Private Charter Day Trip to BVI from USVI (everything you need to know)
The beautiful British Virgin Islands! Located in the Caribbean, right next to the US Virgin Islands. The BVI consists of four main Islands with Tortola being the largest, and lots of smaller ones.
I just spent a week on the beautiful Island of St. John in the USVI with my family. We spent one full day on a private charter exploring some of the British Virgin Islands! All of us were SO happy we decided to do this, it was one of our most favorite days of vacation.
If you are planning to visit the USVI make sure you set aside one full day to go off and explore the BVI! I learned a lot during our day trip to the BVI. Here I will tell you everything you need to know before you go! –
Private Charter Day Trip to the BVI from the USVI
Book a private charter
Book with Over the Line Charters I highly recommend using them. They are based out of St. Thomas but can pick you up on St. John!
A friend of mine who used to live on St. Thomas recommended OTL to us and we are so happy we decided to use them!!
OTL has been around for years, they are reliable, fun and very great at what they do. They have multiple boats to help fit whatever the size of your party is!
Try and book this as soon as you book your trip, that way you can secure a spot. If you are traveling during a busy time of year you have to book ahead or everything will be full.
Full day or half day?
Book the full day option!! The full day option allows you to see a lot.
The full day starts at 8:30am and goes until about 4:30-5pm. You have lots of time and will not feel rushed to squeeze everything in.
Request a fun captain
If you decide to book with Over the Line Charters, ask for Jervan to be your captain! He is the best.
Jervan knows the USVI and BVI like the back of his hand. His energy is awesome, he is the reason we had so much fun.
He had us laughing the entire day, taught us all about the different islands we passed by, brought us to secret snorkel spots, fun bars, took family pictures and more!
Having a fun captain will make or break the vibe of your day trip.
Where should you go in the BVI?
Here are some places you want to ask your captain to bring you to during your BVI day trip.
We left from St. John and did a huge loop around Tortola, which allowed us to see a lot!
Virgin Gorda (The Baths)
Massive granite boulders with white sandy beaches and secret pools hidden within the rocks. A “must see” destination!
Tickets to The Baths National Park are only $3 per adult to visit. You will follow a narrow pathway with steps, ladders, ropes and bridges to help get you through the rocks. Eventually you will arrive at Devils Bay, another absolutely beautiful area.
Make sure you walk the entire pathway, it’s amazing to see. There is a beach area to hangout on with a bar as well as a full restaurant up by the ticket counter.
The Baths are very unique…I never saw anything else like this in the BVI or USVI.
Norman Island
The best snorkel spot!!
Norman Island doesn’t have any permanent residents but you can find two restaurants on the Island. Ask your captain to bring you here to snorkel by the caves. It’s such a cool spot with colorful tropical fish and the caves are fun to swim into.
OTL has all the snorkel gear you need so no need to bring any!
Willy T
Located right next to Norman Island you will find an old barge that has been turned into a restaurant and bar!
Pull up with your boat, tie onto another and then off then head on in for some food and/or drinks!
You can have a really good time here, at night it can get crazy…While at Willy T’s be sure to jump off the back of the boat into the clear blue water!
Be sure to try at least one of their painkillers.
Jost Van Dyke
The most fun party island!
You will pull up to an island with bright blue/green water with bright white sand. Boats will pull up right near the shore and you will see many catamarans in the area.
The Soggy Dollar bar is what this Island is known for. Be sure to check it out and try their painkiller or rum punch!
The vibe here is awesome, a great place to hangout for a while!
Private charter cost
Here is our BVI day trip breakdown by cost:
- Boat rental: $1,300
- Fuel: $500
- BVI customs: $75 per person x4= $300
- Captain’s fee: $260.00
- Drinks, food, tickets, etc: $150
- 20% tip for the captain
The four of us asked for the smallest boat possible which still could’ve fit around 12 people…the trick here is to rent a boat with a large group of friends and all split the cost or if you travel with another family split it with them!
