Holidays are here! HIHO Shopping Guide
HIHO has gifts for everyone on your list! From UPF50 Sun Shirts to fabulous linens, you can't go wrong! Click thru below to shop!
2022 Updated BVI Travel Guide
An update to our most popular blog post ever. Our 2022 BVI Travel Guide is here!
The British Virgin Islands are…. Known as the some of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean, and really the World. Known for great sailing the islands close proximity is a boaters paradise.
First time visiting?…. The sailing is excellent. The BVI also offers great snorkeling, surfing and board sports, like wing foiling and kite surfing. Or just relax on one of our beautiful beaches. Grab a cold beer or a rum drink and find a coconut tree.
Casual & easy going…. The BVI vibe is casual and easy going. Shorts and T-shirts rule and linen is a great option to dress up a bit. Shop our HIHO linen styles online here. You may need a light sweater in the winter when nighttime temps drop below 80 degrees!
Surf or SUP…. Tortola and some of the outer islands feature some of the Caribbean best waves for surfing. Cane Garden Bay is a World class point break! If you like to SUP then there are plenty of wonderful spots- our favourites include Little Jost Van Dyke and the South side of Beef Island. Wing foiling is the new hot Watersport and we offer lots of windy and flat water venues to choose from. Our UPF50 Shirts are perfect for all day sun protection, shop here online.
Honeymooners…. Nothing better than spending a week in a small private villa or aboard your own yacht. There are lots of private anchorages and plenty of deserted islands you can call your own. Check out the tiny beach on the North West corner of Fallen Jerusalem, which is a stone’s throw from the tip of Virgin Gorda.
Best Island Cocktail…. Check out a Painkiller at Hendo’s Hideout on White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. Or mix your own rum punch- 1 part lime and OJ; 2-parts combined white and dark rum; 3/4 part of simple syrup; generous dash of Angostura bitters. Shake and enjoy. If you let this sit overnight it tastes even better!
Best Sunset vantage…. Watch the sun go down from the beach bar at the Anegada Reef Hotel. It’s priceless!
A perfect day is…. Sail down the Sur Francis Drake Channel and across to Sandy Spit. Rig you Wingfoil gear and island hop down to White Bay (with your yacht following you…). Have a Painkiller at Hendo’s Hideout. Stay for dinner, or Scott back up to Great Harbour and eat at Foxy’s.
Best Shopping… The BVI are not really known for great shopping, but check out the Beach House Boutique at Rosewood Little Dix Resort on Virgin Gorda. It has the best collection of casual and elegant island apparel and gifts. Treat yourself to a sumptuous meal at the Sugar Mill restaurant, which is located a stone’s throw from the boutique.
Secret Spot…. Stay at one of Long Bay Beach Resorts new beach front rooms. Take long walks down the powdery sand beach and enjoy their Thai curry’s for a quiet and romantic meal.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are located to the East of Puerto Rico. Collectively there are over 60 islands, cays and rocks that comprise the territory which is still a part of Great Britain. Year round weather is very agreeable with temperature ranging from the mid-70's in the Winter to low-90's in the Summer. English is the official language and the currency is the US Dollar. The best way to get here is to fly to St Thomas (in the US Virgin Islands) and come across by ferry. We hope you visit soon!
Shop our BVI gear for your next visit here.
2022 Painkiller Cup Recap
Perfect conditions were on hand for the January 15th Painkiller Cup. Flat sea conditions and light wind met the racers at the start of the 14-mile team race at Trellis Bay. Brian Duff and the BVI Yacht Sales Team stepped out to an early lead and, after 3 hours and 30 minutes reached the finish at White Bay, Jost Van Dyke in first place.
The shorter Mini-Painkiller Cup Race started at Sandy Cay. A field of 21-racers paddled the 3.5-miles to White Bay.
- Josh Morrell took the bullet with Andrew “Tubes” Thompson in 2nd while Christian Thompson (no relation) finished 3rd
- A father/son duo rounded out the top five with Andy Morrell in 4th and Sam Morrell in 5th.
- Christine Joseph was the top women in 9th overall followed by Jessica Bamford who finished in 10th. The 3rd women was Kate Mallin, who finished in 11th overall!
- In the team relay portion of the event Team BVI Yacht Sales comprising Duff, Danny Petrovic and Moon collected $2,250 for their winning efforts.
