Sailing in Heavenly Places
Written: Apr 07 '02 (Updated Jan 04 '05)
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Pros: Sunny, warm, beautiful scenery, snorkeling, walks
Cons: Bring sunscreen!
The Bottom Line: My trip to the BVI's was without a doubt, money well spent. I couldn't have imagined having a better time and seeing more postcard-perfect places.
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| Javelina's Full Review: British Virgin Islands |
In the middle of March 2002, I visited the British Virgin Islands with a total of five other family members. We left from JFK airport in New York, traveling through San Juan, Puerto Rico, onwards to Beef Island airport in Tortola.
We left New York at around 8:00 a.m., EST. It took us about four hours to fly to San Juan, which is a major airport hub for getting to the Virgin Islands. An additional 29 minute leg of our journey landed us at Beef Island around 4:00 p.m., which is one hour ahead of New York time.
The new Beef Island airport opened just a few days after we arrived, so if you fly to Tortola, you’ll have a chance to enjoy the beautiful new terminal.
Driving on the “wrong” side of the road in an American car, our taxi driver drove quite creatively towards Road Town, which is the busy and populated capital of the British Virgin Islands. We encountered quite a bit of traffic, but it gave us a chance to see what the area was like and what kinds of things would be accessible to us from where we were heading.
We reached Fort Burt Marina, home to Conch Charters. As a group of six, we had begun planning this trip about six months in advance, and decided to rent a catamaran. One of my uncles is an experienced captain, so there was no need to hire a staff or crew. The rest of us, with my aunt, uncle and two cousins, including myself, helped out with the sailing and general chores such as cooking and cleaning. With several vegetarians on board, and a consensus on wanting healthy food, we additionally decided to bring and buy our own provisions, rather than paying Conch Charters for a meal package.
From JFK, we brought two large boxes of food. These boxes had to be specially scanned, as an additional precaution for food items that are brought out of the country. Most of the food included cans and boxes of items that would not spoil. The plan was that we would buy perishable food once we reached Tortola, which is exactly what we did. In Road Town, there was a Rite-way not too far from Fort Burt Marina. Wearing backpacks, we walked to the store from the marina. Here, we stocked up on items like fruit, veggie burgers, vegetables, and some other items like postcards. There is also an Ample Hamper in Inner Harbor Marina, which we did not have to chance to visit, but if it is anything like the one we later visited at Soper’s Hole, I definitely recommend it. Ample Hamper was wonderfully stocked with things like health food, cheeses, fresh baked breads, postcards, tiny jars of condiments (such as ketchup, mustard and olive oil), and many other delicious and tempting items. (http://amplehamper.com/)
Because we arrived on a Friday afternoon, it was too late to head out of the marina that first day. This gave us time to relax, settle in, get acquainted with the area and our itinerary, and to pick up extra provisions.
The catamaran we rented was the ”Lagoon 37”, a 37 foot boat with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, large inside seating area, and a large covered outdoor seating area. There are plenty of amenities on this boat, including two large tanks of water, a refrigerator, stove, oven, outdoor grill, sink, lots of cabinets, CD player, GPS, radio, lights, and much more. Therefore, it eliminated any need to find other accommodations or places to eat.
The next morning we woke somewhat refreshed, although the nearby restaurant known as The Pub kept us awake for a while with live music. After a briefing on Saturday morning provided by the friendly staff at Conch Charters, we were ready to head out.
We headed directly south, arriving at The Indians, a set of four, huge boulders jutting out of the water, recommended as a great snorkeling area. With 9 moorings all taken by other boats, we set down an anchor. Although there was a bit of a current and some waves, the water was wonderful, providing some great snorkeling and marine life. After just a short time of enjoying our first snorkeling adventure in the British Virgin Islands, we picked up anchor and headed northeast to White Bay, Peter Island..
We spent a rather uneventful night at White Bay, enjoying a trip to the beach and a nice dinner on the boat. During dinner, a remora (a fish that attaches to Sharks), scavenged around our boat for scraps of food. It is sort of a general rule in the Virgin Islands as to not feed the fish!
