry Schedules
It’s important to plan your vacation around the ferry schedule. The best resource I’ve found for ferry schedules to, from and within BVI is on the BVI Tourism website.
I’m not going to post the ferry times, because they’re subject to change, and you should refer to the BVI Yourism website, but here is a summary of your options:
Between USVI and BVI
- Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas (Edward Wilmoth Blyden IV Marine Terminal, near airport) to/from Road Town, Tortola – Daily – Smith’s, Native Son or Road Town Fast Ferry (Operator varies by time & day)
- Red Hook, St Thomas (40 minutes from airport) to/from West End, Tortola – Daily – Aquatic Rentals Ferry Service
- There are also very limited schedule ferries from St. Thomas directly to Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, but they don’t run every day, so if that doesn’t work with your schedule, you’ll have to connect in Tortola. Connect in West End for JVD or in Road Town for VG.
- There’s also a ferry from Cruz Bay, St John to Jost Van Dyke, but it only operates on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday, departing Cruz Bay at 8:00am and departing JVD at 3:30pm. Inter Island Boat Services
Within BVI
- West End, Tortola — Jost Van Dyke – Daily – New Horizons Ferry
- Road Town, Tortola — Virgin Gorda – Daily except Sunday – Speedy’s
- Beef Island, Tortola — Virgin Gorda – Daily – Speedy’s
- Road Town, Tortola — Virgin Gorda — Anegada – MWF – Smith’s
- Hannah Bay, Tortola — Norman Island – Daily – Pirate’s Bight
You also have the option of hiring water taxis but I found that to be way too expensive. This might be a reasonable option for a big group though.
Places To Stay in BVI
There are a good number of hotels and home rentals in Tortola and Virgin Gorda, ranging from very basic and inexpensive to lavish luxury and “OMG is that per night?!”. There are far fewer lodging options on the other islands.
In Tortola, we rented a house on AirBnb, “The Cooten House”, with incredible views and privacy. It was in a remote location on the east-end, but still only a 15 minute drive to Road Town, and we had this view to ourselves!
Another good option in Tortola is the Cane Garden Bay Beach Hotel. I haven’t been inside but this was our favorite beach on Tortola and its located right by the beach. There’s also the Wyndham Lambert Bay Beach Resort that we had considered, located in the same east-end region where we stayed, but right on a beach with a pool, spa and restaurant.
In Jost Van Dyke, we rented a villa at White Bay Villas & Beach Club, overlooking the beautiful white bay beach. There aren’t many other options on JVD, but you can stay directly by the beach at Sandcastle (Soggy Dollar) or at Ivan’s.
We didn’t stay on Virgin Gorda, just a day trip to The Baths, but we would love to on another trip! Mango Bay Resort and Leverick Bay Resort look nice, or to really splurge there’s the incredible Oil Nut Bay or Saba Rock.
Speaking of splurging, Scrub Island Resort, located near Tortola’s beef island, looks like an incredible place to stay as well!
Our 7 Day BVI Itinerary
Day 1 – Travel
We took an incredibly early 5:30am flight out of Bangor, Maine to Philadelphia, then onward to St Thomas, arriving at around 1:30pm. A quick shared cab ride dropped us off at the Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal where we waited for the 4:00pm ferry to Road Town, Tortola.
The ferry was bouncing over some big waves going around St Thomas but calmed down once we got past the east end of Tortola. If you’re concerned about getting seasick, take the shorter ferry from Red Hook, although the longer cab ride to that ferry terminal won’t be enjoyable either.
After a 45 minute ferry ride we arrived in Road Town and picked up our rental car from Paradise Jeep Rental right outside the ferry terminal, picked up some groceries and settled into our AirBnb, The Cooten House.
This AirBnb had the most amazing view. It’s located up in the hills, so it gets wonderful tradewinds that keep the temperatures cool and allowed us to keep the doors and windows open and not get too hot.
Day 2 – Catamaran Snorkeling Excursion
I woke up early and enjoyed a coffee and breakfast, put on some laid back reggae and took in the incredible view from the balcony.
On our first full day, we had a snorkeling excursion booked through Aristocrat Day Sails. There aren’t as many shared boat trips on BVI compared to USVI, because most people book private chartered boats on BVI.
The thing about shared trips is if the operator doesn’t have enough people booked for the day, they will cancel. I didn’t want to take that risk, so I reached out Aristocrat Day Sails and booked a day when they already had enough people.
The trip was awesome! Nice boat, great crew, not too many people on board, delicious lunch and unlimited beer, wine and cocktails!
We anchored for snorkeling at a few spots off of Norman Island, including the caves, and at Pirate’s Bight. I didn’t realize it then but you can take a ferry from Tortola to Pirate’s Bight and enjoy that resort’s beach for the day. It’s a gorgeous spot and we saw sea turtles here!
Day 3 – The Baths on Virgin Gorda
The Baths have been on my list of places to see for some time now, ever since I first saw this beach surrounded by giant boulders.
