Route · 14 days · round-tripYacht charter route · British Virgin Islands

Tortola (Road Town) via Anegada & Cane Garden Bay.

Round-trip out of Tortola across the whole British Virgin Islands: the Baths, Anegada's reef, Jost Van Dyke and every quiet Bight between.

The route

Day-by-day route

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Day 1

Tortola (Road Town) → Norman Island

Norman Island's Bight sits barely six miles from base, an easy first afternoon between the snorkel caves and the floating pirate bar.

Distance

6 NM

Sailing

~1.2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

November – May (peak Dec – Apr)

Duration

14 days

Departure

Tortola (Road Town)

Sailing area

British Virgin Islands

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 14

Day 1

Tortola (Road Town) → Norman Island

Pick up the boat at Road Town, sort provisioning and the chart briefing, then slip out for an easy reach across the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Norman Island sits roughly six miles south, so there's no rush. The Bight opens up as a wide, sheltered bay with a mooring field maintained by the Pirates restaurant ashore. Grab a ball, splash the dinghy, and motor round to the Caves at Treasure Point before the day boats clear out. The snorkelling there is genuine, with silversides schooling in the grottoes that supposedly inspired Stevenson. Come evening, the Willy T floating bar sits a few hundred feet off the beach, painkillers flowing and the braver crews leaping off the top deck. We usually eat ashore at Pirates and turn in early. Fourteen days is a long time; day one is for settling the rhythm.

Things to do

Snorkel the Caves at Treasure Point

Painkillers aboard the Willy T

Dinner ashore at Pirates Bight

Swim the beach at the Bight

Mooring tip

The Bight has plenty of balls maintained by Pirates, but it fills through winter high season; aim to be moored by mid-afternoon. Anchoring is possible outside the field in sand if the buoys are taken.

Day 2

Norman Island → Peter Island

Peter Island lies just across the channel from Norman, a couple of miles at most, so morning is yours to linger over coffee and a second snorkel. When you do leave, the sail is short and usually into the easterly breeze. The north coast shelters two good anchorages. Great Harbour is the deeper, narrow bay with moorings and reliable holding in sand at twenty to thirty feet. Little Harbour, further west, tends to be calmer and less crowded, which is where we often end up. Ashore the island is private resort land, so the appeal is really the water: Deadman's Bay on the south side has a long ribbon of sand and decent snorkelling off the points. Keep the evening simple, cook aboard, and watch the light go off the Tortola hills.

Things to do

Anchor in quiet Little Harbour

Beach walk along Deadman's Bay

Snorkel the rocky points off White Bay

Sundowners on deck facing Tortola

Mooring tip

Great Harbour has good sand holding at 20-30 feet plus moorings; Little Harbour is calmer but tighter, so arrive earlier for a ball. Both are exposed to a northerly swell if one runs.

Day 3

Peter Island → Cooper Island

From Peter Island it's a short beat or reach east to Cooper, depending on how the trades sit. Manchioneel Bay on the west side is the draw, a curve of moorings in front of the Cooper Island Beach Club. The place runs largely on solar, brews its own coffee, and the rum bar behind the restaurant keeps a serious back-catalogue of bottles. Book a table if you want dinner ashore. The white mooring balls go first-come and are usually gone by noon, so we tend to push off Peter Island by mid-morning. Cistern Point at the northern end of the bay is a fine snorkel, with turtles working the grass beds and a wall that drops into blue. Once you're settled, there's little to do but swim, read, and let the afternoon slide.

Things to do

Rum flight at the Beach Club bar

Snorkel the wall at Cistern Point

Dinner at Cooper Island restaurant

Fresh coffee from the roastery ashore

Mooring tip

Seventeen white balls are first-come and typically full by midday; twenty orange balls at the south end can be reserved through the BoatyBall app. Anchoring inside the field is not allowed.

Day 4

Cooper Island → The Baths (Virgin Gorda)

The Baths are the one BVI sight that lives up to the postcards, and the trick is timing. Leave Cooper early and sail the few miles up to the southwest tip of Virgin Gorda, because the day boats pile in from about ten. Pick up a National Parks ball off the beach or at Devil's Bay, then take the dinghy to the line and swim the last stretch in. Ashore, a trail threads between granite boulders the size of houses, past shafts of light and pools that fill and drain with the swell. The scramble to Devil's Bay takes twenty minutes and rewards you with quieter sand. This is a day-use anchorage only, so plan to move on for the night. Spring Bay next door or the Yacht Harbour make sensible options.

Things to do

Boulder trail through to Devil's Bay

Early snorkel before the day boats

Swim the grottoes at Spring Bay

Cold drink at Poor Man's Bar

Mooring tip

National Parks day-use balls off the Baths beach and at Devil's Bay run about $30 and cannot be held overnight. Grab one early, then move to Spring Bay or the Yacht Harbour before dark.

