Exploring the British Virgin Islands: A Snorkeling and Sailing Adventure

I believe everything happens for a reason. We had been talking with our friends for more than 10 years about doing a sailboat charter in the BVIs (British Virgin Islands) “someday”. We finally told our friends that if we don’t make a plan, Bob and I are going to go with some other friends. There were six of us, three couples on a private charter with a captain and a cook on a 48’ catamaran sailboat. We had 4 cabins and 4 bathrooms and we cruised the BVIs for 7 days visiting about 12 islands. I’m so grateful that we did this in April before hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the BVIs, just months after our trip.

After spending a week on St Thomas (which I’ll save for another blog post), our sailboat charter began. Our first stop was Tortola so we could clear customs and immigration into the BVIs. This was a quick process so we moved onto our first stop, the Indians. This is a popular local spot for snorkeling and scuba diving. Our friends Mary and Joel are divers so they really enjoyed this spot. This was my favorite snorkeling spot for the entire two weeks. It was amazing water with tons of fish. I would highly recommend stopping here if you visit the BVIs. 

After getting back on the boat, we sailed over to Norman Island for more snorkeling in the caves. Although we didn’t stop at the Willy T — a well-known floating bar off Norman Island — it looked like great fun. I’ve read that they are rebuilding after Hurricane Irma and I look forward to stopping there on a future trip to the BVIs!

Next stop, Peter Island for (you guessed it) more snorkeling and more drinks. This was an interesting stop as our waitress caught a scorpion! Onto Salt Island, an island for salt harvesting, for a crazy hike that was scattered with skeletons. Apparently, animals don’t do well with that much salt!

After this, we headed to Virgin Gorda to spend the night. Early in the morning, we spent a few hours with Barbara and Pat hiking The Baths and then snorkeling, while Mary & Joel went diving. This was an amazing adventure, hiking through some enormous boulders on the sand. It’s a popular tourist attraction so you need to get there early before it gets too crowded. This is a must see if you’ve not been before. After a fun morning, we stopped in Leverick Bay for drinks and shopping, while our captain went for ice. I love to buy a piece of jewelry to remember my trips and the BVIs was no exception. I got a really cool necklace to remember the trip!

We then moved onto The Bitter End Yacht Club — a beautiful resort that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. The people of Virgin Gorda are working to rebuild the community. The devastation caused by Irma (BVIs) and Maria (USVI) is heart wrenching. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people that are still picking up the pieces.

Many people told us not to spend the time to sail to Anagada and I’m glad we did not listen to them. Our captain said it would be a nice sail and a fun day so we decided to go. Bob and I wanted to go before he even told us that because we really wanted to see the Pink Flamingos that we heard would likely be there. And oh boy, were they there! We probably saw over 200 pink flamingos, not to mention a fun day driving around the entire island, a lobster lunch, a tour of the yurts, and a new twist on one of our favorite local drinks — Bushwhacker on the rocks! The island was worth the sail which was the only time we really saw our captain work the winds with the sailboat.

After Anagada, we had one more big day and one more island to see — Yost Van Dyke. Along the way we stopped at The Dogs, Beef Island an Guana Island, all very fun stops with some stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking mixed in.

We ended the day at Yost Van Dyke to moor the boat and spend the night. The next morning we waded our way to land to have a few drinks at the famous Soggy Dollar Bar! We spent the day at Soggy Dollar and had lunch next door. We played corn hole and drank some more. This was also a highlight of the trip! We love the Soggy Dollar Bar and are happy to know that it has recovered from the hurricanes.

We love the BVIs and would highly recommend a cruise or land trip to these islands. They have beautiful blue water, amazing snorkeling, and fun adventures waiting for you! We will be back!