Exploring the BVI on Pizza My Heart: An Owner’s Itinerary

Welcome to the BVI, and to our home away from home, Pizza My Heart! We’re Colarado natives and love the escape to paradise.

Our boat is setup for longer cruises and, if you can get away for long enough, it starts to feel so much like home that you want to become BVI residents! We thought we’d share our favourite spots in the BVI and the typical route we like to take to give you some ideas for your next sailing vacation.

Travelling from the US to the BVI

We fly from Colorado to the BVI and love the non-stop flights to Beef Island (EIS), Tortola on American Airlines. We leave on a red-eye to Miami and arrive early the following afternoon. It’s easy, comfortable and convenient.

Night 1 & Provisioning 

We spend the first night at the marina on our second home, Pizza My Heart. Typically, we go to Peg Leg’s for a happy hour drink, then to Omar’s for a delicious dinner.

We usually provision out of the Rite Way on site whose entrance is about 75 feet from the edge of Horizon’s dock! If you go first thing in the morning, they will have recently stocked their day’s veggies/fruits, so you can pick out what is looking fresh. The Rite Way, while pretty small, has enough of everything we need, and the prices are the same as their larger locations. The meat selection can be somewhat limited though, and we have previously packed a cooler from home with frozen meats/cheeses for our longer stays. We declared them at customs, and they only charged us $20. For a week’s longer charter packing the cooler from home probably is not worth the trouble!

For re-provisioning along our trip we really like the convenience and selection at Trellis Bay. Mooring balls are almost always accessible (maybe avoid the night after the full-moon party though) and it is a quick ride to the dinghy dock. There is free trash disposal, and you can fill any empty water jugs/containers at their fill station, which will save a few bucks and reduce waste. If you have guests coming or going mid-trip via the airport, it’s a convenient 5-minute walk (at most) from the dock to the terminal.

Avoiding the crowds

Many charter companies start and end on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and follow a counterclockwise itinerary. If you start your charter with Horizon on an alternative day of the week, or take a slightly different route, you can avoid the majority. One recommendation if you do start on a weekend is to head straight for Cane Garden Bay or Jost Van Dyke. Spend a couple of nights there, then head back toward Norman Island on Monday-Tuesday. When there is no north swell, we enjoy Sunday nights in Cane Garden Bay where there is usually live music and the house band at the Elm Bar which starts at 7pm – they are fabulous! To check if there is a swell I read NOAA’s marine forecast for St. John, look at PredictWind, and check the surf forecast (good surfing = rolly anchorage).

Diamond Cay is a nice, quieter anchorage on Jost Van Dyke and good to avoid the crowds. Take time to hit the B-Line bar and Foxy’s Taboo. The walk to the Bubbly Pools is lovely as well and they are especially nice with a north swell! Our favorite hangout on Jost Van Dyke is Ivan’s Stress-Free Bar in White Bay. There are mooring balls/anchoring available on the east side of the bay, but it can be crowded! Another option is to pick-up a mooring ball in Little or Great Harbor and take a taxi to White Bay.

A hidden gem this side of the BVI is Great Tobago. There is one National Parks mooring ball, which initially appears quite close to shore. However, there is more room than you think and plenty of depth. As long as you are comfortable with maneuvering your vessel you shouldn’t have a problem.

Heading to Norman & our top snorkeling spots

If you can get a mooring ball at Kelly’s Cove on Norman Island, I highly recommend it! It’s away from the hustle and bustle of the Bight’s mooring field, but is still only a quick dinghy ride to Pirate’s Bight or Willy T. However, there are only 5 balls in Kelly’s Cove and limited anchoring space.

One of our favorite hikes in the BVI starts behind Pirate’s Bight. From there it is a quick 20-minute uphill hike to a viewpoint where you can see the back side of Norman and overlook the Bight. This hike can continue all the way over to either Money or Benures Bay if you wish to walk a bit longer. Speaking of favourites, Benures Bay is another one of our go-tos as it’s gorgeous and perfect for stand-up paddle boarding or lounging in tranquility. Snorkeling here is decent too.

There are two, day-use mooring balls available on top of the old sunken Willy T off of Rogers’s Point on Peter Island. It’s pretty neat to look at, but in my opinion, the better snorkeling is at Roger’s Point which is a quick dinghy ride away. There is a nice overnight anchorage at Rogers Point (anchor only, no mooring balls available) that can provide tranquility and easy access to both these hidden gems.

Other snorkeling hot spots we have found are the Dogs, Indians, Diamond Reef and Monkey Point. The last time we were at Monkey Point, two dolphins greeted us upon arrival! The best snorkeling at the Dogs is on the south shore of Great Dog, but the beach at George Dog makes that a nice option as well. Great Dog should be avoided with any sort of swell or 15+ knot winds.

Up to the North Sound & a BEYC Hike

The North Sound is a must-see as well. With our oversized Mantus anchor, we usually anchor at either Drake’s or Prickly Pear. Drake’s is open to the prevailing wind, which can either be a good or bad thing depending on conditions, but the reef provides good protection from the swell (unless it is a larger swell, then I’d suggest another anchorage). Prickly Pear is more protected from the wind and swell and is closer to both Saba Rock and Bitter End Yacht Club but can be busy. There is a wonderful, albeit steep hike that involves climbing steep rocks that have ropes for assistance behind the BEYC. For the more adventurous, it is a loop hike that takes about an hour and rewards you with outstanding views of not only the surrounding area, but almost all the BVI and the USVI as well!

Sailing up to Anegada We almost always make a point to spend two nights in Anegada. If you can plan your arrival on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday you will not have any issues grabbing a ball and get to be a little more personal with the friendly locals. Monday and Tuesdays are the busiest days of the week in Anegada. On our arrival day, we’ll typically make dinner reservations at one of the waterfront lobster restaurants. They are all excellent! On Day 2 we rent a car or truck with flatbed benches and explore the island. We don’t recommend renting scooters as we have personally seen carnage and heard many more stories of scooters hitting soft sand and the driver/passengers taking a fall. The one stop we always make, is at Tipsy’s to say hi to Ann who works everyday she is open!

Heading back to base at Nanny Cay

When landing at Nanny Cay’s fuel docks keep in mind that the breeze will be coming from the port side if looking forward from the water toward the dock.

We hope you have an amazing stay in the BVI, you now have a Pizza My Heart! Contact us today to get sailing.