Jost Van Dyke BVI Charter Guide

Jost Van Dyke is one of the most famous stops on a British Virgin Islands yacht charter — but there is much more to the island than White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar.

For most of our guests, Jost comes toward the end of a counterclockwise BVI itinerary, often after Anegada, Scrub Island or a snorkeling stop at Monkey Point on Guana Island.

It is a fantastic place to spend an afternoon and your final night or two of a charter. You can visit the Bubbly Pool, have lunch at Diamond Cay, dinghy into White Bay for an afternoon on the beach, and finish the evening in Great Harbour.

Our biggest advice: don’t make White Bay your entire Jost Van Dyke experience.

Where Should You Stay on Jost Van Dyke?

For our bareboat guests, Great Harbour is our preferred place to stay on Jost Van Dyke.

Great Harbour has mooring options and puts you within easy dinghy distance of White Bay. Instead of taking the yacht into White Bay, leave it safely in Great Harbour and use your dinghy to explore.

You can spend the afternoon in White Bay and return to Great Harbour when you’re ready. Great Harbour is also home to the famous Foxy’s Tamarind Bar, so there is plenty to do once you’re back aboard.

This is one of those situations where choosing where to keep the yacht based on safety and convenience actually makes it easier to enjoy the island.

White Bay — One of the BVI’s Most Famous Beaches

White Bay is probably the image many people have in mind when they picture Jost Van Dyke: incredibly clear turquoise water, a long white-sand beach, yachts offshore and a string of casual beach bars.

It’s absolutely worth visiting.

What we don’t recommend is taking your bareboat into White Bay.

There is a reef immediately outside the bay, and the entrance can become extremely busy. Even when you are safely secured to a mooring, other boats may enter and attempt to anchor nearby.

Our concern isn’t simply whether you can safely operate your yacht. It’s everything happening around you.

During busy periods, dozens of boats may come and go, and someone who anchors nearby could leave their boat to spend the afternoon ashore. If that anchor drags, your yacht can be damaged even though you’ve done everything correctly.

For this reason, Virgin Charter Yachts does not permit our bareboat yachts in White Bay.

Many other privately operated BVI charter companies have similar restrictions. Some of the large fleets that self-insure have different policies.

Fortunately, there is no reason to miss White Bay. Take a mooring in Great Harbour and go over in your dinghy. You get the White Bay experience without unnecessarily putting the yacht at risk.

Soggy Dollar Bar & the Original Painkiller

No first visit to White Bay is complete without stopping at the Soggy Dollar Bar, famous as the birthplace of the Painkiller.

The name dates back to the days when there was no dock and visitors swam ashore from their boats, arriving with wet money in their pockets.

Today, Soggy Dollar is one of the best-known beach bars in the Caribbean.

Have a Painkiller, take the obligatory photo and enjoy the atmosphere — but don’t stop there.

White Bay has plenty of other places worth exploring.

Our Favorite White Bay Stops

We particularly like Hendo’s Hideout for lunch. The food is good, the location is right on the beach, and it is an easy place to settle in for a while rather than rushing back to the yacht for lunch.

That’s especially true for crewed charter guests.

The chef aboard a quality fully crewed yacht will generally prepare food to a higher standard than what you’ll find at most casual BVI beach restaurants. So when our crewed guests choose to eat ashore, we recommend doing it because the setting adds something to the day.

If you’re already swimming, relaxing and having an amazing afternoon in White Bay, it may be much more fun to stay on the beach and have lunch at Hendo’s than return to the yacht just because lunch is included onboard.

Other fun White Bay stops include Ivan’s Stress Free Bar, Gertrude’s and Coco Loco’s.

There is no need to choose just one. White Bay is made for wandering barefoot down the beach and trying a few.

Diamond Cay & the Bubbly Pool

Before heading to Great Harbour or White Bay, consider stopping at Diamond Cay on the eastern end of Jost Van Dyke.

This is a completely different experience from White Bay.

There are moorings in the area, and from Diamond Cay you can go ashore and walk to the Bubbly Pool, one of Jost’s best-known natural attractions.

The Bubbly Pool is a natural rock formation where waves from the Atlantic side surge through an opening in the rocks. When there is enough north swell, the water churns into a natural bubbling pool.

How dramatic it is depends on the sea conditions. Some days it really bubbles; other days it’s considerably calmer.

It’s a fun walk and a great way to see another side of Jost.

VCY TIP: The Bubbly Pool is most impressive when there is some north swell, but use extra caution when conditions are rough. Bigger swell means bigger waves entering the pool.

