Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · British Virgin Islands

Tortola round-trip.

A week-long sail from Tortola through the Virgin Gorda boulders to Anegada's reef, North Sound, Scrub Island and Jost Van Dyke's beach bars.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Day 1

Tortola (Road Town) → The Baths (Virgin Gorda)

Cross the Drake Channel to Virgin Gorda and thread through the granite boulders and grottoes of The Baths before the day boats arrive.

Distance

11 NM

Sailing

~2.2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

November – May (peak Dec – Apr)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Tortola

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 / 7

Day 1

Tortola (Road Town) → The Baths (Virgin Gorda)

Most crews clear Road Town by mid-morning and pick their way east across the Sir Francis Drake Channel, ten miles of steady beating into the trades with Virgin Gorda growing on the bow. The payoff is The Baths, where house-sized granite boulders tumble into the sea and form a maze of shaded grottoes and tidal pools. Pick up a National Parks ball off the beach, then swim or dinghy in and follow the rope-and-ladder trail through the rocks to Devil's Bay. Bring reef shoes; the scramble is wet and the stone gets slick. Snorkelling around the boulder bases turns up sergeant majors and the odd tarpon. Come early. By eleven the ferries land and the caves fill, so an eight o'clock start buys you an hour of near-empty beach and better light for photos.

Things to do

Scramble the boulder trail to Devil's Bay

Snorkel the grottoes around Spring Bay

Cool off in the shaded tidal pools

Photograph the caves before the ferries land

Mooring tip

The Baths mooring field is day-use only, so plan to leave by late afternoon and drop back to Spanish Town or Savannah Bay for the night. Balls are first-come; grab one by mid-morning in season.

Day 2

The Baths → North Sound (Leverick Bay)

From Spanish Town it is a short reach up the leeward coast, maybe ten miles, before you slip through the pass into North Sound. The water flattens the moment you are inside. This is a natural harbour ringed by anchorages: Leverick Bay for fuel, water and a proper grocery run, Saba Rock and the rebuilt Bitter End Yacht Club for sundowners, and quiet room to anchor off Prickly Pear. We usually take a Leverick ball, top up tanks, then dinghy across for the evening. Friday nights the dock hosts Michael Beans and his pirate jump-up, loud and good fun. If you would rather stay still, Saba Rock's own buoys include fresh water and a bag of ice, which is worth the fee after a hot day. Provision here; it is the last serious shop before Anegada.

Things to do

Top up fuel and water at Leverick Bay

Sundowners at the rebuilt Bitter End Yacht Club

Roll into Leverick Bay for Michael Beans' pirate jump-up

Take a mooring off Saba Rock

Mooring tip

North Sound runs on BoatyBall, so reserve a Leverick or Saba Rock ball from your phone before you arrive in peak weeks. Prefer to anchor? The mud-and-sand basin west of Prickly Pear holds well for modern anchors.

Day 3

North Sound → Anegada

This is the one properly open passage of the week, roughly twelve to fifteen miles of Atlantic-flavoured water with no island in sight until you are almost on top of it. Anegada is coral, not rock, so it barely lifts above the horizon. Leave North Sound by nine to keep the sun high and behind you for the approach. The channel into Setting Point is buoyed and narrow, and the water outside it shoals to nothing in seconds over the eighteen-mile Horseshoe Reef. Follow the red and green marks exactly and ignore any temptation to cut a corner. Once you are moored, the island runs at walking pace. Order your lobster in the afternoon at Potter's or the Anegada Reef Hotel so the grill is lit by the time you dinghy in.

Things to do

Order lobster ahead at Potter's by the Sea

Sunset drinks at the Anegada Reef Hotel

Watch the reef markers into Setting Point

Live music evenings at the Wonky Dog

Mooring tip

Setting Point has only a handful of moorings and almost no safe anchoring among the coral heads, so reserve a BoatyBall well ahead. Holding in the grassy patches is poor, and depths run just six to eight feet.

