TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Changes in BVI

Hello All, we have chartered a catamaran about 12 times in the BVI but have not been back since before Irma. We enjoy the iconic places...Ivan's, Foxy, Soggy Dollar, Pussers, Quitos, Myetts, Saba Rock, Cow Wreck. We enjoy the local run places. In looking at some Facebook pages it looks like there have been some changes. In your opinion, what changes can we expect...good and bad (and I know this is a matter of preference). Is there a lot more "upscale" restaurants and bars? Can you still get that Island "get away from reality" feel?

Thanks in advance.

You can still get the "get away" feel, but probably in different places. Many folks now go to Anegada for its beach bars. The Bee Line by Jost is good. The Loose Mongoose has gone way upscale, no longer a beach bar as before. In my opinion, some of the "name" places have become tourist traps for cruise ship visitors.

Ratman first visited Marina Cay in the 1960s, when the airstrip was still dirt, so he really sees the changes. I've only been going for 26 years, but in that time there are definitely more cars. Back then, a 43' mono was a big boat; now there are mostly cats and they are huge.

Agree with that Ratmanswife. The cats are HUGE. And there are so flipping many of them. I feel dwarfed in the mooring fields and prefer to hit remote places whenever possible now. After sailing the BVI’s extensively in 2021 and 2022 I will now take anchoring in quiet places over mooring fields hands down.

We really enjoy BLine and Ivans’s on Jost we we do end up with the crowds. We avoid Foxy’s like the plague and go to Gertrude’s and CocoLoco when we do find ourselves on “that side” of White Bay. Anegada it is Sid’s for us. Too bad Fat Virgin on Virgin Gorda did not reopen.

Way more skippered boats too, probably as it should be.

agree to stay away from some of the "name places"...only one we visit is Soggy due to tradition

The people are the same great people as always...some have moved on and some new ones have arrived but they still are some of the best people in the world

I can only speak about Anegada. As MIDiver said, Sid's is my new favorite. But also looking forward to hanging out at Tipsy's. They opened the day after we left last year. But knowing Ann, I am sure it will be awesome. But we still like Cow Wreck and Flash of Beauty.

As I am sure you know, Saba and BEYC were complete rebuilds. While BEYC has remained a family establishment, Saba is now corporate run and feels every bit of that. You want to feel like a local, check out Rada's on VG. It's a hoot.
Since I started going in the late 90's the most notable change for me is under the water not above it. I remember the first time ever snorkeling there- I was in my 20's and had never seen underwater before and I was awestruck by the color and life. Now I try to EXPLAIN to my kids what it used to be like. There will be hole in the wall places, quirky beach bars and wonderful people there for many years to come but be sure to see what you can under the water too because I feel like every year a bit more is gone.

Skip - that is, unfortunately, true just about everywhere we travel. Our delicate underwater world is disappearing.

I guess we should feel lucky we saw it back then. We took our adult kids about 8 years ago and were able to actually meet Ivan, Bomba & Foxy. An iconic trip forsure. We do still look forward to our visit....thanks for the reply.

Thank you!

I love this....what we enjoy most is sitting at those little bars and talking with the locals. Priceless!

Thank you....I do enjoy the snorkeling so we will definitely be doing alot of that.