A 7-day BVI charter itinerary from Tortola: Norman Island, Peter Island, Cooper Island, Virgin Gorda's North Sound, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.
A 7-day British Virgin Islands charter itinerary runs a loop from Tortola through Norman Island, Peter Island, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, with Anegada as the one open-water excursion. It is around 90 nautical miles all week, almost all of it in line-of-sight, protected water — which is why the BVI is the most forgiving cruising ground in the Caribbean and the one most often given to first-time charterers.
A BVI charter itinerary is one of the easiest Caribbean weeks to plan. The hops are short and you can see the next island from the last. Most weeks link Tortola, Norman Island, Peter Island, Cooper Island, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada, all in sheltered water.
The planning work is fees, moorings and the Anegada decision — and the fees changed materially in 2025, which is the single most important thing to get right in a BVI quote today. This guide covers how crews sequence the week, what it now costs, and where Guest Trip removes the spreadsheet stage.
The season is December to April, on steady easterly trades of 12 to 20 knots and flat, protected water inside the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Christmas and New Year weeks are committed by September or October at premium rates. Hurricane season runs June to November and most charter yachts are elsewhere.
The BVI is a mooring-ball cruising ground more than an anchoring one. National Parks Trust moorings run roughly $35 to $45 a night and commercial moorings $35 to $60; free anchoring is only outside the park areas. Balls go early in high season, so a plan that assumes a specific ball at 17:00 is a plan that ends in a long motor to somewhere else.
1. Budget the fees properly
The BVI charges in layers and the layers got heavier in 2025, so any figure from an older itinerary or brochure is now wrong. For visiting cruising vessels the permit runs around $16 per person per day, with a national parks fee of about $55 per week, an environmental levy of about $10 per person and a VISAR (search and rescue) contribution of about $2 per person. Ports of entry are Road Town, West End (Soper's Hole) and Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke, open roughly 08:30 to 16:30 on weekdays, with overtime charges outside those hours.
The bigger change is on the commercial side. Amendments effective from 1 June 2025 raised the annual commercial recreational vessel licence for foreign-based operators from $200 to $8,500 per vessel from 1 November 2025, and attached operating restrictions: seven charter entries a year, a 60-day consecutive limit for vessels over 500 gross tons, and extensions available in 30-day blocks with administrative fees. Licences attach to a named vessel rather than a fleet. BVI home-based vessels are largely unaffected. If the yacht is foreign-based, the licence position needs confirming with the management company before the season, not before the charter.
2. Clear in early and on a weekday if you can
Clearance timing shapes day one. Arriving into Road Town or Soper's Hole inside office hours saves both money and an hour of the guests' first afternoon. Where the charter starts on a Sunday, plan the paperwork deliberately rather than hopefully.
3. Build the loop anticlockwise, with the trades
The classic week runs Tortola to Norman Island (about 7 miles), the Indians and Peter Island (about 6), Cooper Island and on to The Baths and Virgin Gorda (about 18), North Sound (about 5), Anegada (about 14), then the long downwind leg west to Jost Van Dyke (about 32) and back to Tortola (about 10). Running it in that direction puts the longest leg downwind and late, when guests are settled.
each leg is drawn on navigable water by the sea-routing engine, so the overview chart guests see reflects the real route through the channel.
4. Decide about Anegada at the brief
Anegada is the one leg that is genuinely different: a flat coral island 14 miles north of Virgin Gorda, approached through a marked reef channel, with Horseshoe Reef — one of the largest coral reef systems in the world — off its south-east corner. It is also the one place a charter can lose a day to weather, and some charter agreements restrict bareboats from going at all. On a crewed yacht it is usually worth two nights rather than one, because the day trip does not do it justice.
5. Book the moorings and the beach bars you actually need
The Bight at Norman Island, Cooper Island, North Sound and White Bay at Jost Van Dyke are the pressure points. Where a ball can be reserved, reserve it; where it cannot, arrive early. The famous beach bars — Foxy's, the Soggy Dollar, Saba Rock — are part of the product for most BVI guests, so treat them as fixed points rather than options.
6. Layer the onboard programme onto the route
Provision in Tortola, where the supply is adequate rather than excellent; anything specialist should come in with the charter. Plan the ashore evenings for Jost Van Dyke and Cooper Island, the diving for the Indians and the RMS Rhone, and the spa for the North Sound day. This is a watersports week: the toys matter more here than in most Mediterranean grounds.
spa, room service and activity requests are switched on per yacht with opening hours, so guests ask for what the crew can deliver.
7. Publish it as a live page
The BVI plan changes for mooring availability more than for weather. Publish the itinerary as a guest site the crew can edit, so a night moved from The Bight to Peter Island reads as a plan rather than a problem.