If you are like us and only have a small group, still rent if you can afford to!! Having your own private charter for the day is definitely the way to go…we all agreed that our day trip to the BVI was worth the cost for the awesome memories we made!
Important things you need to bring
- Your passport!! If you want to visit the BVIs coming from the USVI you will need to have your passport. Your captain will help you with customs, they make the overall process very easy but they can only bring you to the BVI if you have your passports with you.
- Cash, at least $75 per person. You need to have $75 per person for you and every other person to get into the BVI, this is the customs fee. They only take cash so be sure to bring enough with you on this excursion!
- Credit cards, ID + wallet
- Sunglasses: believe me you will want them being on the water all day
- Towel
- Beer, seltzers, etc: Bring whatever you like to drink! OTL has a huge cooler on board for you to put whatever you bring into. They supply water and ice but other than that you need to bring your own drinks.
- Food: we brought sandwiches and chips. You don’t have to bring food since you will stop at multiple different places that offer it!
Important things you need to bring
- Sunscreen: reef safe!
- Fun boat day playlist! The boats have bluetooth speaker systems, be sure to connect your phone and play a fun playlist all day. We had music playing all day long!
- Bathing suit: I recommend putting it on before you even get on board, you will be in and out of the water all day.
- Bathing suit cover up: Nice to have to throw on when stopping in at bars.
- Camera/GoPro: I brought both my DSLR camera and my GoPro and used both! I snapped pictures on my DSLR all day long and used my GoPro when we were snorkeling.
- Beach bag/backpack: bring something you can carry all of this stuff in! You can tuck it away once you get on the boat.
- Mini dry bag: I will be sure to bring one next time! I used a small fanny pack and just kept it out of the water, having a mini dry bag would’ve been so much easier…At the Soggy Dollar you get off the boat into about waist deep water and need to bring some cash or credit cards with you to buy drinks at the bar, having a small dry bag to just hold the essentials will be helpful.
Book a day trip to the BVI!
I cannot reccomened this private charter day trip to the BVI enough!! This was hands down my favorite day during my week long vacation to St. John. It’s totally worth the money, you will have a really awesome time and see some amazing places.
If you have a trip planned to the USVI and you like adventure be sure to book this! Try and do so with Over the Line Charters, you will be so happy you did!
I hope this post was helpful for you, I tried to think of all of the questions I had before my day trip to the BVI and share what I learned here in this post. Have you been to the BVI? Are there any other islands you would recommend visiting for a day trip? If you have any other questions please just ask in the comments below.
Thanks for checking out my blog! If you want to keep up with all my travel follow along with me on Instagram!
Safe travels! 😊
Up next:
How to Travel to St. John USVI
sierra
Hello there! It's wonderful to have you here. I'm Sierra, a NH native with a love for travel and adventure. I have a constant desire to explore beautiful places around the world and go on awesome adventures! I seek to inspire others to travel to see all the beauty and culture the world has to offer! 🌞⛰️🌼🫶🏼🦋🌲📸🥾💛
6 Comments
Sharyn
What a decadent day! LOVE IT!
sierra
Thank you!!
Travel A-Broads
This looks like so much fun! My boyfriend and I just celebrated our 5th anniversary and were contemplating doing a trip to the US or British Virgin Islands to celebrate. We’ve also been watching way too much Below Deck and would love to charter a yacht some day, but this seems much more affordable, haha. Thanks for sharing! Xx Sara
sierra
You totally should! Both USVI & BVI are amazing…I love Below Deck and I think chartering a boat like this for the day gives you a little taste of it! (: Thanks for checking out my post!
Josy A
What an amaaaaazing way to see the whole area. This sounds perfect for if you have a large group (or if you make friends on holiday!) I love the idea of experiencing so many islands, expecially Virgin Gorda (The Baths) – that is a spectacular spot!
Marga
This looks like so much fun. Great trip to make with friends!