If peace, tranquility, and leisurely days coupled with friendly, laid back restaurants and bars sounds like a slice of vacation heaven, Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) may well be your tropical nirvana. You won’t find hordes of tourists or roads cluttered with traffic; you will find a Caribbean paradise just four miles long blessed with warm, friendly people (not many, however, as the local population is only 225), beautiful tropical beaches, and a picturesque yacht harbor. And because Jost Van Dyke is so compact, almost everything is within walking distance. Your ship anchors offshore, and a smaller vessel takes you to either Great Harbour or White Bay. The beach at White Bay is perhaps the BVI’s most spectacular – palm trees, powdery white sand, turquoise water, and shaded hammocks to boot. Just offshore, a reef parallels the beach, creating a perfect environment for swimming and snorkeling in the calmest of Caribbean waters.



Another must-see is Bubbly Pool on the island’s rugged north coast, an exquisite natural pool cradled in large formations of dark volcanic rock. At high tide, waves smash against these rocks, forcing seawater through a narrow opening that feeds the pool. As its name implies, water bubbles around you as it surges in and out, powered by the ever-changing dynamics of the sea – almost as if Poseidon himself created a natural Jacuzzi for people to enjoy.

Besides the natural beauty all around you, Jost Van Dyke’s nightlife provides an entertaining coda to your waking hours. People return here many times over for the sheer simplicity of life exhibited in the camaraderie and easy socializing in the island’s restaurants and bars. In fact, there may be more here than anyplace else in the BVI.

Among them, The Soggy Dollar, so named for the thoroughly soaked money sailors would pull from their pockets after anchoring offshore and swimming to the beach. Voted “Best Beach Bar in the Caribbean” and “Number One Watering Hole in the World,” it’s the home of the original Painkiller -- dark rum, pineapple and orange juice, cream of coconut, topped with nutmeg – that’s become the Caribbean cocktail. The Stress Free Bar is part of a campsite complex run by 7th-generation native and guitarist, Ivan Chinnery. With luck, you might see visiting musicians like Jimmy Buffet or Keith Richards sitting in. Also worth checking out are Foxy’s Taboo Restaurant, where the Taboo burgers are said to be absolutely sinful, and Foxy’s Beach Bar, famous for throwing huge New Year’s Eve parties that fill Great Harbour with hundreds of yachts from all over the Caribbean and beyond.

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