In the afternoon, we were visited by another boat, aptly named ”Deliverance”. The same concept as the ice cream truck, “Deliverance” smoothly pulled up next to our catamaran (with plenty of bumpers to protect both boats), and offered us food, drinks, ice cream, garbage removal, and more. That night, we swore we heard dolphins, but instead it turned out to be the bleating of goats on the island! (Later, we did see dolphins off the side of our boat on the north side of Tortola).
Backtracking the next day, we moored at The Caves, Norman Island. Norman Island is thought to be Treasure Island, where Robert Louis Stevenson got his inspiration for writing about pirates and so on. The Caves consisted of various snorkeling areas along the coast. Snorkeling from a point on the shore outward, we saw numerous spiny urchins, black in color with endless spines reaching out from in between rock crevices. At points where the land meets water, there are natural cave-like areas that are carved out into the rock. As formidable as they sound, it was not intimidating at all. The water was still light and navigable, and the caves did not reach far into the rock. This area was packed with boats and snorkelers, so you have to be careful as to avoid other people (including hitting them with fins!), as well as making sure you don’t get run over by dinghies. We took plenty of photographs here with an underwater disposable camera, which later came out very well .
Since The Caves was only a short activity, we headed north and to the top of Peter Island, to Great Harbor, for our night mooring. After some more quick snorkeling, we dried off in the sun and took the dinghy to shore. Like many other beaches in the British Virgin Islands, this beach was composed entirely of coral that had been worn to a smooth appearance by waves and erosion. We did some beachcombing and took more pictures, then returned to the boat to settle in for the night.
The next morning, we left for The Baths. The Baths was one of my favorite parts of our trip, so if you find yourselves in the British Virgin Islands, make sure you go there!
After a long day at The Baths, we headed northwest to Marina Cay (pronounced “key”). Some of our group went snorkeling, but I decided against it because of the numerous boats in the harbor and the stronger current. (Just so you know, when you go to the bathroom in a boat like this, it simply gets flushed out the side of the boat. Therefore, it is not recommended to swim in areas crowded with boats!) This small island is home to a Pusser’s Store (www.pussers.com), bathrooms, showers, laundry, phones, and other services. Sporting a triangular dock on the main part of the island, boats can pull up to fill up on water and fuel, as well as to dump garbage and so on. The mooring at Marina Cay was crowded, but the island was quiet and made for a nice stroll the next morning.
Leaving Marina Cay, we sailed westward through the Trellis Bay area to Sandy Spit, Green Cay.
Leaving Jost Van Dyke, the next stop was Cane Garden Bay, Tortola. My reviews of Cane Garden Bay and Soper’s Hole are both part of my
Tortola review.
So as not to be repetitive in terms of this review and my review of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke, I’ll cover the other points of interest about the British Virgin Islands.
There were no places at which we encountered biting or irritating insects, other than at the Sandy Cay Botanical Gardens off Jost Van Dyke. These insects were incredibly tiny, the size of a speck of sand, so it was hard to catch the bugs as we were getting bitten. Most of the bites occurred when we were in shaded areas.
We went through vast quantities of sunscreen, especially the waterproof kind. If you don’t bring any or run out, there are plenty of stores that carry it, so there’s little need for concern. I also brought my own aloe vera, which was something just about everyone used once we had gotten some sun. It helped to soothe the redness and irritation from sunburn or simply a lot of sun.
Most boat chartering places provide snorkeling gear, but I decided to bring my own. The most important part of a snorkel is making sure that you have a comfortable mask that fits your face, otherwise you are going to be constantly adjusting your mask and dealing with seawater leaking in. Fins are great as well, and really help you to get around, just be careful in crowded areas, because it’s easy to kick someone with a fin when you aren’t used to having an extra foot of length attached to your feet.