Day 5

The Baths (Virgin Gorda) → North Sound (Leverick Bay)

North Sound is the calmest big anchorage in the territory, an almost enclosed lagoon protected by reef and a scatter of small islands. The sail up from the Baths runs around the eastern side of Virgin Gorda and takes a couple of hours, sometimes a lively close reach once you clear the point. Inside, you have your pick: Leverick Bay in the southwest corner is the practical choice, with a mooring field, a marina, a chandlery and a decent beach bar. It's a good spot to top up water, do laundry, and grab a proper shower. Holding across the sound is excellent in sticky mud at thirty to forty-five feet if you'd rather anchor. Leverick throws a Friday night jump-up with a mocko jumbie stilt dancer that's worth catching if your dates line up.

Things to do

Friday jump-up at Leverick Bay

Top up water and provisions ashore

Beach bar drinks at the marina

Taxi up to the Gorda Peak lookout

Mooring tip

Leverick Bay has a large mooring field and marina slips with shore power; book a slip ahead in high season. Holding across North Sound is excellent in mud at 30-45 feet if you prefer to anchor.

Day 6

North Sound (Leverick Bay) → Anegada

Anegada is the outlier, flat coral and limestone where every other BVI island is volcanic and steep. From North Sound it's about fifteen miles north, two to three hours on a reach, and the approach matters. You thread a buoyed channel cut through Horseshoe Reef, so time your run for good light and keep the marks honest. Setting Point is the only anchorage, a friendly line of moorings and lobster restaurants strung along the shore. Once you're in, rent a jeep or grab a taxi to the north coast: Loblolly Bay and Cow Wreck Bay are the sort of wide, empty sand you sail all this way for. Book your lobster in the afternoon so the kitchen has time; grilled at the Wonky Dog or Potter's, it's the whole reason you came.

Things to do

Grilled lobster dinner at the Wonky Dog

Jeep out to Loblolly Bay

Snorkel the flats off Cow Wreck Bay

Spot flamingos in the salt ponds

Mooring tip

Approach Setting Point only in good overhead light and follow the channel buoys through Horseshoe Reef; the surrounding water shoals fast. Reserve a mooring in season, and book your lobster ashore hours ahead.

Day 7

Anegada → North Sound (Leverick Bay)

Leaving Anegada, retrace the channel out through the reef and lay a course back for North Sound; with the trades on the beam it's a quick, easy passage. Rather than settling straight back at Leverick, spend the afternoon working the eastern side of the lagoon. Saba Rock is a tiny island with an upmarket bar and a dense little mooring field, good for a rum and the sunset. Next door, the Bitter End Yacht Club has been rebuilt and runs a lively dock scene, watersports and a provisioning shop. Prickly Pear across the water has a quiet beach and a beach bar at Vixen Point if you want sand under your feet. We usually drop back onto a Leverick ball for the calmer night. There's no long sail tomorrow, so enjoy the flat water.

Things to do

Sunset rum at Saba Rock

Dock scene at the Bitter End

Beach bar at Vixen Point, Prickly Pear

Paddleboard the sheltered lagoon

Mooring tip

Saba Rock's field is small and packs out early; grab a ball by late afternoon or plan to eat by dinghy. For a quieter night, take a Leverick Bay mooring and dinghy across to the bars.

Day 8

North Sound (Leverick Bay) → Scrub Island

Today you start working back west along the chain. Scrub Island sits just off Tortola's eastern end, a mile or so out, and the sail down from North Sound is a comfortable run with the breeze behind. Scrub is a resort island with a full marina, so this is the night to take a slip if you fancy shore power, a long shower and a swim in the hillside pools. The restaurant and beach are open to berth-holders, and provisioning is easy before the second half of the trip. If you'd rather stay on the hook, nearby Marina Cay and Trellis Bay both offer moorings, with Trellis a hub of local life and the old Aragorn's studio on the beach. Either way it's a soft, civilised stop to break the run home.

Things to do

Swim the hillside pools at the resort

Slip berth and a long hot shower

Dinghy to Trellis Bay for beach life

Browse Aragorn's Studio metalwork

Mooring tip

Scrub Island Marina takes reservations through Dockwa and has 50-plus slips with power and water; book ahead in season. For a mooring instead, nearby Marina Cay and Trellis Bay are a short hop west.

Day 9

Scrub Island → Cane Garden Bay

Cane Garden Bay sits on the northwest coast of Tortola, so from Scrub you round the eastern end and sail the length of the north shore, a pleasant reach of a couple of hours. The bay is a broad crescent of sand backed by green hills, packed with mooring balls and a handful of beach bars. Tie up, swim ashore, and the afternoon can go one of two ways. Walk up to the Callwood Rum Distillery, an old stone still-house that has been making Arundel rum for generations, then wander back for grilled fish and reggae at Quito's Gazebo, run by local musician Quito Rymer. Myett's does a good beach dinner too. The one caveat: a north swell turns this bay uncomfortable, so watch the forecast and keep a second option in your pocket.

Things to do

Tour the old Callwood Rum Distillery

Reggae night at Quito's Gazebo

Beach dinner at Myett's Garden & Grille

Swim the crescent at Cane Garden Bay

Mooring tip

Cane Garden Bay is thick with moorings; pick one up rather than fighting for anchor room among them. It rolls badly in a north swell, so check the forecast and be ready to duck round to a south-coast bay instead.

