Trip Roundup: What I Brought To The BVI
Trip Roundup
Let’s go back to the BVI!
Last month we took what was supposed to be a short trip to Miami to escape the Buffalo cold. It ended with an impromptu pit stop in St. Thomas, as we had a few extra days free before returning home (thanks to the Buffalo Bills). Leaving was easier, knowing we would be back in a few short weeks. Before the impromptu trip I shared on the blog last month, we planned with our friends to go to the Virgin Islands and stay in the BVI for an entire week for our annual February friends trip.
This would be the first time our friends Angelo and Phil, who live in San Jose, CA, would be making the trip out east to meet us, as we usually head west to meet them for the benefit of the time difference. Before flying to St. Thomas, we flew to Miami two days beforehand to a close friend, his wife, and his infant son to get a taste of what it will be like traveling with a newborn.
It was eye-opening, to say the least. We stayed at the Nobu Hotel in Eden Roc Miami Beach. Without getting too in-depth, Nobu was the worst hotel experience in recent memory. We didn’t have hot water and the pools didn’t work the entire time we were there. After our friends departed, we actually checked in to a Marriot airport hotel near MIA, and it felt like an upgrade.
WHITE BAY, JOST VAN DYKE
NEXT STOP
MIAMI > St. Thomas > Jost Van Dyke
The next day we flew from MIA to STT while Angelo and Phil took the redeye from San Francisco. They met us on the flight for their connection. Once we landed, we were en route to the BVI, specifically our favorite island — Jost Van Dyke. Our transportation (both land and sea) was taken care of by Captain Andrew of Ocean Bliss Charters.
We met Captain Andrew during a cruise stop in Tortola in 2020 and used him for a day charter. We kept in touch over social media throughout the years and were eager to get to see him and spend time on his boat, Shenanigans, again. Captain Andrew coordinated airport pick up to Red Hook, STT, where he met us with his boat and took us to Jost. After about a 25-minute ride, we docked at Jost, and Captain Andrew took our passports to clear customs while we stayed in the boat.
We were greeted at the dock by Todd from The Hideout, where we were staying for the portion of our trip on Jost. The Hideout is located on White Bay, which is consistently voted one of the best beaches in the world.
For those unfamiliar, the legendary Soggy Dollar bar is located on White Bay, and the Hideout is conveniently located right next door. The Hideout is adjacent to Hendo’s Hideout, a well-known restaurant in White Bay. It opened in the fall of 2022 and consisted of seven villas ranging from 1 to 2 bedrooms. We booked the two-bedroom villa, which fit the four of us perfectly. The villas were luxurious, with more than enough space both inside and out and, most notably, the plunge pool on the deck.
Next Stop
WHITE BAY
We spent three days in Jost, where we swam and explored White Bay, trying a Pain Killer at every bar along the way. While Soggy Dollar is the classic, Hendo’s, One Love, and Gertrude’s were a good match. BK especially enjoyed Gertrudes since they let you pour your own drinks. We alternated between dinner at Hendo’s Hideout and taxiing to Great Harbour to the iconic Foxy’s for dinners on Jost. While Great Harbour wasn’t too far from White Bay, we needed a taxi because of the steep hills, and it is NOT walking-friendly… especially after a few painkiller drinks!
After three days in Jost, we were ready to say adios.
To say we enjoyed The Hideout would be an understatement,
and we will undoubtedly be returning the next time we’re on the islands.
Captain Andrew picked us up and took us to our next stop. But before that, we had a full-day charter booked with him to take us on a tour of the BVI. It’s always a blast to hop around the islands, but it was an even better experience with Angelo and Phil for the first time.
We swam to shore to Sandy Spit, snorkeled the Indians and the Caves at Norman Island, drank painkillers at Willy T’s (jumped off and lost my wedding ring), stopped at Cooper Island Beach Club, and wrapped up the day at Saba Rock for happy hour. Unfortunately, we could not go to the Baths due to the waves being a bit rough to swim in; with me being pregnant, we didn’t want to chance it. However, they do have a line you can pull yourself in on if you wanted to.
As the sun went down, we were off to our next stop, Scrub Island.
NEXT STOP
SCRUB ISLANd
Scrub Island is a small island off the east coast of Tortola and is home to the Scrub Island Resort and Marina, which belongs to the Marriot collection of hotels.
We booked a two-bedroom villa and were delighted when we arrived, as the amenities exceeded what we had anticipated. We had a full kitchen, two bedrooms — both with walk-out patios and a shared patio off the living room, which included our own plunge pool.
After a full day on the boat, we were exhausted and opted to order room service, which our concierge, Gigi, handled. Gigi handled everything during our stay and was extremely helpful (even delivering pizzas to us on the beach.) We split the remaining two days between the main resort pool and the beach on the north end. The resort pool seemed mostly full of boaters docking their charter at Scrub Island for the day, we actually ran into a few readers of the blog while we were there! They can use a slip and the resort amenities for a small fee.
On the other hand, the beach was quiet, and it almost seemed like we had it to ourselves. Unfortunately, we were a bit spoiled on Jost, and the beaches on Scrub weren’t as pristine and were quite rocky. However, we were still able to enjoy ourselves and the beautiful views. We ate at a resort restaurant one night, and the other, we ferried over to Trellis Bay in Tortola, ate at the Loose Mongoose, and visited some other beach bars on the way back to the ferry.
