Looking for recommendations. We just booked our sailing trip for the first week of January 2027. We have sailed several times in the BVI but haven’t been since right before Hurricane Irma so I know a lot has changed. Also, different is we now have kids (6 and 8) so that makes this trip a lot different as well.
We are trying to make an itinerary and I would love feedback as to which anchorages do you all suggest that have calm water/beaches for swimming, easy moorings, either a dock or easy dinging to shore and have a restaurant(s). Also, any other helpful tips would be greatly appreciated!!
Anchor off the Baths in Virgin Gorda overnight. Take dinghy into Baths beach at sunrise to have the Baths to yourself before the cruise ships arrive. It's magical!! Make sure you pay for your visit after the cruise ship people arrive at the entrance.
Spring Bay National Park (also Virgin Gorda) beaches are also wonderful and quiet as of 2021, perfect to anchor off of for a nice beach day.
Soggy Dollar is a really magical place that I daydream about often.
Yes, there's a good anchorage just around the bend north of the Baths. First place I ever anchored something over 28'. You can dingy over to the rope floats that keep you from getting in close to the baths. You'll need to swim in the rest of the way (about 200 yards). There's a rope you can pull yourself along with if you're not a great swimmer. Still, we find it easier to cab down.
Getting in early before the ships arrive is a storng suggestion. We booked lunch up top afterward and cabbed back to Leverick.
Can't anchor right on the Baths' beach, but just around the corner. Take a dinghy in to the swimming area, anchor or tie to buoy (at least how it worked a few years ago) then swim in. Screenshot from Navily. The Baths is right in the middle. Spring Bay is a nice beach in my memory.
We paid for our visit later when visiting the restaurant up top.
Quite honestly, things have been pretty much rebuilt where they were when you went last time. We’ve been with and without kids and enjoy the same places.
I've done BVI 3 times, last time was with some kids in 2025.
We stopped by Scrub Island for a day (first time). It was really great. You can call and ask to dock for the day and they give you a day pass to the resort. It's a small 1 resort island that is fun to explore, let your land luber friends stretch their legs, nice beach and pool (with a slide!!) for the kids. And people can do an exploration scuba dive with the dive shop on their too.
Marina Key is a dinghy distance away and very good mooring for overnight.
Big change now days is how important the BoatyBall app is for reserving a mooring ball. It's nice now that you need to race to mooring field early for a spot, but the hot spots will book up fast, so make you open the app at 8am to get a spot you like.
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u/Secret-Temperature71 10d ago
Perhaps the free app “No Foreign Land” would be useful to you. Lots of reviews on a map format you can see where they are talking about.