Visiting the British Virgin Islands

Our cruise left from Philipsburg, St. Maarten which is on the Dutch side of the island. We arrived a day early, so we had time to settle in and relax after a long flight. We stayed in Simpson Bay which had a ton of little local restaurants and beach bars to pop into and get something good to eat and drink. Simpson Bay is only about a 15 minute ride from Phillipsburg, so we made our way there in the morning so we could walk around the town. Philipsburg is full of jewelry, souvenir and clothing stores, as well as little local art shops. There is a main boardwalk right on the beach that has a ton of restaurants with amazing views of clear blue water.  The main boardwalk is about a 20 minute walk to the cruise port, or a $15 cab ride. If you have enough time, be sure to visit the famous Airport Beach!

Our first stop was Anguilla. It's a little cove with calm waters and a white sand beach. There's a little beach bar where you get two rum punches with the purchases of beach chairs - they run $10 a beach chair. It's a great spot for paddleboarding and kayaking since the waters are calm.

The next day we stopped at one of my favorite spots: Jost Van Dyke. It's a long beach full of private catamarans and small ships. There is a couple boutique hotels right on the beach that have beach bars for you to get a cold cocktail from, including the Soggy Dollar, home to the original Painkiller. The ship provides beach chairs and umbrellas, and puts together the most impressive spread for lunch! I paddleboarded and snorkeled right off the beach, and it was a great, relaxing spot full of as much activity as I felt like doing. That night, we stopped at Tortola, a small little town. There was not much to do there, as everything was closed when we got there except 2 small restaurants, but it was good to walk around and see all of the colorful houses and buildings.

On Day 3 we spent the day at Norman Island, a small, private beach with only one restaurant. The beach was rocky, so I wore water shoes, but the snorkeling was great! I saw plenty of colorful fish, sea cucumbers, and even a couple of lobsters right off the beach. The crew was also running guests over to a cave on the tender for some deep water snorkeling. I saw 2 turtles, and even more fish than you could imagine!

The fourth day brought one of my favorite stops: Virgin Gorda. I did the excursion to the Baths, which was incredible! It's a short hike down to the first stop at Devil's Bay, but once you reach it, it is totally worth it. Devil's Bay is a small beach full of huge boulders which make for a very dramatic landscape. The hike to the Baths (the next beach) is a difficult one, so it might not be great for people with mobility issues. It requires crouching down in tight spaces, and sliding down wet and sandy boulders using a rope. The Baths are a large beach with a snack shack and a couple souvenir shops, but the highlight is swimming in the choppy waters next to the boulders.

 

Beef Island was a perfect visit the next day. It's a huge wide-open beach that is great for water sports, and great snorkeling right off the beach. There were a bunch of people wind-surfing while we were there, but most just relaxed on the sand and took in the sun.

St. Kitts and Nevis was a great stop, and the island was wonderful! We did the "Essential St. Kitts" tour, which took us from Basseterre to Friar's Bay and made several wonderful stops along the way. We went to a botanical garden and got a wonderful look at the local flora with the groundskeeper.  The next stop was at the Batik Factory. Batik is a type of printing on fabric by using wax and dye, and the Romney Manor where the magic happens is world famous. There's a store there so you can take some homemade items for family and friends. The next stop was the Brimstone Hill Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was constructed during the Nine Years' War, and is still in great condition. The walk to the top will give you unparalleled views of the island, as well as an interesting look into the history of the island. Our last stop was a viewpoint on Timothy Hill where you could see where the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean meet. We ended in Friar's Bay which has great snorkeling and a huge beach. There is a big expensive restaurant right by the dock, but there are smaller shacks down the beach for you to eat a great lunch for cheap.

Our last stop on the cruise was St. Barts - the creme de la creme of the Caribbean. It is very expensive; once you get off the tender, you're staring at Gucci, Prada, and Hermes. It is an easy town to walk in, and there are plenty of reasonably priced stores by walking farther away from port. We went to Shell Beach for the day; a short 10 minute walk away from the port. It's a free beach, and there is more shells than sound on the ground. If you are a shell collector, this is the place to go! The water is clean and refreshing, and there is a lot of action going on!