Travel Guide
– CHARTER VIRGIN ISLANDS –
The Virgin Islands are the sailing captital of the Caribbean.
Lot´s of different islands in short sailing distance, protected against strong winds and waves –
the best for experienced sailors as well as for beginners.
This is your special trip, and you are able to pick where you want to go.
We will work with you to design your itinerary to fit all the wonderful places to see!
Best Spots
– SAMPLE ITINARARY –
Day 1: St Thomas, St John
We start our sailing adventure in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. After the security briefing we set sail to Honeymoon Bay in St. John, USVI. for an afternoon of exploring and gorgeous views. Jump in the crystal clear water before your fist gourmet dinner is served.
Day 2: West End Tortola, Norman Island
After breakfast we head to West End Tortola and enter the BVI. West End or Sopers Hole offers shops and a very local experience of the Islands. After the Captain finishes the immigration process we sail to Norman Island. This island intended to inspire Robert Louis Stevenson to the novel “Treasure Island”. We stop for snorkeling at The caves. Our anchorage for the night is eather at the unspoiled Treasure Point or in the Bight. Ashor you have the possibility for a great hike and/or visiting the famous Pirat´s Bar Beachclub.
Day 3: The Indians, Cooper Island, Trunk Bay
After a gourmet breakfast, we depart to the Indians, the most famous snorkeling spot in the BVI with colorful corals, fish, turtles,…Later we set sail to Cooper Island. Cooper Island has a beautiful beach and a new restaurant/beachbar with it´s own brewery. After serving lunch you can snorkel, this is one of the best places to view sea turtles and spotted eagle rays. In the afternoon we head to Trunk Bay on Virgin Gorda. For us this is the most beautiful beach in the VI. Explore the amazing scenery while we prepare cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a delicious dinner. For divers that booked a rendezvous dive this day is the best opportunity to dive the famous wreck Rhone.
Day 4: The Bath, Long Bay
After a delicious breakfast, you will explore the incredible The Baths with it´s huge, house-sized boulders literally piled on top of each other. There are several paths through the boulders that lead to Devil’s Bay, one of the most beautiful bays in the British Virgin Islands. At the restaurant Top of The Baths, you can have an enjoyable lunch or a cocktail with an excellent view and a pool. In the afternoon we set sail to Long Bay, a beautiful bay with great snorkel spots, the sunken wreck Kodiak and a perfect place for watersports like tubing, wakeboarding or sub winging. Relax and enjoy your gourmet dinner in this wonderful scenery.
Day 5: The Dogs, Gorda Sound, Anegada
After breakfast and yoga, we depart to The Dogs for an amazing snorkel stop as the life on the reef is surreal. Later we depart to the Gorda Sound and stop at Necker Island or Mosquito island. Explore the beaches and enjoy the water. After lunch is served we set sail to Anegada. Anegada is famous for its lobster so go ashore for a local dinner or enjoy Daniela´s awardwinning lobster dinner on board.
Day 6: Anegada
Today you will explore the amazing Island Anegada. You can book a tour or rent a private driver or scooters. This island seems surreal with it´s powder beaches, wild orchids, cati and even pink flamingos. It is very secluded but also popular for its colorful beachbars. Cocktails, great wines and dinner is served when you come back on board.
Day 7: Sandy Cay, Jost van Dyke, Cruiz Bay
After yoga and breakfast we sail to Sandy Cay a white, sandy, deserted island. After snorkeling, swimming and exploring the beach it is just a short hop till we reach White Bay on Jost von Dyke with the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. Enjoy the beach bars and have some Painkillers on the beach as well as on board. After a great lunch we heard to Cruiz Bay St John, USVI. Have a great afternoon swim and stroll through the nice shops and bars of this amazing village before your dinner is served on board.
Day 8: St Thomas
After the last breakfast, we set sail for St. Thomas. Now it´s time to say good bye but there’s always next year. We will assist in disembarking Shangri La and hope you had a wonderful vacation.
Points of Interest
TORTOLA
ROAD TOWN
Tortola is the major island of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) with its capital Road Town. It is worth seeing the Main Street with famous Colonial style houses and numerous of bars and shops where local products like spices, jams, rum, soups, handcrafted jewelry, Caribbean cloths and local art is offered. A visit of the famous rum factory Pusser´s is compulsory. Restaurants and bars offer local specialties like lobster, goatcurry, roti or jonny cake. Close to the town you can visit the ruins of an ancient fort (Fort Burt) and the botanical garden J.R. O’Neal.