In terms of ocean life, there were some concerns, but nothing severe. Avoid urchins, especially the spiny urchins that I mentioned before. They are long and needle-sharp, so avoid getting stuck, especially since they have a stinging substance. I was a little nervous in some areas where the coral comes right up to the shallow waters. Of course, you aren’t supposed to touch the coral, but so much of it is dead in popular areas, and it’s virtually impossible to get out of the water without stepping on it. But in areas where it is shallow, I had to predict the motion of the currents and waves to avoid getting scraped along the coral. The fish seem relatively tame but cautious, and there were none to be worried about. At the botanical gardens, when I snorkeled from the beach to the catamaran, I came face to face with a large barracuda. However, I had been “briefed” on this intimidating fish, and knew that I was not in particular danger, and to watch for the barracuda’s “yawn” of warning.
Conch Charters briefed us on much of the pertinent information: good spots for snorkeling, restaurants, shopping, tourism, good (and safe) places to moor or anchor the boat, general boat care and safety, places to get provisions, and so on. On our boat were a variety of useful guides, including identification of marine life, snorkeling guides, and more. If you aren’t going to be provided with guides, it always helps to bring one or two. There’s also the ”Limin Times”, a local paper, as well as things like some guides that I picked up at the airport for free. You can also get information from the Tourism Board of the British Virgin Islands.
There are plenty of interesting places to eat even if you decide rent and provision a boat. Pusser’s restaurants are located in several places throughout the islands, including Road Town and Soper’s Hole. Pusser’s is a popular restaurant which often is accompanied by a store. Known for their rum, Pusser’s offers merchandise and a sea-food based menu (although vegetarians can survive).
My favorite places on this trip:
Sandy Spit (Green Cay), The Baths, and the Sandy Cay Botanical Gardens.
The nicest towns we visited on this trip were Cane Garden Bay and Soper's Hole. Cane Garden Bay because of a variety of shops, although it is probably more prided for its beachfront area and drinking. Here was also a nice walk to the post office. Soper’s Hole was incredibly clean and convenient, with lots of nice shopping, a nice Pusser’s restaurant/shop, and so on. I also liked The Top of the Baths, although it doesn’t really qualify as a town- however, the restaurant with freshwater pool and the few shops there were definitely worth the hike.
I did not need many clothes to wear, because I was generally always in my swim suit. In addition, being on the boat meant that we weren't going out to eat. When shopping, I would throw on a comfortable pair of shorts or a wraparound skirt, and either wear a tankini swim top or throw a t-shirt over it. After a while, it was comforting to wear a sleeved t-shirt so as to escape the burning sun on the tops of my shoulders. I also wore sandals, which resulted in the burning of the tops of my feet, although I still don't feel that I could have been able to wear sneakers. Just make sure your footwear is comfortable for wearing around town.
Money was never much of a concern, because American money is accepted everywhere, as well as credit cards. There are plenty of ATM's located around popular areas.
I brought some Ziploc bags for beachcombing, and they came in handy for carrying all sorts of things from shells to sand. My extra bags helped in waterproofing some other items and making sure things didn't leak into my baggage.
The weather was gorgeous, around 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with only about 5 degrees difference at night time. There was a little humidity, and the sun can be intense. We experienced little rain, but did go through some rain while sailing, like a short squall, but this didn’t present any problems. The breeze off the water was very nice and cooled us down. At times, it felt a little chilly, so I was happy to have a thin pair of sweatpants with me and a hooded sweatshirt (which came in handy for really windy days).
Overall, I loved the British Virgin Islands. Living on the catamaran was a wonderful experience and provided us an incredible amount of freedom and flexibility. I cannot imagine having only stayed at one island for the entire trip, and an itinerary that included almost all of the islands gave us an opportunity to see a variety of places and scenery. The British Virgin Islands also allows accessibility to St.John as a day trip. If you go to the Virgin Islands, bring your camera and have a great time! Almost everything is picture perfect, as though it came right off a postcard!
Useful Links:
http://www.b-v-i.com/JostVanDyke/
http://www.britishvirginislands.com
http://www.ultimatebvi.com
http://www.bviguide.com
http://www.conchcharters.com
http://amplehamper.com
http://www.pussers.com
My other British Virgin Islands reviews:
Virgin Gorda
Tortola
Jost Van Dyke
Recommended:
Yes
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