Getting there from Tortola was really easy. Speedy’s offers a package for $40/person that includes round-trip ferry and taxi between the ferry terminal and The Baths / Devil’s Bay National Park.
We took the 10:40am ferry from Road Town and returned on the 3:30pm ferry from Virgin Gorda. I think that was a good amount of time to have lunch, lay at the beach and snorkel at Devil’s Bay, and walk through the caves. Even more time would be great because it’s one of the most gorgeous beaches I’ve seen and I loved the restaurant & pool at Top of the Baths.
The beautiful beaches were more of a highlight for me than actually going through the caves. They’re cool and all, but the tight spaces make it hard for a tall inflexible person to navigate. I think kids would love it.
For me, at this stage in life I’m more excited about the frozen drinks at the restaurant, swimming in the ocean and laying under the free shade umbrellas on the beach.
Day 4 – Cane Garden Bay Beach
On our last on Tortola, we wanted to hit some beaches before taking the 4pm ferry from the West End to Jost Van Dyke where we would be staying the next 4 nights.
We stayed off with a quick visit to Brewers Bay Beach. It has some decent snorkeling there and it’s quiet. Very chill.
Next was Cane Garden Bay Beach, WAY busier but we loved it!
Several bars and restaurants along the beach, gorgeous water and sand, jet ski rentals, etc. This was most bustling place we had seen so far.
We planned on checking out the beach at Smugglers Cove, another one of Tortola’s best, but we were too content at Cane Garden Bay to leave until it was time to drive to the west end to catch a quick ferry to Jost Van Dyke.
Days 5, 6, 7 – Jost Van Dyke
The next 3 days of our BVI itinerary were all about enjoying the famous White Bay beach and going to the many beach bars and restaurants on Jost Van Dyke.
The vibe and overall experience on JVD was everything we hoped it would be. Laid back beach bars, terrific restaurants, friendly people, and a lot of fun!
White Bay Villas, where we stayed, was beautiful as well, with great views and a convenient location just a short drive or brutal walk (b/c of the hills!) to either White Bay or Great Harbour.
We rented a little two-door jeep here and I’m so glad we did because even though the island is small, it’s nice to be able to get around without taxis. There were plenty of taxis available though if you prefer to not rent a vehicle.
Great Harbour, where the ferry terminal is located, is lined with several restaurants. Tipsy Shark was our favorite for its food and outdoor seating by the beach and Foxy’s has the liveliest environment.
Rudy’s, a small grocery store, is located here as well, but try to buy your groceries in St Thomas or Tortola because it will be a lot less expensive and offer a greater selection. At White Bay Villas, they offer a service where you can order groceries online and they’ll pick them up in Tortola and be waiting for you in your villa.
White Bay Beach is of course the highlight of Jost Van Dyke. White, soft sand, gatorade water and lots of boats with people swimming to shore.
On one end of the beach is the quieter section, with some villas, Alice’s Restaurant (the beach club for guests at White Bay Villas) and Ivan’s Stress Free Bar, which was our favorite beach bar of them all.
Don’t miss Ivan’s BBQ on Wednesday nights! The food was incredible! It’s a buffet of BBQ chicken, ribs, fish and sides by the beach, followed by dancing.
On the other end of the beach, separated by a rocky section with a path, is Soggy Dollar Bar, famous for their painkiller drinks, as well as Gertrude’s, Coco Loco, and Hendo’s. There’s more boats on this side and it’s a lively environment but plenty of space to spread out and relax on the beach chairs.
One afternoon we checked out the eastern end of the island – Diamond Cay, Foxy’s Taboo and the Bubbly Pool, near Little Jost Van Dyke.
Sandy Split is near here, the tiny island featured in a Corona commercial. You can see it from shore but you’ll need a boat to get there.
The seas were calm on the day we visited so the Bubbly Pool was really mild, with only small waves filling the natural pool. I hear that on other days it can get wild, and dangerous too, when there are bigger waves.
There’s some decent snorkeling around Diamond Cay as well, and a sand bar with lots of shells in the area. We had lunch at Foxy’s Taboo – a chill restaurant by the dock where sailors pull up in their dinghys.
Final Thoughts
To wrap it up … I don’t think I would change anything about our trip! It was the perfect combination of relaxation and excitement and we came home feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after being on the islands.
We would love to go again and maybe stay on Virgin Gorda this time so that we can see more of that island and maybe go to Anegada too. We would love to go to St. John again as well because you can’t beat the snorkeling there.
Anyhow, highlights of the trip were the catamaran excursion around Norman Islands, the beach at The Baths, Cane Garden Bay in Tortola and hanging out at White Bay on JVD.
If you’re stopping in Tortola on a cruise, get out of Road Town. That was the least impressive place we visited on Tortola. My suggestion is to either take a taxi to Cane Garden Bay to enjoy the beach, go to The Baths on Virgin Gorda, or join a shared charter for the day and visit the smaller islands around Tortola.
Here are the shared charter companies I’ve heard good things about:
If you’re planning a trip to the British Virgin Islands, I hope this blog post was helpful and I’m sure you’ll enjoy your trip!