Prime 5 Can’t Miss
- Crowning the sands of White Bay Seashore, The Hideout is a set of luxe villas with laid-back island allure simply steps from all of the motion.
- White Bay Seashore is so blissfully lovely it was all the time destined to change into some of the sought-after stretches of sand within the area, even with out its legendary seaside bars.
- Head straight to the supply to strive some of the iconic Caribbean cocktails, the painkiller, created at Jost Van Dyke’s world-renowned Soggy Greenback Bar.
- Dance till daybreak at Cunning’s Tamarind Bar and Restaurant, residence to the well-known Full Moon Get together that pulls in revelers from throughout the Caribbean.
- Sail to the naked, unblemished East Shore to get a recent tackle Jost Van Dyke, the place serene sands and hidden dive spots really feel a world away from the island’s get together scene.
Within the British Virgin Islands, each island appears to have its personal distinct, larger-than-life character, and tiny Jost Van Dyke isn’t any exception. Named after a Seventeenth-century swashbuckling sailor, Jost Van Dyke brims with a bravado that might make even a pirate proud. It’s residence to the famend Soggy Greenback Bar, the birthplace of the well-known Caribbean cocktail often called the painkiller. With the legendary Cunning’s only one bay over, Jost Van Dyke cements its standing as one of many largest get together spots within the Caribbean.
Nevertheless, guests that care to peel again the layers of Jost Van Dyke discover a principally untouched island paradise, studded with glowing clear bays and hidden landscapes which are, dare we are saying, even quiet. Whereas Jost Van Dyke’s painkiller cocktails run colder and stronger than ever, new sights like a floating spa and villas with sweeping views show there are extra causes to return to Jost Van Dyke—and stick round effectively after closing name.
Greatest Accommodations & Resorts
Courtesy of The British Virgin Islands Vacationer Board
The Hideout
A set of seven non-public villas, The Hideout is situated proper on the sand at White Bay Seashore, essentially the most sought-after spot on Jost Van Dyke. Regardless of their buzzy location, these one-bedroom and two-bedroom standalone suites really feel separate and distinct, every providing its personal non-public plunge pool and oceanfront or tropical backyard views.
White Bay Villas & Seashore Membership
Clinging to a cliff overlooking the water, White Bay Villas & Seashore Membership options 18 spacious villas with sweeping ocean and island views. Starting from a sprawling five-bedroom property to extra intimate one-bedroom cottages, each house on the property has a breezy Caribbean really feel and an indoor-outdoor vibe that matches completely with the island. The property additionally has a small seaside membership and a waterfront restaurant tucked on the sand under.
Sandcastle Resort at Soggy Greenback
From its as soon as humble beginnings, the island’s well-known Soggy Greenback Bar has expanded to welcome in a single day friends at its Sandcastle Resort at Soggy Greenback. Although the property requires a three-night minimal keep, its six small, colourful cottages are an important choice for many who need to be simply steps from the sand—and the island’s get together scene.
The Glass Home
The Glass Home is a modern, attractive four-bedroom villa that sits nestled into the hillside above White Bay Seashore, a standalone property that feels straight out of upscale Virgin Gorda. The property is simply as fashionable as its identify implies, with a full wall of glass letting in each tone of Caribbean blue and providing uninterrupted views that carry all through, from its full kitchen to the immense indoor-outdoor residing house excellent for household gatherings.
Greatest Issues to Do
Courtesy of The British Virgin Islands Vacationer Board
Go beach-hopping.
As boats pull as much as the pristine patch of sand at White Bay Seashore, many island guests barely get additional than the well-known Soggy Greenback Bar—however with vibes this festive, can you actually blame them? Spend just a few hours soaking within the solar right here earlier than heading just some minutes away to Nice Harbour, one other common beachfront with loads to see and savor, from water sports activities like paddleboarding and kayaking to beachside bites at Cunning’s Tamarind Bar and Restaurant.
Get an overwater therapeutic massage.
Anchored above the mild waves of White Bay, the floating Ocean Spa presents maybe essentially the most distinctive rest ritual within the Caribbean. Select from a wide range of types of massages and sink into the expertise whereas being gently rocked and lulled by the sounds of the ocean.
Go snorkeling or diving.
Jost Van Dyke’s volcanic basis makes it a memorable spot for exploring underwater landscapes that vary from wall dives appropriate for inexperienced persons to superior dive websites like The Cathedral, that includes a tunnel to a secret cave hidden beneath the guts of the island. Jost Van Dyke Scuba is the final word outfit for any tour, providing every little thing from gear leases to multi-day PADI certification courses.
Courtesy of The British Virgin Islands Vacationer Board
Hike to the Bubbly Pool.
A pure surprise hidden on the little-visited jap nook of the island, Jost Van Dyke’s Bubbly Pool is sort of a pure Jacuzzi reduce from centuries of pure erosion within the craggy shoreline. Propelled by waves, seawater funnels by slender slots within the rocks, filling the pure pool with frothy, bubbly water heated by the solar. The Bubbly Pool is not accessible by automobile, so you may must take a path that cuts behind Cunning’s Taboo to achieve it. Carry sturdy sneakers for the quick hike. Notice that waves can get a bit tough right here, so swim at your personal danger.
Greatest Eating places
Courtesy of The British Virgin Islands Vacationer Board
Soggy Greenback Bar
Essentially the most well-known seaside bar within the Caribbean, Soggy Greenback Bar is way more than simply the house of the well-known painkiller, a wonderfully tropical concoction of darkish rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple and orange juices topped with freshly grated nutmeg. For the reason that Nineteen Seventies, patrons have been swimming to shore for cocktails, leaving their {dollars} waterlogged from the journey however all the time welcome. These days, the favored spot has a full menu of meals starting from grilled fish sandwiches to jerk rooster and Asian-inspired sides.
