How much are BVI mooring fees?

Private mooring balls in the BVI run about $30 a night (Norman Island's Bight, Cooper Island, Cane Garden Bay). National Parks Trust moorings at premium spots cost $35–45 a night, and The Baths and White Bay are day-use only. Anchoring outside the national parks is free where it is permitted.

What does the BVI cruising permit cost for a bareboat charter?

The cruising permit is charged per foot of boat length per day: $2.00/ft/day for foreign-registered boats in peak season (Dec 1 – Apr 30) and $0.75/ft/day off-peak; BVI-registered boats pay $0.75 and $0.50. A 42 ft foreign-flag boat on a 7-day peak-season charter pays about $588, plus a $10-per-person environmental levy and customs clearance of $10–25 per person.

What are the sailing conditions in the BVI?

The Sir Francis Drake Channel is protected by the islands on both sides, with steady east trade winds of roughly 12–20 knots and 2–4 ft seas most of the year. December to April is the calmest and busiest; late summer brings lighter wind and the hurricane season. The passage north to Anegada is the one open-water leg, and charter bases gate it on wind and sea state.

How do I get to the charter base in Tortola?

Fly into Beef Island (EIS) via San Juan, St. Thomas or St. Maarten and taxi about 40 minutes to Road Town or Nanny Cay, or fly into St. Thomas (STT), taxi to Red Hook, and take the 30-minute Road Town Fast Ferry to West End, which clears BVI customs on arrival. Complete the BVI e-card online before you travel.

Which day should I visit The Baths?

Pick a day with no cruise ship in Road Town or off Spanish Town — every ship in port sends excursions to The Baths by mid-morning. VIslandGuide's port schedule marks the quietest day of the coming week; arrive early on a day mooring and move on by early afternoon.

Virgin Islands

Sail the British Virgin Islands

The whole BVI
on one chart.

Draw the week, know every anchorage, read tonight's wind and swell, dodge the cruise-ship days, settle the fees before customs asks, and get the crew to the dock. Bareboat, skippered, or fully crewed, seven nights aboard.

Plan your route See the 7-day route

26anchorages

3charter bases

Hourlywind & swell

On the water now

Sir Francis Drake Channel forecast · Open-Meteo marine, hourly

10-day forecast

Wind

trade winds

Seas

channel chop

Anegada passage

from the Virgin Gorda forecast

Sunset

be on a ball by 4 in season

Three ways to sail the week

Same chart. Pick who's on the helm.

Seven nights aboard either way. Skipper it yourself, put a BVI captain on your bareboat, or hand the week to a crew. Weekly figures are boat hire only; fees are below.

Catamaran anchored off a sand spit in the BVI

Bareboat

You skipper. We draw the week.

Start at The Moorings or Sunsail at Wickhams Cay II, or MarineMax at Nanny Cay. The planner drops the base as day zero, then every stop carries its moorings, provisioning and dinner picks. Bring a sailing résumé; thin ones get a check-out sail.

$9,000–16,00040–47 ft cat · high season · week

The MooringsSunsailMarineMaxMonohulls from $3,300

Start at a base

Skippered

Your boat. A BVI captain aboard.

The middle path for families and first-timers: a bareboat plus a professional skipper who knows the balls, the customs windows and the reef at Anegada. Add a cook if you'd rather not galley. Post your week and licensed captains bid on CharterBid.

+ about $330per night for the skipper · about $2,300 a week

Free to postCaptains reply in hoursCook + about $300 / night

Post your week, captains bid

Fully crewed · all-inclusive

Captain and chef. You just show up.

Meals, bar, fuel, water toys and the crew who run it all. A 48 to 55 ft crewed catamaran for six to eight guests is the sweet spot; the big luxury yachts climb from there. Budget a 15 to 20 percent crew gratuity on top.

$20–35kper week · 48–55 ft cat · whole yacht

From $13,000No experience neededBy the cabin from $2,500 pp

Get crewed quotes

The week we'd sail

Seven days, 79 miles, a ball every night.

Open in the planner and change any stop

DAY 0 · TAXI 40 MIN

Nanny Cay

Nanny Cay Marina — hotel rooms and slips on-site, fully protected.

DAY 1 · 5 NM

Norman Island

The Bight — mooring balls $30/night. Arrive before 2pm in high season.

DAY 2 · 7 NM

Cooper Island

Manchioneel Bay — mooring balls only ($30/night). No anchoring permitted.

DAY 3 · 10 NM

The Baths

Day moorings only at The Baths — dinghy in. No overnight; move on after.

