Best Things to Do in the BVI: Yacht Charter Activities Guide Guide

The beauty of a yacht charter in the British Virgin Islands is that every day can be completely different. Spend the morning snorkeling a reef, explore an island in the afternoon, try something new on the water, or simply find a beautiful beach and do absolutely nothing.

Some activities can be decided that morning, while others are worth arranging before your charter. Our Virgin Charter Yachts team is happy to recommend local operators we know and help you determine which experiences work best with your yacht and itinerary.

You certainly don’t need to schedule an activity every day. One of the best parts of a BVI charter is having the flexibility to change your plans as you go.

You don’t need scuba equipment to experience some of the BVI’s best underwater scenery. Snorkeling is one of the easiest activities to incorporate into a yacht charter, and there are excellent locations throughout the islands.

Some of our favorite snorkeling stops include the Caves at Norman Island, The Indians, Monkey Point off Guana Island and the waters around Cooper Island.

Because you are traveling by yacht, you can often snorkel early in the morning or later in the afternoon when day-trip traffic is lighter. Your crew on a fully crewed yacht can help choose locations based on the day’s conditions, while bareboat guests will discuss appropriate snorkeling stops and navigation considerations during their chart briefing.

Explore some of the BVI’s best reefs, caves and snorkeling spots right from your yacht.

The BVI offers excellent scuba diving, with reefs, wrecks and dive sites suitable for a range of experience levels. Popular sites include the RMS Rhone, The Indians and The Chimney.

You don’t necessarily need to carry dive equipment aboard your yacht for the entire vacation. A local dive operator can arrange equipment, instruction or a rendezvous dive, meeting your yacht at an appropriate location during your charter.

Virgin Charter Yachts is based at Nanny Cay, where Blue Water Divers has a dive center conveniently located within the marina. This makes it particularly easy to arrange equipment or discuss diving before departing on your charter.

Add a rendezvous dive, equipment rental or guided scuba experience to your BVI charter

There are plenty of ways to enjoy the water in the BVI beyond snorkeling and diving.

eFoiling has become a particularly fun option. An electric hydrofoil board rises above the surface as you ride, providing an entirely different experience from a traditional surfboard or paddleboard. Local operators offer lessons and experiences, and eFoils may also be available for rent for certain bareboat yacht charters.

You can also rent a wide variety of water toys for your bareboat, which can include stand-up paddleboards, floating mats, kayaks, towable toys and other equipment. Fully crewed yachts often have an especially extensive selection, so check the individual yacht listing if particular water toys are important to your group.

Our team can also recommend local operators for additional watersports during your charter.

One of the most unusual experiences you can add to a BVI charter is a visit to Necker Island.

Scheduled nature experiences provide an opportunity to visit the private island and see some of its wildlife, making this an especially memorable excursion for families and animal lovers.

Guests may have the opportunity to see and interact with some of the island’s wildlife, including ring-tailed lemurs, giant tortoises and other animals, depending on the tour experience available.

Necker Island visits are subject to availability and should be arranged in advance rather than left until you arrive in the BVI.

We recommend contacting BVI SNUBA for information about current Necker Island tour availability. Our Virgin Charter Yachts team is also happy to help you determine where a Necker Island visit would fit best into your itinerary.

For first-time BVI visitors, The Baths on Virgin Gorda is one experience we almost always recommend.

Massive granite boulders form natural pools, caves and passageways along the shoreline. Arrive early when possible, explore the trail through the boulders and leave time to enjoy the beach.

But don’t make The Baths your only Virgin Gorda experience. Continue north to explore the North Sound, where you can visit Leverick Bay, Bitter End Yacht Club, Saba Rock and other stops depending on your itinerary.

This is also an easy day to combine sightseeing with SNUBA, watersports or lunch ashore.

For more itinerary advice, North Sound recommendations and our preferred way to visit The Baths, see our Virgin Gorda BVI Charter Guide.

Anegada is completely different from the mountainous islands that make up most of the BVI and is worth more than simply stopping for dinner. The low-lying coral island is surrounded by beautiful turquoise water, miles of beaches and Horseshoe Reef.

One of our favorite Anegada experiences is a private trip with Sherwin’s Sea Adventures. Captain Sherwin can take guests out to explore Horseshoe Reef, snorkel the reef and visit the famous conch shell mounds. Depending on the excursion and conditions, the experience can also include finding fresh conch and lobster — a uniquely Anegada way to experience the island and its fishing traditions.

Learn more about Sherwin’s Sea Adventures

Back on land, rent a Moke, scooter or vehicle and spend some time exploring Anegada. Visit the beaches, look for flamingos around the salt ponds, stop at a beach bar, or simply enjoy how different Anegada feels from the rest of the BVI.

And don’t leave without experiencing an Anegada lobster dinner. Fresh Caribbean lobster is one of the things the island is best known for and dinner ashore is a favorite part of an overnight stop.

Because Anegada is farther from the rest of the BVI, whether it makes sense for your charter depends on your itinerary, charter length and weather conditions. Our team is happy to help you decide whether to include Anegada and suggest activities and restaurants while you’re there.