Cunning’s Tamarind Bar and Restaurant
Peel your self away from White Bay Seashore and stomach as much as the bar at Cunning’s Tamarind Bar and Restaurant, a beloved island hang-out since 1968. Cunning’s is “some of the legendary seaside bars within the Caribbean, identified for its energetic environment, stay music, BBQ feasts, and unforgettable New Yr’s Eve events that draw sailors and vacationers from around the globe,” says Mason Kramer, vacation spot specialist at onefinestay, a luxurious trip residence firm that rents villas and curates memorable journeys throughout the British Virgin Islands and past. Founder Cunning is such a well-known character within the BVI that he was named a Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Catch him chatting with patrons and performing authentic music on the bar effectively into the night time.
Hendo’s Hideout
A few of the beachside spots on Jost Van Dyke’s South Shore all begin to look the identical after some time— however not Hendo’s Hideout. A barely extra elevated, however by no means stuffy, bar and restaurant expertise on White Bay Seashore, Hendo’s Hideout options an intensive all-day menu that ranges from sushi with fresh-caught fish to a well-liked Sunday brunch expertise with bottomless mimosas. The attractive open-air eating house and spacious, shady beachfront invitations friends to unfold out all day lengthy.
Abe’s by the Sea
In the course of the busiest days in bustling Nice Harbour and White Bay, escape to close by Garner Bay for a dose of pure peace and loads of basic Caribbean taste at Abe’s by the Sea. Feast on recent lobster, curried fish, and stewed conch amongst different island favorites, and wash all of it down with a Carib at sundown at this still-secret, locals-only spot.
Nightlife
Full Moon Get together at Cunning’s
Jost Van Dyke can really feel like a celebration from dawn to sundown, although its seaside bar-style venues do not lend a real nightlife really feel to the island—with one huge exception. Partiers flock to Cunning’s Tamarind Bar and Restaurant month in and month out for a raucous, famend Full Moon Get together. That includes hearth dancers, stay music, and DJ units that hold the get together going as moonlight floods the bay, these celebrations are so common that regional ferries usually change their schedules simply to accommodate attendees.
Areas to Go to
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South Shore
White Bay Seashore and Nice Harbour sit aspect by aspect on the island’s South Shore. This space is the unique residence to virtually all the island’s eating places, bars, and lodging, attracting partiers and paradise seekers. It could actually generally really feel busy when the bays fill with yachts in the course of the excessive season of journey.
East Shore
The much less developed and much much less visited East Shore of Jost Van Dyke feels a world away from the festivities of White Bay Seashore. Regardless of having its personal Cunning’s outpost, Cunning’s Taboo, Jost Van Dyke’s East Shore is about having fun with a laid-back lunch earlier than mountain climbing to the Bubbly Pool and crusing to Little Jost Van Dyke simply throughout the channel.
Little Jost Van Dyke
Toss a conch shell from the seaside on the island’s East Shore and you will hit Little Jost van Dyke, an uninhabited island with little greater than a lone seaside bar crowning its untouched shoreline. After spending just a few hours absorbing the solar, sail to close by Sandy Spit, an ideal white dune rising from the ocean that makes for an ideal castaway expertise (and an ideal snap for Instagram).
Greatest Time to Go to
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Like most Caribbean islands, Jost Van Dyke experiences cloud-free skies and clear seas from December by April, drawing guests fleeing colder climates in droves. Jost Van Dyke is busier and costlier in the course of the excessive season of journey, however its smaller variety of stayover friends means it will not really feel as loopy as extra common islands within the archipelago.
Low season vacationers ought to remember the fact that Jost Van Dyke sits throughout the hurricane belt, the place tropical storms are potential from June by November. Even when bigger climate programs skirt previous the island, the season often brings excessive temperatures and storm clouds that dump afternoon rains a number of instances every week.
As to be anticipated of an island so well-known for its get together scene, “New Yr’s Eve on Jost Van Dyke is a legendary celebration identified for its energetic environment,” says Kramer, with Cunning’s being the guts of the get together. Ebook your journey in the course of the festive season far prematurely, as lodge rooms and villas can ebook out as much as a 12 months prematurely.
Crusing lovers will need to plan a go to to the British Virgin Islands in early April for the annual BVI Spring Regatta, thought-about some of the prestigious regattas within the Caribbean. Although many of the week-long pageant’s occasions happen on Tortola, Jost Van Dyke is all the time full of occasion guests and contributors trying to unwind earlier than and after the primary occasion, giving the island a festive vibe all week.
How one can Get There
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Jost Van Dyke would not have an airport of its personal, so most vacationers begin their journey to the island by touring to Tortola. The biggest and most populated island within the British Virgin Islands, Tortola is residence to Terrance B. Lettsome Worldwide Airport (EIS), which receives a each day American Airways flight from Miami and a number of each day flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and different neighboring Caribbean locations.
From Tortola, Jost Van Dyke is well accessible by way of water taxi, ferry, or non-public boat constitution. Ferry service makes the round-trip journey between Tortola’s West Finish and Jost Van Dyke’s Nice Harbour in simply 25 minutes, 5 instances a day. Tickets value $40 per individual, spherical journey.
How one can Get Round
Most guests stick virtually solely to Jost Van Dyke’s southern shore, making it simple to navigate seashores and oceanfront lodging on foot. Nevertheless, the extra adventure-minded vacationers will love the independence of a automobile, obtainable for hire from Paradise Jeep Leases in Nice Harbour, to entry hilltop viewpoints of the craggy, windswept north coast, or rental houses hidden within the island’s inside. Taxis are additionally available for guests.