DAY 3 · 12 NM

Leverick Bay

Leverick Bay Marina — slips and moorings just inside North Sound; fuel dock on site.

DAY 4 · 2 NM

North Sound

Gorda Sound — the best-protected overnight anchorage in the BVI.

DAY 5 · 10 NM

Scrub Island

Scrub Island Resort Marina (full facilities) or moorings off Marina Cay.

DAY 6 · 15 NM

White Bay

White Bay — day moorings only. Surge at night; move to Great Harbour to sleep.

DAY 6 · 2 NM

Great Harbour

Great Harbour — anchorage and moorings, the calmer JVD overnight.

DAY 7 · 5 NM

Cane Garden Bay

Cane Garden Bay — well-protected, moorings and free anchoring.

DAY 8 · 11 NM

Nanny Cay

Nanny Cay Marina — hotel rooms and slips on-site, fully protected.

FLY HOME · TAXI 40 MIN

Beef Island Airport

Cruise ships on the sailing grounds

Pick the quiet day for The Baths.

Every ship in Road Town sends taxis to The Baths and Cane Garden Bay by mid-morning. Ships anchored off Spanish Town or Norman Island fill those spots directly. This is the week from our port schedule.

FRI · Sep 4

no ships in the BVI

Best Baths day

SAT · Sep 5

no ships in the BVI

SUN · Sep 6

no ships in the BVI

MON · Sep 7

no ships in the BVI

TUE · Sep 8

no ships in the BVI

WED · Sep 9

ship · 4,224 pax
Road Town 4,224

THU · Sep 10

ship · 3,950 pax
Road Town 3,950

Full Tortola port schedule St. Thomas ships (they charter to Jost)

Getting the crew to the boat

Two ways in. Both end at the dock.

Official taxi tariffs, live ferry timetables and airport facts from the rest of VIslandGuide, cut down to the legs a charter crew actually rides. Tap any line for the full page.

Option A · fly into Beef Island

EIS, then 40 minutes to the base.

No mainland nonstops: connect through SJU, STT, SXM. Single terminal, short runway. Mostly regional props. Check-in opens ~2h before departure. Departing, arrive 90 minutes ahead for BVI immigration.

Road Town → Beef Island Airport · taxi$12 pp · $27 solo Road Town → Nanny Cay · taxi$8 pp · $12 solo

EIS crowd forecast

Option B · fly St. Thomas, ferry across

STT, Red Hook, 30 minutes to West End.

More flights, cheaper fares, and a ferry that clears you into the BVI at West End. Complete the BVI e-card online before you travel; the ferry adds a $10 port fee and the BVI a $10 levy on arrival. STT is busiest on Saturday.

STT Airport → Red Hook · taxi$17 pp · $23 solo West End Ferry Dock → Nanny Cay · taxi$8 pp · $12 solo Road Town → West End Ferry Dock · taxi$12 pp · $20 solo

STT TSA wait forecast

30 min · passport

Red Hook → West End

Road Town Fast Ferry · Daily

8:30amfirst departure

$65 adult$95 round trip3 departures

45 min · passport

Charlotte Amalie → Road Town

Road Town Fast Ferry, Native Son, Smith's Ferry · Daily

9:00amfirst departure

$60 adult$110 round trip4 departures

Inter-island ferries · when someone would rather not sail a leg

10–15 min

West End → Great Harbour

New Horizon Ferry · Daily

8:00amfirst departure

$30 adult$40 round trip5 departures

30 min

Road Town → Spanish Town

Speedy's Ferry, Road Town Fast Ferry · Daily

6:45amfirst departure

$25 adult$35 round trip13 departures

90 min

Road Town → Setting Point

Smith's Ferry · Mon · Wed · Fri

7:00amfirst departure

$55 adult$55 round trip2 departures

Every VI ferry route Full BVI taxi tariff Customs, e-card and fees

Jost Van Dyke

Calm and tucked-in — a quieter overnight than Great Harbour next door.

Balls + anchoringSidney's Peace & Love

Diamond Cay

Jost Van Dyke

Day stop; calm in normal trades. Watch the shallow reef on approach.

Day anchorageDay stopFoxy's Taboo

Brewers Bay

Tortola

Quiet, scenic bay backed by green hills. Exposed to winter north swell — skip it then.

Anchoring · a few ballsNicole's Beach Bar

Open any of these in the route planner, with the restaurant, provisioning and snorkel picks

Off-season closures on the route

24 spots are dark right now.

Beach bars and resorts on the sailing grounds close for weeks in late summer. Don't plan a night around a place that isn't there. Community-tracked; confirm before you count on it.