Overall, Scrub Island had some great amenities and service. Our villa was pristine and would be a perfect space for a family or groups traveling together. However, the resort did feel a bit “empty.” We felt like the people there during the day were coming on boats and using the marina rather than the resort itself. It would be a great place to stop if you were on a boat charter or had a boat to pop around the islands on. Otherwise, we’re not entirely sure we would go back.
FOXY’S RESTAURANT
BACK ON THE BOAT
SCRUB ISLAND > ST. THOMAS
By Friday, our stay at Scrub eventually came to an end, and Captain Andrew was there to take us back to the USVI. We had to clear customs in Road Town, Tortola (BVI), and St. John (US) before he dropped us back off in St. Thomas.
Initially, we were supposed to all depart Friday. However, we could extend the trip a few days thanks to Marriot points and check back into the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas. If you remember, we stayed there in January and were excited to go back with Angelo and Phil to visit the US side.
Once we checked in, we grabbed towels from the hotel and headed to Magen’s Bay, which, unpopularly, BK believes serves the best and strongest Painkiller in the Virgin Islands. We spent the day there before returning to the hotel and having dinner. Angelo and Phil were set to leave in the morning and return to the west coast.
We said our goodbyes the next day, and they headed to the airport. We decided to stay one more day until Sunday and unwind a bit before heading back to the snow and ice waiting for us in Buffalo. Here is to hoping Baby K enjoys the sea, sun, and sand as much as we do.
Looking forward to our next trip back!
TLDR
Where we stayed
The Hideout - Jost Van Dyke
Scrub Island Resort - Scrub Island, VG
Ritz Carlton - St. Thomas
How we got there
Ocean Bliss Charters & Water Taxi
Cyril E. King Airport - Charlotte Amalie West, St Thomas
Where we ate & drank
Soggy Dollar Bar- White Bay, JVD
Hendo’s Hideout - White Bay, JVD
Foxy’s - Great Harbour, JVD
Willy T - Norman Island
Cooper Island Beach Club - Cooper Island BVI
Saba Rock - BVI
Scrub Island Resort
Loose Mongoose - Beef Island, Tortola
Magens Point Bar and Grill - St Thomas
I also have more saved to my profile on the Out Of Office app!
A few MVP’s of this trip included this makeup/toiletry bag that fit SO much, I highly recommend it, especially for travel. A reasonable person could probably fit their makeup and toiletries in it, but I’m a “more is more” kinda gal and also had a separate case for toiletries. I’ve previously shared more travel beauty favorites in this blog post. The only way I was able to keep my sanity from bouncing from place to place was to keep organized with packing cubes, I shared how I used them here.
I typically like to travel with an open-tote bag and have everything in a closed case, but because we were going to be on/off a boat so frequently, I wanted something that zippered shut. I brought this packable duffle bag and am so glad I did. I highly recommend checking out the entire Compakt collection. I have a collapsible tote bag that I’ll throw into my bag for trips which comes in handy more than you’d think.
In my current phase of life (pregnancy), I am not looking for much support and shaping, as it’s not very comfortable for me right now. I recently discovered the Ahhh-llelujah® 'Fit to You' collection, and it’s perfect for level 0 smoothing that is great for super hot climates and everyday wear. I wore these on the trip and HIGHLY recommend them if you’re looking for light smoothing underneath dresses in the heat. I recently shared more of my shapewear solutions this week here!
Even though I’m pregnant (I was about 23-24 weeks along on this trip), I still had a TON of fun with my outfits, swimsuits, and dressing the bump. I had a nice mix of maternity and non-maternity options, you can click the pictures below to shop the swimsuit and cover-up looks:
Still looking for more? I’ve got a ton more swimsuit reviews on the “swim” tab of the blog, be sure to check out last year’s guide to shopping swimsuits for all of your needs, from underwire to one-pieces and two pieces.
If you’re looking for more outfit inspiration, check out the shop tab of my blog, which I update daily with my outfits. I have many options saved to my Amazon Storefront, organized by category, including many under $50 finds. If you’re planning a trip soon, I have a post on some of my favorite travel outfit formulas on this post. I can't recommend them enough if you’re not already using packing cubes. I recently shared a tutorial on how I like to use them here and have more efficient packing tips on this post! We love our Away luggage; check out my previous review here. But for more luggage picks, check out my curated list here.
I always like to prepare for beach/pool trips with a spray tan. If interested, I recently posted my sunless tanning and bronzer favorites here! That way, I arrive tan (which helps me feel more confident in a swimsuit), and as it fades, my natural tan appears, so I maintain color throughout. I highly recommend Luna Bronze or St. Tropez products if you want to keep a sunless tan throughout your trip.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading more about our recent trip; we are going to try for one more before settling down before baby K arrives! Be sure to leave any suggestions or things you’d like me to cover on the next trip roundup. BK will do a travel tips blog post in the coming weeks, so feel free to leave any questions below as well. Check out the travel tab of my blog for more trip roundups and travel inspiration.
xx CMK