Lunch at Diamond Cay

Diamond Cay also gives you a couple of good lunch options.

Foxy’s Taboo is located right at Diamond Cay and is a popular stop before or after walking to the Bubbly Pool.

We also like B-Line Beach Bar, a wonderfully casual little island bar nearby with drinks and BBQ.

This can make a great progression through Jost:

Diamond Cay → lunch → Bubbly Pool → Great Harbour → White Bay by dinghy → Great Harbour for the evening.

You experience much more of Jost than you would by simply heading straight to White Bay.

Great Harbour in the Evening

Great Harbour has its own personality and is worth experiencing after the daytime crowds begin to thin.

Of course, the famous stop is Foxy’s Tamarind Bar.

Foxy’s is a BVI institution and absolutely worth visiting for the atmosphere and a drink. It is one of those places that has been part of the BVI charter experience for generations.

For dinner, however, we particularly like Tipsy Shark.

That’s an important distinction when we give guests recommendations: the most famous place isn’t necessarily where we think you should eat every meal.

Go to Foxy’s because it’s Foxy’s.

Then explore the rest of Great Harbour too.

How Much Time Should You Spend on Jost Van Dyke?

You can experience a surprising amount of Jost in one afternoon and evening, but it’s also an easy place to spend longer.

If you have one day, we would prioritize Diamond Cay and the Bubbly Pool, White Bay, and an evening in Great Harbour.

If you have more time, slow everything down.

Spend longer at White Bay. Have lunch at Hendo’s. Walk the beach. Try a Painkiller at Soggy Dollar. Stop at Ivan’s, Gertrude’s or Coco Loco’s. Then return to Great Harbour rather than trying to cram everything into a few hours.

That’s generally our philosophy throughout the BVI: seeing fewer places well is usually more fun than racing around trying to check every destination off a list.

Jost Van Dyke for Families

Jost isn’t only for adults looking for beach bars.

Families can have a fantastic day here too.

The Bubbly Pool is a fun excursion when conditions are appropriate, and White Bay during the daytime is a beautiful beach destination.

The atmosphere generally changes as the day progresses, so families with younger children may prefer enjoying White Bay earlier and returning to the yacht before the later beach-bar crowd picks up.

Like the Willy T at Norman Island, the experience can be quite different at 1 PM than it is later in the evening.

Where Jost Fits Into a 7-Night BVI Charter

For most guests, Jost Van Dyke comes toward the end of a counterclockwise BVI itinerary.

A typical route might look something like:

Norman Island → Cooper/Peter Island → Virgin Gorda & The Baths → North Sound → Anegada → Scrub Island or Guana Island → Jost Van Dyke → Nanny Cay

There are dozens of variations depending on what your group enjoys.

If you’re coming down from Anegada, you can head toward Jost directly or incorporate another stop along the way.

Monkey Point on Guana Island is one of our favorite snorkeling stops and works particularly well on the route toward Jost.

Sandy Cay

If time allows, Sandy Cay is another worthwhile stop around Jost Van Dyke.

This small, undeveloped island is protected as a national park and looks exactly like many people’s idea of a deserted Caribbean island.

There are National Parks moorings, a beautiful beach and a short trail that lets you explore the island on foot.

There are no restaurants, beach bars or resorts here — and that’s the point.

It’s a nice contrast to the energy of White Bay and Great Harbour and can be a beautiful daytime stop before continuing your itinerary.

Our Jost Van Dyke Recommendation

Jost Van Dyke deserves its reputation as one of the most fun destinations in the BVI. We just think the best Jost experience involves seeing more than White Bay.

Stop at Diamond Cay. Walk to the Bubbly Pool. Have lunch or a drink. Secure the yacht in Great Harbour. Take the dinghy around to White Bay. Have a Painkiller at Soggy Dollar, lunch at Hendo’s and wander between the beach bars.

Then return to Great Harbour and experience Jost in the evening.

VCY TIP: Don’t take your bareboat into White Bay. Keep the yacht in Great Harbour and use your dinghy. It’s safer, easy, and still lets you experience everything that makes White Bay famous.

Jost is also a perfect example of why we don’t believe in simply handing every guest the same itinerary. A family with young children, a group of couples who loves beach bars, and guests looking for quiet beaches may all visit Jost — but we would plan their days very differently.

For more ideas on where Jost Van Dyke fits into your week, explore our complete BVI Island Guide.

Planning your BVI charter? Virgin Charter Yachts has been based in the British Virgin Islands for 30 years. Our team can help you choose the right yacht and plan a route based on what your group actually enjoys — not simply a generic list of places everyone is told they should visit.