Closed now

Tipsy by Ann

Cow Wreck Bay, BVI · reopens ~Oct 15 (unconfirmed)

Closed now

Cow Wreck Beach Bar & Grill

Cow Wreck Bay, BVI · reopens TBD

Closed now

Lobster Trap

Anegada · reopens Oct 31 (unconfirmed)

Closed now

Sid’s Pomato Point

Anegada · reopens Nov 1 (unconfirmed)

Closed now

Saba Rock Resort

Virgin Gorda & North Sound · reopens Oct 18

Closed now

Bitter End Yacht Club

Virgin Gorda & North Sound · reopens ~Oct

Closed now

Nova at Oil Nut Bay

Virgin Gorda & North Sound · reopens Oct 9 (unconfirmed)

Closed now

Rosewood Little Dix Bay

Virgin Gorda & North Sound · reopens Oct 10 (unconfirmed)

Closed now

Sugarcane Restaurant (Nail Bay)

Virgin Gorda & North Sound · reopens Oct 11 (unconfirmed)

15 more on the route, plus every island

Look before you sail

Live cameras on the mooring fields.

How full is North Sound? Is White Bay rolling? Four cameras sit right on the route.

live still

Saba Rock · North Sound

The mooring field off Saba Rock, Virgin Gorda

live still

Cooper Island

Quart-A-Nancy Point over Manchioneel Bay

live

Soggy Dollar · White Bay

Jost Van Dyke, looking down the bay

live

Scrub Island Marina

Over the marina toward Marina Cay

Fees & permits

Know the number before customs does.

Cruising permit by the foot and the day, the environmental levy per head, clearance at your Port of Entry, National Parks Trust balls at the famous spots. Worked for a typical week; the guide has every line.

Boat42 ft · foreign flag

Trip7 days · 6 guests

SeasonPeak · Dec 1 – Apr 30

Nights on a ball6 of 7

Cruising permit$2.00 / ft / day × 42 ft × 7 days (peak, foreign flag)

$588

Environmental & tourism levy$10 per person, once × 6

$60

Customs & immigration clearance$10–25 per person by Port of Entry · weekend overtime extra

$60–150

Overnight moorings6 nights × $30 private · $35–45 NPT at Norman, Cooper, The Baths

$180–270

Estimate for the weekFrom our BVI customs & fees guide. Confirm at your Port of Entry; windows are cash-first.

$890–1,070

Every fee, line by line

Read before you cast off

The questions every first-time skipper asks.

CustomsBVI customs & entry fees explainedThe $75 day-trip line item, and what a bareboat pays instead.CostHow much does it cost to charter a yacht in the BVI?Bareboat, skippered, crewed and cabin, by season and boat size.Jost Van DykeHow to get to Jost & the Soggy Dollar BarFerry, charter or your own boat, and where to clear in.SeasonOff season in the USVI & BVIWhat August to November really means for a charter.

Ready when the trades are.

Plan your route Get charter quotes

USVI day charters Sargassum report Webcams Weather Ferries Flights

Also on VIslandGuide

🗺️ Interactive MapFind beaches, bars and more ⛴️ Live Ferry ScheduleWant to island hop? Catch a ferry ✈️ Flight ForecastCrowd & TSA wait forecast ⛵ Book a CharterGet quotes on a trip to Jost ☀️ Weather OutlookWind, swell & rain conditions 🏖️ Beach ReportHow busy are the beaches?🚕 Taxi RatesIsland taxi gov't fare calculator 📖 Travel BlogCharter guides, routes & pricing

Share this page

FB X Reddit 💬 Text

The whole BVIon one chart.

Same chart. Pick who's on the helm.

You skipper. We draw the week.

Your boat. A BVI captain aboard.

Captain and chef. You just show up.

Seven days, 79 miles, a ball every night.

Pick the quiet day for The Baths.

Two ways in. Both end at the dock.

EIS, then 40 minutes to the base.

STT, Red Hook, 30 minutes to West End.

Where you'll actually sleep tonight.

The Moorings Base

Sunsail Base

Hodges Creek Marina

Nanny Cay

Road Town

Soper's Hole

Frenchman's Cay

Norman Island

Peter Island

Cooper Island

The Baths

North Sound

Bitter End Yacht Club

Saba Rock

Leverick Bay

Oil Nut Bay

Anegada

Scrub Island

Trellis Bay

White Bay

Great Harbour

Cane Garden Bay

Spanish Town

Little Harbour

Diamond Cay

Brewers Bay

24 spots are dark right now.

Live cameras on the mooring fields.

Know the number before customs does.

The questions every first-time skipper asks.

Ready when the trades are.

The whole BVI
on one chart.