Day 10

Cane Garden Bay → Jost Van Dyke

Jost Van Dyke lies just west of Tortola, a short sail across the Thatch Island cut. Two anchorages define the day. White Bay is the picture: a reef-fringed strip of white sand where the Soggy Dollar Bar claims to have invented the Painkiller, and you swim ashore because there's no dinghy dock worth the name. Great Harbour round the corner is the island's working heart and port of entry, home to Foxy's, where Philicianno Callwood has been holding court and playing calypso for decades. Anchoring in Great Harbour is fussy, with shallow sand close in and poor-holding mud beyond, so a mooring is the sensible call. Spend the afternoon in White Bay and the evening at Foxy's, or the other way about. Few places pack this much character into one small island.

Things to do

Painkiller at the Soggy Dollar Bar

Swim ashore to White Bay's sand

Calypso and BBQ at Foxy's

Dinghy to the Bubbly Pool at Diamond Cay

Mooring tip

White Bay has a handful of moorings paid at the Soggy Dollar or Ivan's, with room to anchor in sand through the reef cuts. Great Harbour holds poorly, so take an overnight mooring there rather than trusting the anchor.

Day 11

Jost Van Dyke → Cane Garden Bay

The short leg back from Jost gives you a lazy morning at White Bay before you cross to Tortola's north coast. Coming into Cane Garden Bay a second time, you already know the drill, so this stop is about slowing down rather than sightseeing. Grab a ball, swim the length of the beach, and snorkel the rocks at the northern end where the reef holds small fry and the odd ray. Landside, the little strip of bars and shops is easy to potter along, and a taxi up to the Bananakeet viewpoint gives you the whole bay laid out below at sunset. Provision lightly if you need to; the small shops carry the basics. Cook aboard, or take a last plate of grilled fish ashore before the boat points south again tomorrow.

Things to do

Snorkel the rocks at the north point

Sunset from the Bananakeet viewpoint

Long swim across the crescent beach

Grilled fish supper on the sand

Mooring tip

As before, take a mooring rather than anchor in the crowded field, and keep an eye on any north swell. If the bay is rolling, Brewers Bay just east is a quieter fallback with its own moorings.

Day 12

Cane Garden Bay → Norman Island

This is one of the best sailing days of the fortnight. From Cane Garden Bay you clear the west end of Tortola and lay a long reach down the Sir Francis Drake Channel, wind on the beam, the whole island chain sliding past to port. If the timing works, stop at the Indians on the way in, four rock pinnacles that make one of the finest snorkels in the BVI, and pick up a National Parks ball there for an hour. Then it's a short hop into the Bight for your last night on Norman Island. Coming back, the bay feels familiar and easy. Try Kelly's Cove at the north side for a quieter snorkel this time, and take dinner at Pirates or back aboard the Willy T if the crew has energy left.

Things to do

Snorkel the pinnacles at the Indians

Reach down the Sir Francis Drake Channel

Quiet snorkel at Kelly's Cove

Last night moored in the Bight

Mooring tip

The Indians has a small day-use National Parks mooring field that fills fast; grab one mid-morning or plan a short stop between other boats. Back at the Bight, moorings are plentiful but claim one before the afternoon rush.

Day 13

Norman Island → Peter Island

With the boat due back tomorrow, day thirteen is deliberately gentle. It's a couple of miles from Norman across to Peter Island, so there's no reason to hurry off the mooring. This time make for Great Harbour, the deep central bay, where the holding is good and the moorings sit close under the hills. The point of stopping here again is simple: one more swim and one more quiet night before the marina. Take the dinghy round to Deadman's Bay, a long arc of pale sand on the south side with easy snorkelling off either headland. Back aboard, this is the evening to finish whatever is left in the galley and the cool box, tidy the boat a little, and watch the sun drop behind Norman Island one last time from the water.

Things to do

Last swim off Deadman's Bay

Snorkel the headlands either side of the bay

Quiet mooring night in Great Harbour

Empty the galley into a deck supper

Mooring tip

Great Harbour holds well in sand at 20-30 feet and has moorings under the north shore; it's the most sheltered of Peter Island's bays. Pick your spot early so you're settled for a calm last night at anchor.

Day 14

Peter Island → Tortola (Road Town)

The last leg is a gentle one, three or four miles back across the Sir Francis Drake Channel from Peter Island to Road Town. Most bases want the boat alongside by mid-morning, so leave in good time and enjoy a final short sail rather than a rushed motor. Stow the gear, bag the rubbish, and top up the fuel and water if your contract asks for it. Once you're checked in, Road Town has enough to fill the gap before a flight: the Saturday market and craft stalls, a rum shop or two for something to carry home, and a proper lunch ashore that someone else has to cook. Two weeks in the BVI covers a lot of ground for such a compact cruising area, and the loop back to Tortola always feels shorter than the sail out.

Things to do

Pick up local rum in Road Town

Browse the craft stalls near the ferry dock

Long lunch ashore after check-in

Settle the fuel and water at base

Mooring tip

Confirm your check-in time and fuel-dock procedure before leaving Peter Island; the Road Town fuel berth backs up on busy turnaround mornings. Aim to be alongside early to avoid queueing for the dock.

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