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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.

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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.
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Leaving Your Mark

It’s a funny thing about visiting the Caribbean but tourists like to leave some proof they were there.  The great bars of the Caribbean are adorned with license plates, business cards, intimate apparel and visitor photos.  Graffiti too, as in writing your name, some summary of the experience and the date.  Stickers, though, are by far the most popular.  At HIHO we are happily on this bandwagon and leave our mark at our favorite bars & watering holes.  Our great friends at Sticker Mule help us by making it easy to source stickers, which we tastefully affix here and there.

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San Francisco Nice

Our zest for the San Francisco Bay Area extends back to our windsurfing racing days when we spent weeks and months training & competing here. Summers in San Francisco offered plenty of wind but cool temperatures, especially compared to the balmy Virgin Islands.  It was a treat to recently return and enjoy a perfectly gorgeous San Francisco weekend.  
The weather was gorgeous so we took every advantage and clambered aboard a Newport 41 sailboat for an afternoon of cruising around the Bay. In a light seabreeze we tacked up under the Golden Gate bridge, which we think is one of the greatest structures every built by man.  We sailed under the bridge listening to the hum of traffic several hundred feet above us, then out into the widening bay between San Francisco and Marin headlands where we saw black porpoises, seals and a sea lion, and shared the splendid afternoon with other boats.  
The following day and in even better weather we took the top down on our car and drove up the coast to the Marshal Store on beautiful Tomales Bay where we sucked down delicious oysters and enjoyed a bottle of Sancerre.  On the drive home we visited a farm stand in Bolinas, then diverted off Highway1 for a ride along the Seven Sisters ridge high above Stinson beach. We took in the sunset, which was a ball of fire dipping into the cold Pacific Ocean, and then descended into Mill Valley and back onto Hwy 101 to San Francisco.
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