Jost van Dyke (JVD) a lot more than bars on this tiny island in the British Virgin Islands

Jost Van Dyke is renowned for it’s fun nature and bars! In Great Harbour you have the famous Foxy’s Bar owned by Philicianno ‘Foxy’ Callwood MBE; the appointment was made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as part of her 2008 New Years Honours List for his exemplary contributions to the Territory’s tourism industry and the preservation of it’s culture. Foxy’s is the famous bar that rocks every New Years Eve! You also have Wendell’s Bar owned by Foxy’s son, Corsairs Bar, and as you walk down the sandy Main Street you come across numerous tiny bars that all look out to sea.

In White Bay you have the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. Aptly named due to the surge that is always present in the bay, you have to jump off your dinghy and swim to the beach. Hence your dollars are a bit soggy when you reach the shore. White Bay is now lined with bars all competing for your business including One Love which offers great locally caught lobster for lunch.

In Little Harbour you have Sidney’s Peace & Love that serves a simple tasty dinner of Fish, Lobster or great Ribs and it has an honesty bar, so you become the bar man or bar maid for the evening, writing in a little book what your party has consumed.

However the beautiful island of JVD has a lot more to offer, it’s not just about the bars.

Hiking on JVD is great! There is a limited amount of traffic as you walk alongside the roadway which offers great views of the anchorages and over to Tortola and to St John USVI. If you walk up to the very top of the hill there’s a disused Sugar Mill. As you walk around you’ll come across Bananas growing wild, lots and lots of goats roaming around freely and beef cattle. And as you hike around this lovely island you’re never too far away from light refreshments.

Visit the Bubbly Pools at Diamond Cay. Tie your dinghy to Foxy’s Taboo Restaurant and walk around to the headland. Here you will find a pool of water that bubbles as the northerly swell surges through the gap. If a strong ground swell is running from the north then it’s best to postpone your trip until another day.

Sandy Spit is a fantastic anchorage. You anchor behind a tiny sandy spit that has a palm tree growing on it, and an area of shallow reef between the spit and Green Cay. It’s great for snorkeling. Under normal wind conditions this anchorage is quite comfortable overnight because the waves are broken by the reef, which reduces the swell.

Green Cay lies to the North of Sandy Spit and is uninhabited except for numerous goats. You can hike around this island, but watch out for the tiny cactus.

Sandy Cay is a popular day anchorage. This tiny island was owned by the Laurance Rockefeller Estate, however on 1 May 2008 the ownership of the island was transferred to the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands. Sandy Cay is considerably larger that the smaller neighbouring Sandy Spit. Again this tiny Caribbean island is covered in pure white sand and coconut palms. You can walk around the Cay and the snorkeling is great.

Great Tobago is an island that lies due west of JVD. This uninhabited island is the only nesting site in the BVI for the Magnificent Frigate Birds.

Pacific Wave regularly visits Jost van Dyke. Why not join us on a BVI crewed yacht charter and explore this fantastic island on your private cruise of the stunning British Virgin Islands.