Recommended Itinerary for 7 BVI Trip.

[choots]

Hello,

Planning our first BVI charter and would like some recommendations for an itinerary. Anegada is probably the only thing we wont do this trip. Open to all ideas though. Thanks for the help


Christopher

[SeawindGirl]

We just visited Peter Island which we had always skipped because it was supposed to be not very boater friendly. It has a very nice resort on it. However we anchored in Deadmans Bay and were invited to use the resorts internet and bought ice from them. It is a gorgeous beach and the resort provides beach chairs for visiting boaters (to keep them from using the very nice ones on their side of the bay). The marina manager told us that they are trying to improve their image with boaters. You can pick up a mooring in the marina for $60 a night and them are welcome to use all the resorts facilities.
We like the Aragorn's Art Gallery in Trellis Bay(Beef Island) for creative locally made gifts.
Little Jost is nice and hiking to the bubbly pool is one of our favorite things to do. Sandy Spit is a nice spot to spend an hour or so.
Everywhere is great you will have a blast!

[Zanshin]

Before you can get a good and realistic recommendation you'll have to post what sort of a boat you will have, how much you are willing to run under engine, and whether you prefer secluded anchorages or ones with bars/restaurants.

[Lowcountry]

Big 2nd on Peter Island. I spent my honeymoon there in 2005 and have never been anywhere nicer, before or since.

[Zanshin]

The mooring balls at Peter are $70 so I've always avoided that.

To the itinerary - since usually one only gets underway later than expected, night 1 is almost guaranteed to be The Bight on Norman island and either Pirate's ashore for the faint of heart or the Willie T's for adventurous souls - except I'd avoid the William Thornton on Sundays.

[choots]

Thanks for the reply's. We are looking at either a 45-50 monohull or 40-45 foot cat. We are not sure yet how many people we will have. We plan on doing a Sunday to Sunday but will be flying in on Saturday and over night on the boat. We will probably do some secluded and some not. We do not have a problem running under power when it is easier or safer.

Thanks again for any and all advice.

[Vasco]

Your best bet is to talk to the person who checks you out. He/she will have the latest info and should be know all the anchorages inside out. Tell them what you prefer (quiet or partying) and they will point you in the right direction. If you like planning get a copy of the Virgin Is. Cruising guide

[Khagan1227]

Always figured that if you spend $3,000+ to charter a boat, $70 isn't much for two or three couples to pay for the use of a luxury resort for a day.

Now if you are cruising on $500/month, probably not a good idea. Unless you like raman noodle dishes.

[nautical62]

There are many varied options and recommendations really depend on your desires.

I just finished a charter (actually owner time) today. Some of my favorite places/things that may not be promoted in your briefing were: Key Bay, Peter Island for a place to ourselves, same with Great Camanoe - bay north of Lee Bay, which also had incredible snorkeling. The cave on the point just north of Lee Bay is deeper than anything at "the caves". The Sandy Spit has a lot of people during the day, but I've often had it to myself at night. Good snorkeling through the gap between Little Jost Van Dyke and Green. Cane Garden Bay is a good place to pick up any extra provisions half way through. There is plenty of room to anchor behind the moorings as well as to the far right when you head in. (I never picked up a mooring this trip).

Savannah Bay has some good snokeling especially in the north bay.

I find the knowledge of the briefers outside of the typical talk really varies. Some know the area incredibly well, others only know the briefing details.

Have a great week.

[Palarran]

Choot's,
Welcome to Cruisers Forum. I hope you have a good trip. I'll attach my google earth path for my upcoming trip the the bvi's. It really isn't useable for your trip but will give you an idea of how to use Earth to plan a trip. To load the plan, install Earth if you don't have it then just double click the file.

Another suggestion I have is to use the CF google search. On the top blue bar, hit the "Search" button and choose the second search box. If you type BVI and Charter you'll find 20 threads with great info in them. Have a good time.

[choots]

Thank you all for the reply's. i am starting to get a feel for what we want to do. I just like hearing what everyone else does purely for the ideas. Thanks again and keep them coming.

Chris

[brownbeer]

What time of year are you going? To me this is essential. In the off season, you can go anywhere and easily pick up a mooring any time of day. Peak season, you rarely can get a mooring ball after 3pm, which means you'll be anchoring, occasionally in less-than-ideal locations. Most anchorages on Tortola's south side are busy. Sticking to the outlying islands tend to give you a more secluded feeling.

[MarkJ]

I don't know if there's too many secluded anchorages in the BVI's.

After a while I began to enjoy the bays even though there were a thousand moorings in each, and 1,000 tourist traps.

I did enjoys Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke. Its one of those 'gotta do's' and you know its going to be at tourist prices. Great for a Friday night as everyone piles in for the BBQ. You haveta buy the hat $50

White Bay next to Foxy's Great Harbour is terrific.

Cane Garden Bay is very nice and a really lovely beach to walk. The cruise ship passengers flood the place each day, so a late arvo arrival / walk / dinner avoids them.

The Bight on Norman Island has some drunkards bar boat moored in the bay that has its best night on Sundays. This might not be your cup of tea at all. Drunkenness is its catch-cry with prices sky high. I wouldn't eat on that boat if my life depended on it.

Great Harbour on Peter island was nice with good snorkeling along the caves a dinghy ride away.

The places that didn't impress were: Sopers Hole, Rode Harbour (But do a walk through the old town before or after your charter), Maya Cove, Fat Hogs Bay (But I love the name!) and worst was Trellis Bay by the Airport (however the restaurant on the island Bellamy Cay is excellent!)

We rented motor bikes and did tortola. Thats fun and great views.

I didn't do Virgin Gorda and North Sound but will definitely do them next time.

In general: Its charter boat Disneyland so get that into your mind and warn the others before you go. Then you will enjoy it. Take your money with you! Take extra credit cards! Take extra cash! Mortgage your house/car and Mother! It would be difficult to do it on the cheap.
just splash in, pay out, and enjoy it for what it is.

The sailing is pretty hard. In the trade wind season it blows a full 20 knots the whole time. Guys may love it, girls may spew. Trying to work out long downwind sails and short upwind hops sounds easy but might not work if you are trying to get the right bars/entertainment on the right days of your charter.


Mark
PS Don't forget to load extra money.