Day 4

Anegada → Anegada

Nobody touches the boat today. Anegada is the one island worth giving a whole day, so hire a jeep or a scooter at Setting Point, or flag a taxi, and cross the scrubby interior to the north shore. Loblolly Bay and Cow Wreck Beach are the two big draws, long ribbons of pale sand with reef close enough to swim to. The snorkelling off Loblolly is the best on the island, with elkhorn coral and the occasional turtle. Big Bamboo and the Cow Wreck Beach Bar handle lunch and cold Caribs. On the way back, stop at the western salt ponds where a small flock of flamingos feeds; early morning and late afternoon give the best sightings. Bonefishing guides work the flats if that is your thing. It is a slow, sunburnt kind of day, and that is the point.

Things to do

Snorkel the elkhorn reef off Loblolly Bay

Lunch at the Cow Wreck Beach Bar

Spot flamingos at the western salt ponds

Hire a jeep across the island interior

Mooring tip

You keep your Setting Point mooring for the second night, so there is nothing to move; just confirm your BoatyBall reservation covers both nights. Take the dinghy in early to lock down a jeep before they are all gone.

Day 5

Anegada → Scrub Island

Point the bow back toward the main island chain for the longest sail of the trip, sixteen-odd miles of beam reaching in the usual trades. Scrub Island sits off Tortola's north-east corner, a short hop from Marina Cay and Trellis Bay. The marina here is the smartest on the route, with slips for big boats, fresh water, power and a genuine hot shower, plus Donovan's Reef and Caravela for dinner if you have had enough of your own galley. We like tying up for a night to reset: laundry, provisioning at the Outpost, a swim off One Shoe Beach. Dive BVI runs trips out from the dock. If the marina is full, Marina Cay's mooring field next door makes a fine fallback with its own little beach bar.

Things to do

Dinner at Donovan's Reef Marina Bar

Swim off One Shoe Beach

Book a snorkel trip with Dive BVI

Reprovision at the Scrub Island Outpost

Mooring tip

Scrub Island is a marina rather than a mooring field, so book a slip through Dockwa a day or two ahead, especially for a larger catamaran. If it is booked out, pick up a ball at neighbouring Marina Cay instead.

Day 6

Scrub Island → Jost Van Dyke

Today the wind sits behind you, an easy run along the top of Tortola past Cane Garden Bay and around Great Thatch to Jost Van Dyke, the better part of fifteen miles depending on your line. Jost is small, sleepy and famous out of all proportion to its size. Great Harbour holds Foxy's, the beach bar Philicianno Callwood started decades ago, still throwing a party most nights. Round the corner in White Bay is the Soggy Dollar, where the Painkiller was invented and you swim ashore rather than land a dinghy. Both bays crowd up when the day boats arrive, so time it. Slip in before eleven or after four and you get the sand closer to yourself. Little Harbour, quieter still, has Sydney's Peace and Love and good moorings if the other two feel too busy.

Things to do

Painkillers at the Soggy Dollar Bar

Late night at Foxy's in Great Harbour

Swim ashore onto White Bay's sand

Quiet moorings and dinner in Little Harbour

Mooring tip

White Bay has only eight or ten balls and shallow anchoring in soft sand, so arrive early or take a mooring in calmer Great Harbour and dinghy round. Both bays are open to north swell and best avoided in winter groundswell.

Day 7

Jost Van Dyke → Tortola (Road Town)

The last morning is an easy one, only eight or ten miles back to Road Town, so there is no need to rush the coffee. Most charter bases want the boat back by noon, which still leaves room for a detour. Sandy Spit and Sandy Cay, just off Jost, are picture-book sandbars worth a quick anchor and a swim before you turn for home. If you need fuel or a last few provisions, Soper's Hole at Tortola's West End has a fuel dock, a small marina and a couple of cafes around the waterfront. From there it is a straightforward run down the Sir Francis Drake Channel to base. Rinse the salt off, settle the log, and raise a glass with the crew before you hand back the keys.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at Sandy Spit

Fuel and coffee at Soper's Hole

Last provisions at West End marina

Final sail down the Drake Channel

Mooring tip

Sandy Spit has no moorings; anchor off the sand in settled weather and keep clear of the reef on its eastern side. Line up your return fuel stop at Soper's Hole early, as the dock backs up on changeover mornings.