TORTOLA
CANE GARDEN BAY
The scenic Cane Garden Bay is located on the west coast of Tortola, a half moon-shaped white sandy beach in front of a background of swaying palm trees.
Caribbean par excellence – swimming, snorkeling, relaxing.. or get a rumpunch in one of the beach bars with lifeband directly on the beach like Myett’s Garden Inn and Grille. Callwood’s Rum Distillery is also located at Cane Garden Bay; if you would like to do some exploring in the oldest Rum Distillery on the islands. That all comes with luxury charter BVI.
The small island Marina Cay is located north east of Tortola and is embedded between three bigger islands – Great Camanoe, Scrub Island and Beef Island. Marina Cay itself is famous for its colorful gas station, it has a nice beach with cozy straw umbrellas and a lovely restaurant. Climbing up the hill of the island, you will have a fabulous 360° view. Marina Cay´s reef is a perfect spot for snorkeling, nice lobsters have been seen here. The next island, Scrub island with its fabulous luxury resort, where you are welcome to visit the spa.
One of the highlight with luxury charter BVIs is located on the southern peak of Virgin Gorda – the world famous rocks of „The Baths”. Huge, rounded rocks are piled up as if by magic. An adventurous hike leads you through narrow tunnels, natural pools and grottos to the Devils Bay. In front of the rock formations you can also find incredible snorkel spots. At The Baths we anchor just for the day and in the evening we sail to Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda, the second largest town of the BVI. Here you find cute shopping facilities as well as a luxury restaurant with open fire places located directly on the beach.
In the north of Virgin Gorda a beautiful lagoon is located, named Gorda Sound or North Sound. Together with the islands of Mosquito island and Prickly Pear this is a perfect protected hideaway with endless attractions to spend several days there. Sailing boats as well as huge luxury yachts are moored around Leverick Bay, Gun Creek, Vixen Point, John O’Point, Saba Rock and Biras Creek, where we find numerous white beaches and calm anchorages.
JOST VAN DYKE
SANDY SPIT – SANDY CAY
2 small islands – Robinsonfeeling included white sand, palm trees, crystal clear water!A breathtaking beach and a great stop on our way to Jost van Dyke.Swim over and conguest your own island.
The island Jost van Dyke owes its name to the famous Dutch pirate.
Great Harbour is famous for Foxy’s Tamarind Bar, visited regularly by many celebrities. Foxy himself is a legend, in spite of his age he is still playing guitar for his audience.
Jost van Dyke is also known for the White Bay, where the world famous Soggy Dollar Bar is located. At this Caribbean Hotspot the Painkiller-Cocktail was invented.
In front of Jost van Dyke´s coast often wales and dolphins can be watched and in fair weather conditions on Jost van Dyke´s east end another big attraction is waiting: The bubbely pools, a natural whirlpool for swimming and snorkeling.
PETER ISLAN
DGREAT HARBOUR
Great Harbour on Peter Island is the new home of the famous pirate ship William Thornton or Willy T. A great Bar with lots of music and lots of dancing.Another amazing beach is just arroun the „corner“ of Willy T. Deadman´s beach, a beautiful white sandy beach perfect for kids playing on the beach and/or a beach picknick.
PELICAN ISLAND
THE INDIANS
This famous four stone peaks are one of the best places for snorkeling in the BVI.
Colorful corals, fish, turtles and small sharks – this incredible underwater world will feast your eyes on!
It is perfect that we have Snorkelequipment for every guest on board, so you can discover this remarkable underwaterworld.
NORMAN ISLAND
THE BIGHT
This island intended to inspire Robert Louis Stevenson to the novel “Treasure Island”.Here you can find also the great snorkel spot The caves.The famous anchorage is called The Bight with the great Beach Club Pirat´s Bar. On Norman Island you have also great possibility to hike – a hiking trail leads you up on the hills, for an amazing view over the whole bay!
SALT ISLAND
THE WRECK OF R.M.S RHONE
As the name implies salt is mined here since more than 100 years. Close to salt island the national park RMS „Rhône“ is located. The ship R.M.S.Rhone, which was owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and was packed with freight from England, sunk at this location due to a hurricane on October 29th 1867. The length of the ship is 103m and the wreck was a famous scene in the movie The Deep. The wreck is a fascinating underwater home for thousands of fish, crabs, octopuses and lobster. You can even snorkel to the big propeller of the boat. That’s definitely one of the hotspots at luxury charter BVI.