- 2nd place in the team relay went to the Old Farts Team of Lee Donovan, Johan Henry and Amanda Petrovic.
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3rd place was the Sunburn Drink Team from Florida while Lis Bailey from Guana Island led Team Jus For We to 4th.
Both races finished at Hendo’s Hideout on White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. The 2022 Painkiller Cup was sponsored by the Sunburn Drink, HIHO, The Moorings and Lemon + Line.
Visit our website to purchase 2022 Painkiller Cup gear here.
Featured HIHO Account- HOUSE in Tortola
Nestled in the corner of Road Town is HOUSE, an oasis of good taste and design.
Owned and run by Fran Samuels who has lived in the British Virgin Islands for 27-years, HOUSE sells interior décor, gift items and our HIHO line of clothing. Adding clothing to the mix was a good move says Fran. And HIHO’s linen collection is perfect for life in the islands. “Linen is such a perfect fabrication for the Caribbean,” she says. “And the HIHO collection sells so well.”
HOUSE also sells our wovens and knits, and all our men’s linen shirts. “The best sellers are the bananakeet and Ginnie shift dress, and the men’s shirts. Visit the website here for HOUSE.
About HIHO:
Inspired by life in the Caribbean HIHO makes casual & comfortable clothing including linen shirts and sweaters, beach dresses, shorts, pants and soft cotton tees.
Our HIHO clothing is based on the tropical lifestyle we love so much, and is influenced by our pristine environment and island life. Our clothing is soft, designed to be functional, colorful and comfortable in a chic island way. The casual, cool and elegant designs and our original prints are the hallmark of the HIHO brand. Shop here
Bitter End: A New Beginning
The Bitter End, our favourite BVI sailing destination and resort, was levelled by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The new Bitter End just opened and we wanted to report that it is awesome in every way. Really a shadow of the former resort, the new property features a couple docks that can handle practically any size yacht (the J-Boat Ranger was alongside when were there this week), a restaurant, two bars and some shopping. There are also two waterfront rooms and some great lounge spaces.
The new resort has kept the best of the old Bitter End, plus some really cool upgrades. We loved the new architecture and nautical decor- it’s in-keeping with the former resort and you’ll really love it if you are a sailor. Standouts from our trip were the food, and the personal attention from the chef.
We also loved seeing former Bitter End employees back on the job! Our waitress was a friend from years ago and she served us tasty food and delicious drinks. We’re not sure what plans the resort has but there is plenty of room for expansion, which we look forward to.
Caribbean Christmas
A Christmas in the Caribbean is a wonderful contrarian experience. While it’s not cold and the usual Santa Claus outfit might be traded for red shorts and a T-shirt, there is still plenty of spirit.
Traditionally guavaberry wine is made.
Guavaberries are small tart berries, akin to a boysenberry, that blossom in the cooler months of the year. Guvaberry wine isn’t actually “wine”. The berries are stuffed in a bottle with rum and added spices, and ferment for a year. It's traditionally served to carollers who serenade your home on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Day, we open our presents in the morning and then hit the beach to surf or windsurf, and then return home in time for an evening meal, which you would recognise with turkey, ham and all the fixings. Fir Christmas trees have been imported to the islands for years but the traditional Caribbean tree is a dried century plant. The English islands in the Caribbean also celebrate Boxing Day as a holiday on December 26th. This is probably the wisest holiday fo the year!
HIHO has the best gifts for everyone on your list! Shop our UPF50 Suntek Shirts, fabulous linen shirts and dresses, new accessories and more. Visit our website here.
The 2021 Painkiller Cup: Good Family Fun
We’ve enjoyed running events for as long as we can remember (in fact our brand name originated from the eponymous inter-island windsurfing race and adventure). This year’s Painkiller Cup race on January 16th was a great example of why we love events, and what makes them great. In a very “off” year we thought we’d struggle to get competitors to commit but were pleasantly surprised to have 33-racers on the starting line at Sandy Cay.
To accommodate the smaller number of racers, the course was designed downwind to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke, where the finish was off @hendoshideoutbvi. The course was about 45-50-minutes long for better racers, and around 90-120 minutes for the less experienced.
