Beach bars of the BVI

The BVI has more beach bars per square mile than anywhere in the Caribbean. They lie scattered around the many islands on superb sand and coves, pastel coloured beacons of entertainment against the bright white coral sand. Some are ramshackle lean-tos with sand on the floor, ideal for a meal of fritters and beer, others are rather grander, with cocktail menus and filet mignon - though you still never need to wear anything more formal than shorts and a tropical shirt.

1. The Soggy Dollar, White Bay, Jost van Dyke

We should honour the Soggy Dollar just for the fact that it has been there since the 1970s. It’s the original swim-up bar in one of the BVI’s loveliest coves, with some of the finest sea and sand in the islands. It’s still a pretty ramshackle affair even after its recent rebuild (following Hurricane Irma in 2017, when only the concrete footprint survived, though its original bar remains), but that’s the way they like it. It is a simple turquoise-painted cinder block building with a large covered bar at the front, from where you walk out onto the sand and the beach chairs under the palms and parasols.

2. Hendo’s Hideout, White Bay, Jost

Right next door, but a different vibe entirely. Hendo’s is set on an open-sided hardwood deck with rope balustrades, part open to the sun and part (the bar) under thatch. It is less casual (but we’re talking the Caribbean and sailing, here), with hefty wooden tables and chairs rather than wobbly plastic tables on the sand. And you’ll find smarter food – sushi rolls and wraps for lunch and ceviche followed by pan-seared salmon at dinner.

There is almost a circuit for yachts travelling around the BVI, an anti-clockwise route through the islands, the result of holiday timings and nautical logic - changeover day is Saturday and most of the marinas are on the south coast of Tortola. Some yachts scoot across to lovely Jost for the first night, but most head across to Norman Island, or to Cooper Island. You can avoid the crowds, obviously, but it is also fun to share the sailing experience with other crews, meeting them in the bars along the route.

 3 Willy T, The Bight, Norman Island

The Willy T, the William Thornton, is a legend – a floating bar in the Bight, the huge bay on Norman Island in the chain opposite Tortola. The Willy T is actually a former Baltic trading boat, but nowadays it does rumbustious business as a double decker restaurant and bar, with an American and Caribbean menu. Plenty of action, the Willy T can get very lively, with dancing on the tables, multi-person shots off a water-ski (and raunchier).

4. Cooper Island

Set on a protected bay on its own island, across the Francis Drake Channel from Tortola, the Cooper Island Beach Club has become much more than a beach club nowadays. It has a rum bar, a coffee box (for some of the BVI’s most reliable coffee in the morning), a brewery, with watersports and a shop, plus rooms. But it still has a lively beach bar and restaurant and is a lovely sport to see the sunset through the masts.

Yachts often make an anti-clockwise route around the islands, working their way up the island chain to Virgin Gorda, and then crossing the 15 miles of open sea to Anegada. From there they usually catch the following wind to the East End of Tortola, before heading back to Jost or across the Channel again for their final evening.

5. Jumbie’s Beach Bar, Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda

While it’s not really on the best beach, the pastel coloured and gingerbread Jumbie’s Beach Bar at Leverick Bay still has an irresistible draw, particularly for its Friday night jump up. It’s one of the liveliest evenings in the week, when the moko jumbies (brightly-dressed men on stilts) put in an appearance. Food from all over – rotis, quesadillas, even cottage pie and renowned pizzas.

6. The Sand Box, Prickly Pear Island, North Sound, Virgin Gorda

Again it’s the opposite, on the opposite side of the North Sound, a classic swim-up pastel-coloured shed with a couple of gazebos on a lovely stretch of sand at Vixen Point. Very low key except on the days when a crowd descends from a cruise ship (you might want to avoid it on those days, ask around), but otherwise the Sand Box sees just a few yachts and serves drinks and simple food. See what it’s like swimming up to the Sandbox.

From here yachts make the crossing to Anegada. The island has had a new lease of life since Hurricane Irma in 2017 as more and more yachts have visited.

7. Potter’s by the Sea, Setting Point, Anegada

Exactly how you’d expect a Caribbean beach bar to be – Potters sits on the calm bay at Setting Point, a brightly-painted, open-sided shed with a sand floor, thatched roof and picnic tables. Fairy lights and action on busy evenings, otherwise dozy to the point of drowsiness. Simple West Indian fare.

8. Flash of Beauty, north shore, Anegada

A turquoise and vivid pink construction set just behind the beach on the north coast, with some rudimentary furniture on the sand itself. Lively sea, snorkelling, sunbathing and then a retreat to the open-sided dining room serving classic West Indian fare – lobster fritters, crack conch and plates of chicken or fish.

From Anegada there is a long run with the wind back down to Tortola. Yachts head for the East End, to Cane Garden Bay, or to Jost.

9. Quito’s Gazebo, Cane Garden Bay, north coast of Tortola

Quito’s has been operating at the top end of the beach at Cane Garden Bay for decades. Now a series of decks, in part rustic and a bit more stylish, which look both onto the beach and the sunset over the sea. A cool air by day and night. You might even hear Quito himself play.

But perhaps you’ll end up back at Jost van Dyke, which is really the capital of beach bars, probably in the whole Caribbean. In Great Bay the beach bars stand shoulder to shoulder (with a church and the police station/Customs), along the whole of the shoreline.

10. Foxy’s, Great Bay, Jost van Dyke

And another legend, right in the corner of Great Bay. Foxy’s has been celebrating New Year (locally known as Old Year’s Night) for decades – as many as 300 yachts have been known to anchor for the night. It is a rambling bar with a sand floor in the corner of Great Bay. Low key by day, with background music, simple West Indian fare and determined inactivity, Foxy’s can be energetic by night, with cocktails, frozen drinks and beers to go with music and sometimes dancing.