Glitzy British Virgin Islands: A Premium Sailing Trip

After arriving into Beef Island airport (EIS), you’ll make the (short) stroll to the Trellis Bay ferry dock, jumping aboard the next service to Scrub Island. Here’s where the trip really begins: when you step aboard the luxury catamaran that’ll be yours for the next eight days. The first evening onboard is all about getting to know your crew, captain and fellow travellers – over welcome drinks and dinner.

This morning your captain will chart a course for Virgin Gorda – one of the larger islands in the chain. Here, you’ll be shown around the island, before having some free time to splash about among the rockpools and granite boulders at the Baths. After lunch back onboard, it’s off to Saba Rock, the James Bond-esque floating resort huddled on a tiny palm-tufted islet. After dinner on your boat, you’ll have the option to knock back sunset cocktails at Virgin Gorda’s Bitter End Yacht Club.

Today you’ll start the day the BVI way, with a pre-breakfast yoga class on Saba Rock. Stretched and refreshed, you’ll set sail to Atlantic-lapped Anegada, where you’ll hop ashore for an island tour and some free time to hit the beaches. Come evening, you’ll slink around the coast and moor up at Potters Bar and Lobster House for a truly claw-some supper.

The British Virgin Islands have some of the clearest waters in the Caribbean, which are best seen around Guana Island’s Monkey Point. They’re so clear in fact, that you can see marine life from the platform of a stand-up paddleboard – although if you want to get closer, snap on a snorkel and some goggles and dive in. After an afternoon exploring both land and sea, jump back on the boat for a short voyage to the island of Tortola, where hill-surrounded Cane Garden Bay makes for a dreamy spot to drop anchor for the evening. Still got some life in those sea legs? Head ashore for live music and drinks at the bay’s beach bars.

We recommend filling the tank at breakfast this morning, as the first point on today’s agenda is a visit to Tortola’s legendary Callwood Distillery to sample their Caribbean rum. From here, it’s over to the island of Jost Van Dyke, where you’ll have some free time to wallow in the Bubbly Pool, a natural jacuzzi – before we head to the other side of the island to snorkel in White Bay and clink cocktail glasses at the Soggy Dollar Bar and Foxy’s beach bar.

With its true history of pirates and buried treasure, Norman Island was one of the places that fired up Robert Louis Stevenson to write his famous swashbuckling novel. We can’t guarantee you’ll dig up any riches on this trip, but you will have some free time to snorkel in the grotto-like caves that dot the cliff sides at Treasure Point. After dropping anchor at the Bight Bay, you can set off to explore the island on foot, before returning for dinner on board.

It’s your last full day in the BVIs, so we’ve lined up a hat trick of island visits to make sure it’s all the more memorable. You’ll start with a stop-off in Deadman’s Bay, off Peter Island, where you’ll have free time to paddle board, snorkel or hop ashore for an island trek. Next, it’s onto Salt Island, where you’ll have the option to snorkel the wreckage of the RMS Rhone, a Royal Mail ship that sunk in 1867. Finally, to Cooper Island, where after spending the afternoon on the white silk beaches, you’ll be treated to a special farewell dinner on board.

After a final breakfast on board this morning, your captain will point the boat back towards Scrub Island, arriving in time to catch the airport ferry. This particular trip may be over, but your spindrift-tousled hair, Caribbean tan and sun-sequined memories will persist long after you've arrived back home.