TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands What is the best departure day?

Starting to noodle our plans for our charter next May and thinking about what days we should depart the base (Moorings) on.

This year we did a Saturday evening sleep aboard and a Sunday start. Needless to say, things were kind of hectic on both Saturday and Sunday just due to the volume of people coming and going. We did 8 days (1 sleep aboard and 7 sailing nights) so it was basically Saturday to the following Sunday. This worked out well in terms of needing the fewest vacation days but lands us on two weekends.

This year we are saying the heck with vacation days, when is the best time to go/return.

Is there any difference between say, Monday to Tuesday (8 days) vs. Thursday to Friday - or any other combo like that?

Getting off the boat - and flying home - on Friday has the advantage of having the weekend to rest up before work the next week but flying on a Friday might be worse?

I was also thinking about maybe doing the sleep aboard on Sunday since all the Sunday departures would be mostly gone by the time we got to the base - and it would save at least one vacation day.

Any thoughts on any of that? Seems like it wouldn't make much difference but I don't know what I don't know.

Thanks

Unsurprisingly, M-Th are slower times at the base, and better days to fly in terms of pricing. We usually fly down on a Wednesday or Thursday, and it’s much slower than a Saturday arrival/departure at Moorings. Based on what you said, I’d do Thursday to Friday and have the weekend to settle back in.

I agree with the M-Th. For our July 2025 trip we're departing Moorings on a Thursday. With a 10 night charter our return is on a Sunday which probably will be hectic but our plane isn't until Monday.

We generally arrive on Tuesday and depart from base on Wednesday. Retired, so no vacation days required. Next trip: 10/22 - 11/20.

We usually start with a sleep aboard on Wednesday and return on Sunday or Monday giving us 10-11 nights. Definitely less hectic getting out of the base before the crowds.

I did Tuesday to Tuesday the last few times. I think its one secret to unlocking a better trip.

Being off cycle to the Saturday to Saturday crowds is great. Honestly eliminated many frustrations. The daily AA flights are a game changer. Have found Tuesdays to be better pricing as well. Less traffic at immigration. etc..

Only draw back I have noticed is some of the smaller charter companies are unable to accommodate this so you have a few less boats to choose from.

Start when it best fits your schedule. There are lots of ways to avoid the crowd. If I am starting on Saturday as an example I might go to Cane Garden Bay the first night and over to Jost day two. After that keep going counter clockwise. Another option on a weekend start especially if doing a sleep aboard is go straight to the North Sound.
Unless you have a crew of hard core sailers on board I don’t recommend clockwise. It can be fine in the right conditions but that’s not normal weather.

We typically plan to arrive at charter base on Thursday, for a sleep aboard. We take that day to finish the provisioning and get settled on the boat, then depart Friday am. We like to return the boat on Monday which gives us 10 nights on charter. We've done this both in USVI and BVI and it has worked well for us. For BVI trips we also like to get to North Sound Friday night which positions us for Anegada on Saturday and Sunday night.

For May charters we normally bring the boat back on Memorial Day which saves a vacation day due to the holiday. I will say we hate getting on the plane the same day we get off the boat, so we plan an extra day after charter on island which burns that vacation day you saved but for us it's always well worth it.