The Best Sailing Vacations for Exploring Beautiful Beaches

Drop anchor off palm-shaded White Bay on Jost Van Dyke, your first beach stop on this fully catered sailing adventure through the BVIs. Swim among bobbing yachts before grabbing a seat at the Soggy Dollar Bar for a pre-lunch tipple; their rum-based painkiller cocktail is legendary. Most activities on this trip centre on sugar-white beaches, from kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding off Deadman’s Bay on Peter Island to turtle spotting off Guana Island. You’ll also meet the pink flamingos of Anegada.

This yachting holiday around the Bahamas includes chill-out time on the unsullied sands of Norman’s Cay, a long, thin island once used as a hideout by the Medellín drug cartel in the 1970s and ‘80s. On the much larger Warderick Wells Cay, there are over 30 equally picturesque beaches to choose from, most of which feature snorkelling spots that teem with colourful marine residents. You’ll share the white sands of Allen Cay with tame rock iguanas, a critically endangered species only found in the Bahamas.