British Virgin Islands
Jost Van Dyke
Jost Van Dyke: Beach Bars, White Bay and the Painkiller
- Port traffic
- QuietNext 30 days
Good to know
Coming Ashore at Great Harbour
Cruise ships make only limited stops here, and Great Harbour's piers are a ferry dock and two shallow landings for dinghies, so your cruise line will tell you how and where it brings you ashore. Great Harbour, the main settlement, has the customs office, the police station and a string of beach bars.
- The Government Dock, the ferry pier, is on the western side of Great Harbour, and the police and customs buildings stand by the middle pier.
- A reef about 300 meters offshore shelters the bay.
- Main Street runs along the beach, and a lane called the Alley leads back to Back Street, which runs parallel to the sea.
- The US dollar is the currency. There are no banks or cash machines on the island, so bring cash, although most places take major credit cards.
- Taxis serve the island but do not keep to a timetable, so agree your return pickup in advance.
Jost Van Dyke on Your Own
An independent day here is a walk and a swim: Great Harbour's waterfront, then over the hill to White Bay. Expect island pace at lunch and leave plenty of time to get back to the ship.
- Great Harbour: Walk the beach road past the bars and restaurants. Foxy's Tamarind Bar is at the western end of the bay.
- Over the hill to White Bay: The walk from Great Harbour takes 15 to 20 minutes on a rocky, hilly path with views across to Tortola, St. John and St. Thomas. Wear shoes rather than going barefoot.
- Or take a taxi: Taxis run to White Bay. Agree a pickup time and place with the driver for the trip back.
- Order early: Food is cooked to order and service is unhurried, so eat well before you need to head back.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Allow extra time to get back to your ship, and finish your day in Great Harbour.
- Look after your passport: If you carry it ashore, keep it safe, because a lost passport cannot be replaced in the British Virgin Islands.
Eating and Drinking
Food on Jost Van Dyke means beach bars and small restaurants serving Caribbean and American dishes, and nothing is fast. The island's own drink is the Painkiller.
- The Painkiller was created at the Soggy Dollar Bar on White Bay in the 1970s. It is rum with four parts pineapple juice, one part cream of coconut and one part orange juice, finished with grated nutmeg.
- Roti, a wrap of curried chicken or goat with potato, is a local favorite.
- Look for flying fish sandwiches as well as burgers and chicken.
- Some bars work on an honor system: the bottles and mixers are left out, you pour your own, and you tell the bar what you had when you leave.
A Brief History
Jost Van Dyke was largely overlooked by the English until the mid-18th century, grew cotton in the early 1800s, lived on fishing, small-scale farming and charcoal after emancipation, and turned to yachting and visitors in recent decades. Hurricane Irma destroyed most of its homes in 2017.
- A name with no proof: The island may be named after Joost van Dyk, a 17th-century Dutch privateer said to have used its harbors as a hideout, but there is no firm evidence.
- Overlooked at first: The English took the British Virgin Islands in 1672, but Jost Van Dyke seems to have been largely ignored until the mid-18th century. A map of 1717 does not show it at all.
- A Quaker birthplace, 1759: William Thornton was born here that year into a Quaker community, as heir to sugar plantations. He later designed the United States Capitol.
- Cotton and slavery: In 1815, 140 acres were planted in cotton. Of the 428 people then living on the island, 371 were enslaved.
- After emancipation, 1838: Emancipation came to the British Virgin Islands in 1838. The island's population kept growing, and many islanders found work at the coaling wharves on St. Thomas.
- Charcoal and boats: Between the 1920s and 1960s an estimated 20,000 tons of charcoal went from the British Virgin Islands to the US Virgin Islands, and islanders built the charcoal pits together. Locally built sailing craft called Tortola boats were used until motorboats replaced them in about the 1960s.
- From 140 to 298 people: The island had 140 residents in 1991 and 298 at the 2010 census, and yachting became the mainstay of its economy.
- Hurricane Irma, 2017: In September 2017 the storm stripped the hillsides bare and destroyed most homes. Residents ran their recovery from Foxy's, which had the island's only large working refrigerator and generators, and cleared the roads with a salvaged chainsaw.
Jost Van Dyke with Children
Jost Van Dyke is a simple beach day for families, with sheltered water and a short hill walk. Keep plans small and stay close to Great Harbour.
- Younger children: The beach at Great Harbour runs along Main Street, so small children can swim and dig without a ride or a long walk.
- School age: The hill walk to White Bay makes a short adventure with a view of three islands from the top. Bring proper shoes and water.
- Teenagers: The Bubbly Pool on the northeast coast, a rock pool where breaking waves fill the water with bubbles, is a taxi ride away. It is at its best only when the swell is running.
Accessible Travel
Jost Van Dyke is hard going for anyone with limited mobility. The island is steep, and paths and roads can turn muddy in a rainstorm.
- Ask your cruise line how it brings you ashore and whether the landing can take a wheelchair.
- Walking is the usual way to get around, and the path to White Bay is rocky.
- Taxis can save the walk, but they do not run to a timetable, so arrange your return in advance.
Beaches
White Bay, over the hill from Great Harbour, is a popular stop for yachts, sheltered by a reef and backed by beach bars. Sandy Cay, an uninhabited islet off the east end, is reached only by boat.
- The Black Point rocks divide White Bay into two parts.
- Strong underwater currents can develop at White Bay even inside the reef, so keep weaker swimmers close.
- At least one White Bay beach bar rents beach chairs for the day.
- Sandy Cay has been a national park since 2008, with a footpath around it.
- The island's western and northern coasts are rocky and hard to reach.
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