The weather was gorgeous with plenty of sun, light wind and small waves pushing everyone down towards White Bay. What made the event great were all of our friends and family racing together. We were additionally happy to get many compliments afterwards to say how much fun the event was. Things are very quiet in the BVI right now and the Painkiller Cup gave a shot of fun and excitement to Hendo’s Hideout and beautiful White Bay!
Check out our limited edition 2021 Painkiller Cup suntek shirts online! They come in blue and white for both men and women and have built in UPF50 protection. Click here to shop.
HIHO x Emily Pearsall: Exclusive Designs
Emily Pearsall was born and raised in St Thomas. She grew up on and under the water. Long days at the beach or on a boat and then nights at home on the mountain on St Thomas’ North Side with views up to the British Virgin Islands. Emily is raising two gorgeous island girls and helps run her husband Tony’s @localmotioncharters, one of the Virgin Islands best day charter businesses. Graphic design is one of her many talents and when we asked Emily put her hand to a couple winners for HIHO. Our new women’s mermaid and men’s swordfish graphics are some of our favorites. It’s great keeping the creative side of our business almost homegrown.
Shop our Mermaid Suntek Shirt and Swordfish Suntek Shirts online!
Emily with her beautiful family
JetSet to Grenada
We caught up with the inimitable Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon (aka JetSetSarah) after her recent trip to Grenada. Sarah knows our islands almost better than we do. She’s a travel writer, on screen host, and a self described “Carivangelist”. We’ve hung out with her in the Virgin Islands and appreciated her quick take on the Spice Island of Grenada. Follow her adventures on Instagram and on Facebook and at JetSetSarah.com
- How often do you travel to Grenada and what makes it such a special island?This was my fifth visit to the “Spice Island” and even though I’ve only been home a few days I’m already looking forward to my sixth! Grenada is at the sweet spot of being an island that’s relatively undiscovered by crowds and still genuinely welcoming and also having a diverse and developed (but not too developed!) tourism product in terms of hotels, restaurants and activities. You can have a high-end and vacation in a luxury resort or a homey, intimate stay at a bed-and-breakfast. Either way, you’re guaranteed a good time.
- What’s your favourite thing to do in Grenada?Most people don’t know that Grenada is a three-island nation with two sister islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. I’ve done day trips (it takes two hours on the ferry) from St. George’s to Carriacou, which has just 7,000 people, a single gas station and, they say, 100 rum shops. I’d love to go back and stay over for a couple of nights to really get the feel of the place without rushing to make the afternoon ferry.
- Can you give us an “insider” tip to the most unique attraction on the island? On this last trip I visited Grand Etang National Reserve for the first time. It’s a 3,000-acre protected rainforest in the center of the island that’s really popular with hikers and birdwatchers. I went with local guide Simon Green, whose company, Hidden Treasures Hikes, offers custom tours. We hiked to Grand Etang, the crater lake at the center of the forest, and saw Mona monkeys swinging in the trees. Visitors make the mistake of thinking that beaches are the Caribbean’s best or only asset. But there’s so much more magic to be found when you leave the coast and go deeper. Grenada is proof.
- Give us a rundown of your favourite places to stay/eat/drink on the island? Stay: I was a guest at a couple of places, at opposite ends of Grenada’s best-known beach, Grand Anse. Silversands is a two-year-old luxury resort with a fabulous spa and the Caribbean’s longest infinity pool. Mount Cinnamon has a clutch of villas and suites on the hillside above the southern end of the beach and is a great pick for families. On my next trip I have my eye on a stay at Calabash Hotel, a family-run boutique beachfront resort on the south coast. Eat: No one leaves Grenada without eating at BB’s Crabback in St. George’s. It’s a family run join on the water that’s famous for its - you guessed it - crab backs. Drink: I don’t have a favorite bar but I do recommend that wherever you choose you order a traditional rum punch. Everyone has a slightly different recipe but they’re all so good, and ALWAYS topped with a generous dusting of nutmeg. Grenada is the world’s second-largest exporter of the aromatic spice, so not to try it would be rude!
Time & Tide: the 2020 New England Solo/Twin
On a busmans holiday Team HIHO sailing aboard the Sunfast 33 “byte” lined up for The 2020 New England Solo/Twin. The event featured a 70-mile ocean triangle course starting and finishing in Newport, RI with a course around Block Island and then down to the Elizabeth islands. What should have been a quick sprint turned into a slow trek. The “byte” team battled light wind, adverse currents and ferocious competition to finish in 25-hours and claim a 2nd in class position.