ANEGADA
SETTING POINT
If winds are fair during your luxury charter BVIs we will have the possibility to sail up to Anegada.
This island seems surreal with it´s powder beaches, wild orchids, cati and even pink flamingos.
It is very secluded, most of the time we see nobody else around us, occasionally a beach bar turns up serving Caribbean’s best lobster while you are swaying in a hammock between palmtrees.
The best way to discover Anagada is by renting a scooter or a private driver to meet goats, frigate birds, land crabs and endless beaches.
COOPER ISLAND
MANCHIONEEL BAY
Cooper Island is famous for its numerous spieces of plants like hibiscus, different palm trees, Lime trees, cacti…
also it is a protected breeding area for birds.
We can stop at Machionnel Bay, with it´s gorgeous restaurant and bar, the Cooper Island Beach Club.
It is famous for it´s own brewery and rum and cigar bar.
GUANA ISLAND
WHITE BAY
Unknown among most sailors this beautiful island is a perfect place to spend the day at Monkey Point.
Here we find one of the best places for snorkeling as well as a fabulous sandy beach. Sunbathing, Collecting Shells, Hiking on the beach.. carebbean delights par excellance.
One of the secret highlights in Virgin Islands.
– T R A V E L T O T H E V I –
It is pretty easy to fly into St. Thomas/US Virgin Islands. Lot´s of US airlines fly into St. Thomas every day. The airport is called Cyril E. King (STT).
– V I S A & P A S S P O R T R E G U L A T I O N S –
To travel into the BVI a passport is required that is vailed at least for 6 months. Non US citizen require a ESTA visa, that can be obtained through internet.
– P O R T O F D E P A R T U R E –
Our Charter departure port is Red Hook on St. Thomas/US Virgin Islands, easily reachable by taxi from the airport.
– W E A T H E R & B E S T T I M E T O T R A V E L –
You can sail the VI all year round, whilst the majority visits the islands between end of October and middle of june. In the major Hurricane months August and September we do not sail in the VI, all the other months are great for charter.
The Virgin Islands have a nice subtropical climate with temperatures from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius (75 to 85 Fahrenheit) in the winter and from 27 to 32 degrees Celsius (80 to 90 Fahrenheit) in the summer. The trade winds ensure a nice cool breeze. Water temperatures are constantly around 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit).
Because of the Sir Francis Drake Channel and the outside islands the VI are very protected against the Atlantic swell. Therefor the sea is very clear, turquoise and warm. The tradewinds bring constant winds: in the summer from southeast with 3-4 Bft, and in winter from northeast with 4-6 Bft.
– B V I I N F O R M A T I O N –
The British Virgin islands are a british oversea territory in the Caribbean. They consist of over 60 islands and reefs and are located on the northern end of the small Antilles. The main islands of Tortola, Beef Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Norman Island, Peter Island, Salt Island, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke are volcanic in origin and have a hilly, rugged terrain. The biggest hill is Mount Sage on Tortola. Anegada is geologically distinct from the rest of the group and is a flat island composed of limestone and coral.
As a British oversea territory the executive authority is a governor who acts in behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. About 28.000 people live in the BVI, most of them on the major island Tortola with its capital Road Town.
1492 the BVIs were conquered by Christoph Columbus and he named gave them the fanciful name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins), after the legend of Saint Ursula. After the Spanish Emperors the Dutch controlled the islands, and made them to an important stop over for ships sailing between America and Europe. The BVI were a notorious haunt for pirates, too. At the end of the 17th century the British took over control of the BVIs and introduces sugar cane on big plantations and slaves were brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations. That’s why nowadays around 90% of the populations have Afro-American heritage. In the beginning of the 19th century the abolition of slavery was successful. The British Virgin Islands gained separate colony status in 1960 and became autonomous in 1967.
– E C O N O M Y & M O N E Y –
The British Virgin Islands enjoys one of the more prosperous economies of the Caribbean region.
The „twin pillars“ of the economy are tourism, especially cruise ship and yacht tourism and financial services.
The economy is strongly bounded to the US Virgin Islands.
The official currency is US Dollar.
– H I N T –
Hint for charter guests: Before your arrival we provide a packing list what we recommend to take along for your charter.