Every trip to the British Virgin Islands is a holiday worth celebrating. Whether a holiday you know and love like Thanksgiving, one you have yet to experience like a Full Moon Party, or an opportunity to simply celebrate life, the BVI brings the food, the fun, and the festivities. All you have to do is show up.
Reinvent Thanksgiving with the Anegada Lobster Festival
Just-caught spiny lobster features in many local restaurants in the British Virgin Islands
Courtesy of the British Virgin Islands
Forget turkey and stuffing. Thanksgiving means feeling grateful for the Anegada Lobster Festival on this northernmost isle of the British Virgin Islands. The only coral island in the archipelago, Anegada is 15 miles from Virgin Gorda, with the 18-mile-long Horseshoe Reef (the fourth-largest in the world) and 16 miles of glorious white-sand beaches. This year marks the festival’s 12th incarnation and, if previous years are any sign, multiple establishments on the so-called “Drowned Island” (it’s a mere 28 feet above sea level) will be participating with creative dishes, from fried lobster with mango dip to lobster pizza and lobster patties. Grab your bathing suit…and your bib!
Dance all night at full moon parties, from Tortola to Virgin Gorda
A full moon party in Trellis Bay
Courtesy of the British Virgin Islands
Some creatures howl at the full moon; others go to the BVI to celebrate the monthly lunar event. What started in 1989 at the legendary Bomba Shack in Tortola’s Carpoons Bay has expanded across the islands into a staple of local nightlife. Back then, locals and visiting celebrants would partake in Bomba’s storied tea. Today, venues everywhere from Virgin Gorda to Beef Island have their own late-night parties, with revelers ditching footwear, heading off to the sand, and dancing under a moonlit sky. Known to be transformative, Full Moon parties today continue the ecstatic legacy of the original.
Celebrate the Emancipation Festival and Virgin Gorda’s Christmas in July
Each July, thousands of joyful and triumphant visitors and hundreds of boats make their way to Virgin Gorda for Xmas in July, a daylong celebration filled with music and beachside festivities. In 2007, the annual event was born out of the neighborly love between Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. During Hurricane Irma, many Puerto Ricans (nicknamed the “Puerto Rican Navy”) helped their friends across the water with supplies and aid and evacuated those in need. Honoring local communities is among the best ways travel can be a force for good, especially when it involves beach volleyball, reggae, and mango margaritas.
Every year, the BVI also makes it a point to fete the anniversary of the August 1, 1834, proclamation that ended slavery across the British Empire. The first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the month are holidays across the islands, which allows locals and visitors alike to commemorate this important day at the Emancipation Festival. You’ll find pageants, celebrations such as the torchlight procession, and food festivals throughout the islands. Pro tip: Set your alarm to catch the legendary “rise and shine tramps” of bands performing out of the backs of trucks in the early morning hours.
Ring in the new year on Jost Van Dyke
Every vacation destination around the globe has some kind of party on New Year’s Eve. Still, few combine the perfect mix of celebratory excitement and Caribbean energy like Jost van Dyke. The smallest of the main British Virgin Islands, Jost (as it’s commonly called) goes from being a laid-back location to the place to be as the sun sets on December 31.
Once on the island, those in the know head to Foxy’s Tamarind Bar for live music with a view (of the Caribbean, of course) at the annual Old Year’s Night Party. Don’t miss owner Foxy Callwood leading the parade of partygoers in the “Old Year’s Walk” along the beach. What a way to ring in a new year, bringing all-new opportunities to head back to the British Virgin Islands.
Go boating to the BVI’s lesser-known islands
Courtesy of the British Virgin Islands
Want to maximize a long weekend? You can rent a yacht and cruise around the aquamarine waters of the 50-plus British Virgin Islands any time of the year. In addition to the big four (Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke), don’t sleep on the uninhabited beauty of Great Tobago, Salt Island, or any of the other lesser-known destinations.
Novice navigators will appreciate the steady trade winds, protected bays, and ample moorings. And those not in the mood to steer will easily find captained rental options. Regardless of who’s at the helm, you can visit the world-famous Virgin Gorda baths, snorkel and dive off the deserted Sandy Cay, or simply lie on the dreamy sand beaches of Anegada. Two things are for sure: There is no wrong choice. And there is no bad itinerary.