Island Travel Report: St John
Ryan and Crystal Van Denabeele (@caribbeancastaways and formerly RumShopRyan and Castaway Crystal) have, even by our jaded standards, a dream life. Together they run the Caribbean Castaways blog and podcast, a burgeoning portal to all things Caribbean. This husband and wife team travel throughout the region often, helping to inspire and inform people on the best the Caribbean has to offer. We know the islands pretty well, and so do they, so it's nice to get their occasional take on what makes the different islands special or different.
What makes St John a special island to visit?
I think people have their own unique reasons why St. John is a special place to visit. For some it may be the beaches. For others it may be the beach bars or that Kenny Chesney sings about it. But for me, it's a combination of the natural beauty of the National Park, the small town community charm, the sound of the frogs at night, and the warm feeling we always get from the people. You bundle all that up and it gives you a special vibe that's hard to replicate.
We've been to dozens of Caribbean islands, but St. John keeps bringing us back.
What’s your favourite thing to do on St John?
That's a tough one. I guess it would have to be more a routine type thing. First we wake up early and beat the heat for a hike on one of the island's many trails. Then we rest up on a quiet beach and let the cool Caribbean water turn our tired bodies into weightless marshmallows. After the beach we head into town for happy hour, an early dinner, and a Cruz Bay sunset. Then rinse and repeat. That's our favorite thing to do.
What's an “insider” tip?
We have two. Salt Pond beach is a great beach and worth the drive to the south end of the island. After your beach day there, the hike back up the hill to the parking lot will make you a bit tired and thirsty. To the left of the parking lot down the road about 100ft is a Rasta man that sells handmade items and ice cold beer and soda. Grab a beverage for the road and tell him RumShopRyan and Castaway Crystal said hi.
Tip number two would be to get the Caribbean Preferred Card. It can save you hundreds on your St. John trip or any trip around the Caribbean. You can get one here.
Best place to stay/eat /drink
Accommodations:
Coconut Coast Villas - We love the simplicity and location. Plus walking that short trail into town each night is a super cool experience.
Grande Bay - You can't beach the location in Cruz Bay and that view!
Villas - We always recommend people try a villa rental. You feel more like a local because you make runs to the grocery story and can relax and unwind more. Plus if you are traveling with friends and family, it's a great way for everyone to be together.
Eating:
Lime Out - This floating taco boat has amazing food and there's nothing quite like eating while seated at a floating bar or tables.
Pizza Pi VI - Best Pizza we've had! Yes, you have to take a boat to Christmas Cove to get it, but that's just part of the fun!
The Longboard - There are a lot of good restaurants on St. John, but we love the casual yet modern island vibes at The Longboard. They have a great menu of island fusion dishes and they have a great happy hour.
Drinks:
DRINK - The best cocktail bar on St. John in our opinion and they are located right on the water in Cruz Bay. What's not to like?!
Tap Room - We always tell people to drink local when they travel. When it comes to the USVI, that's beer from St. John Brewers. Hit up their Tap Room in Mongoose Junction in Cruz Bay for some local brews.
The Beach Bar - No visit to St. John is complete without a visit to The Beach Bar. This casual open-air bar sits steps from the sand in Cruz Bay and they serve up a great Painkiller.
Where are you off to next?
That's a good question! We were going to fly into Staniel Cay in Exuma, Bahamas–but I think Covid-19 put a stop on that trip. It's actually hard to say where we are off to next because travel restrictions seem to be getting tighter with this second wave. Let's just hope this ends soon so we can all get back to traveling and enjoying the Caribbean.
HIHO: What’s in a name.
HIHO started in 1979 as inter-island windsurfing race through the Virgin Islands. In the 1980’s it was known as the Hook In & Hold On, and was sponsored by Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey. A youthful Andy Morrell took first place in the 1986 edition, and then went on to buy the event. With the name shortened to HIHO and a fun sun graphic logo the event was re-started in 1983 and endured for another 20-years. Famous for a week of great windsurf racing, a yacht flotilla and legendary parties, the HIHO race was one of the biggest water sports events on the Caribbean. And the sun graphic logo shirts evolved into today’s HIHO brand of island inspired apparel.