For our complete recommendations on getting there, what to do, where to eat and whether Anegada is right for your group, see our Anegada BVI Charter Guide.

Not every day of a BVI yacht charter needs an organized activity. Some of the most memorable experiences are simply pulling into a beautiful bay, heading ashore and discovering one of the beach bars and restaurants that have become part of BVI charter tradition.

A few of our favorites include:

• Willy T – Norman Island: If you’re looking for a real BVI party, especially after dark, the Willy T is hard to beat. This floating bar and restaurant in The Bight at Norman Island is one of the BVI’s most famous nightlife stops. It’s a completely different experience at night than stopping by for lunch during the day.
• Cooper Island Rum Bar – Cooper Island: Cooper Island Beach Club is one of our favorite stops, and rum lovers shouldn’t miss its Rum Bar. It has a collection of more than 400 rums from around the world, along with rum flights and tastings.
• Soggy Dollar Bar – Jost Van Dyke: Located on beautiful White Bay, Soggy Dollar is one of the most iconic beach bars in the Caribbean and the birthplace of the original Painkiller, created there in the 1970s.
• Hog Heaven – Virgin Gorda: This is as much about the view as the food and drinks. Perched high above Virgin Gorda, Hog Heaven has spectacular panoramic views over North Sound, including Leverick Bay and the surrounding islands. It’s a great addition to a day exploring Virgin Gorda.

There are dozens of other restaurants and beach bars throughout the islands, and what’s best can depend on your itinerary and what kind of experience you’re looking for. Our Virgin Charter Yachts team is always happy to share our current favorites and recommendations.

Important for Virgin Charter Yachts bareboat guests: our bareboat yachts are not permitted to enter or moor in White Bay. If you’d like to visit Soggy Dollar and White Bay, you can easily dinghy over from a mooring in Great Harbour. We’ll explain the best alternatives for getting there during your chart briefing.

For more of our favorite places to eat and drink throughout the islands, see our BVI Restaurants & Beach Bars Guide.

A yacht charter doesn’t mean you have to spend every minute aboard the yacht. One of our favorite ways to mix up a week in the BVI is to spend a few hours ashore enjoying one of the islands’ resorts or spas.

A few of our favorites include:

Peter Island Resort & Spa – Peter Island: The Spa at Peter Island is a beautiful destination spa and a great choice when you want to turn a massage into a relaxing half-day ashore. The 10,000-square-foot spa includes treatment rooms, a salon, infinity pool, oceanside jacuzzi and tranquility garden. Combine a treatment with some time enjoying Peter Island and it can be a nice change of pace in the middle of a charter.

Ixora Spa at Scrub Island Resort – Scrub Island: Perched above the Caribbean with beautiful views, Ixora Spa offers massages, facials, body treatments and couples treatments. Scrub Island is also a fun stop for families, so this can work particularly well when some members of the group want spa time while others would rather enjoy the resort, beach or pool.

Ocean Spa BVI – White Bay, Jost Van Dyke: This is one of the most unusual spa experiences in the BVI. Ocean Spa is a floating spa in White Bay, allowing you to have a massage while literally floating over the Caribbean. Guests consistently comment on both the massage and the setting, making it a memorable alternative to spending the entire White Bay visit at the beach bars.

Spa appointments should generally be arranged in advance, particularly during busy charter weeks. Our Virgin Charter Yachts team is happy to share recommendations and help you determine which spa or resort works naturally with your itinerary.

Important for VCY bareboat guests: White Bay remains prohibited for our bareboat yachts. If you would like to visit Ocean Spa, Soggy Dollar or other White Bay attractions, plan to leave the yacht at an approved location and continue to White Bay separately.

The BVI is an excellent destination for families because activities don’t have to be complicated to be memorable.

Snorkeling the Norman Island Caves, looking for turtles, learning to paddleboard, trying SNUBA, exploring The Baths or visiting Necker Island can turn an ordinary charter day into something children remember for years.

Leverick Bay and Scrub Island can also be fun stops for families looking to spend some time ashore, and simply letting the kids swim and play from the yacht is often one of the highlights of the vacation.

For families planning their first charter, we have put together a complete guide to choosing a yacht, planning an itinerary and enjoying the BVI with children.

You don’t need to plan every hour of a BVI yacht charter before you arrive. In fact, we usually recommend leaving plenty of flexibility in your itinerary.

Weather, sea conditions and simply discovering a place you don’t want to leave can change your plans — and that’s part of the fun of traveling by yacht.

However, some experiences, including Necker Island tours, diving, SNUBA and certain watersports, are best arranged in advance.

Our Virgin Charter Yachts team has been based in the BVI for 30 years, and we are happy to recommend local operators we know and trust and help you determine where activities fit naturally into your itinerary.

Planning your BVI charter?

Tell us what your group enjoys doing. We can help you choose the right yacht and suggest an itinerary that incorporates the islands, activities and experiences that matter most to you.