Day 1. Embark Road Town; clear in; short hop to Norman Island, caves at Privateer Bay, night in The Bight. About 7 nautical miles. Day 2. The Indians for snorkelling; Peter Island for the afternoon and night. About 6 nautical miles. Day 3. Cooper Island for lunch; on to Virgin Gorda and The Baths. About 18 nautical miles. Day 4. North Sound: Bitter End, Saba Rock, reef snorkelling; spa afternoon. About 5 nautical miles. Day 5. Anegada: reef channel to Setting Point, beaches by taxi, lobster ashore. About 14 nautical miles. Day 6. Long downwind leg to Jost Van Dyke via Sandy Spit; White Bay evening. About 32 nautical miles. Day 7. Short passage back to Tortola; disembarkation brief. About 10 nautical miles
Total for the week is around 90 nautical miles with no leg over 32. Adding a second Anegada night is the most common and most rewarding change.
This is the route most crews start from. Swap days around to suit the wind and the guests.
Day 1: Tortola to Norman Island. Snorkel the caves at the Bight and settle in for the first evening. Day 2: Peter Island. A quiet anchorage, a long beach and an easy swim day. Day 3: Cooper Island. Lunch or sundowners at Cooper Island Beach Club, then a calm night on a mooring ball. Day 4: Virgin Gorda. Morning at The Baths, then on to North Sound for the night. Day 5: Anegada. Flat, reef-ringed and remote. Go in good light and keep a close eye on depth. Day 6: Jost Van Dyke. White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar by day, Great Harbour by night. Day 7: Back to Tortola for disembarkation.
North Sound, Virgin Gorda
A large, sheltered bay with good water sports and easy access to the reef. It makes a natural base before or after Anegada.
Norman Island and Peter Island
Close to Tortola, so they work well for the first or last night. Both are known for calm water and snorkelling.
White Bay and Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke
White Bay is the beach day, with the Soggy Dollar Bar on the sand. Great Harbour is the more practical overnight stop.
Mooring balls in popular bays fill early in high season. Plan to arrive by early afternoon, or have a backup bay ready.
A good 7-day British Virgin Islands sailing itinerary starts and ends in Tortola and loops through Norman Island, Peter Island, Cooper Island, Virgin Gorda's North Sound, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke. Passages are mostly one to three hours in sheltered water, which leaves most of each day for swimming, snorkelling and time ashore.
Day 1 – Tortola to Norman Island: short first hop, snorkelling at the caves. Day 2 – Peter Island: quiet anchorage and a beach day. Day 3 – Cooper Island: snorkelling and sundowners ashore. Day 4 – Virgin Gorda: The Baths in the morning, North Sound overnight. Day 5 – Anegada: the longest passage of the week, in good light. Day 6 – Jost Van Dyke: White Bay by day, Great Harbour by night. Day 7 – Return to Tortola for disembarkation.
Plan a BVI sailing route around the trade winds, which usually blow from the east. Head east early in the week while guests are fresh, so the return runs downwind. Fix the Anegada day around a good weather window, keep popular bays for early arrivals, and hold one flexible day in case the plan needs to change.
Once the route is set, crew often share it with guests as a digital itinerary with a day-by-day map, for example with Guest Trip, so changes reach everyone straight away.
Yes, if the weather and the yacht's draft allow. Anegada is flat and surrounded by Horseshoe Reef, so it feels completely different from the hilly islands. The approach is shallow and must be made in good daylight with careful attention to depth. North Sound on Virgin Gorda is the usual stop before and after.
Check the latest local guidance and charter company rules on Anegada before the week starts. Some yachts are not permitted to make the passage.
Seven nights is ideal. It covers the main anchorages without rushing and leaves room for Anegada, which is a longer and shallower passage best taken in good light. Shorter charters usually stay between Tortola, Norman Island and Virgin Gorda.
For visiting cruising vessels, around $16 per person per day following the 2025 increases, plus a national parks fee of about $55 per week, an environmental levy of about $10 per person and a VISAR contribution of about $2 per person. Rates changed substantially in 2025, so check the current published figures rather than an older itinerary.
Yes. The BVI national parks fee runs around $55 per week per vessel, and the day moorings off The Baths are managed by the National Parks Trust. Overnight mooring balls in park areas typically run $35 to $45.
On a crewed charter, yes, ideally with two nights. It is a 14-mile passage from Virgin Gorda through a marked reef channel and offers Horseshoe Reef, empty beaches and the island's lobster. Some bareboat agreements restrict the trip.
Around 90 nautical miles for the classic Tortola loop, with most legs under two hours and only the Anegada-to-Jost Van Dyke run, at about 32 miles, taking half a day.
Clearance windows, park fees and mooring reservations attached to the day they belong to.
Custom pins for the mooring fields and snorkel sites you use every season.
Legs drawn through the channel and around the reefs, with an overview chart for guests.
Move a night when the balls are gone, without re-sending a PDF.
Planning a 7-Day Caribbean Yacht Charter Itinerary: St Maarten, St Barths and Antigua
Attach clearances, fees and moorings to the day, pin the snorkel stops you trust, and publish a guest-ready site under your own brand.