The Ultimate Guide to Island Hopping in the BVI

Island hopping in the BVI runs on three kinds of boat: public ferries that keep a timetable, private water taxis you hire by the boat, and resort launches that carry their own guests across a channel. Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, is the hub for all three. From its docks at Road Town, West End and Beef Island, you can be on Virgin Gorda or Jost Van Dyke before lunch, and on Anegada too on the days its ferry sails.

This guide is for anyone moving between the islands, whether that’s a villa guest planning a day at The Baths, a couple staying on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and crossing for the weekend, or a family meeting a yacht at anchor.

Below you’ll find every public ferry route inside the territory, along with the four private water taxi companies we recommend, the islands no ferry reaches and the fees you’ll need cash for. If you’re still deciding where to stay or sail, our BVI insider guide covers the islands themselves, and the BVI destination guide sets out the territory at a glance.

How do you get between the BVI islands?

Public ferries link Tortola with Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada, and private water taxis cover everywhere else, including unserved islands like Cooper Island (Speedy’s, New Horizon and Smith’s Ferry timetables, October 2026). Before you plan any island hopping in the BVI, check whether a public boat goes where you’re going on the day you need it.

Ferries sell seats. You buy a ticket, sail on a fixed timetable and land at a public dock, which makes them the cheapest way across. Water taxis sell the whole boat. The captain leaves when your group is ready and can drop you at a marina, a villa dock, a beach or a yacht on a mooring.

Then there are the resort launches. Scrub Island, Peter Island, Saba Rock and Bitter End all run their own boats, mostly for staying guests, and whether a day visitor can ride depends on the resort.

What is the BVI ferry schedule between the islands?

Four companies keep the BVI ferry schedule between the islands (BVI Tourist Board and operator timetables, October 2026). Speedy’s and Road Town Fast Ferry sail to Virgin Gorda, New Horizon Ferry to Jost Van Dyke, and Smith’s Ferry to Anegada. Nearly every route starts on Tortola, so a day on another island means a ferry out and back.

BVI ferry schedule and fares from the operators’ own timetables and fare pages, checked 14 October 2026. On Speedy’s, children aged 5 to 11 pay $20 one way.

Ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda

Two companies run the ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda, and both land at Spanish Town. Speedy’s sails from Road Town and from Trellis Bay on Beef Island, beside the airport, and Road Town Fast Ferry sails from Road Town. Sensation Ferries, which older guides and some search answers still list, ended its Tortola to Virgin Gorda service in May 2024 (Virgin Islands News Online, 2024).

From Road Town, Speedy’s sails between 7:45 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Saturday, adding a 12:10 pm and a 6:00 pm boat on weekdays, and twice each way on Sunday. Road Town Fast Ferry began a seven-day service on 1 April 2026, leaving Road Town between 6:45 am and 5:00 pm Monday to Saturday and twice on Sunday (Virgin Islands News Online, 2026). Its own website doesn’t list the route yet, so confirm the times at the dock or by phone.

Beef Island is the shorter hop. Speedy’s runs it every day, with sailings from 6:30 am to 9:00 pm and a late boat at 11:15 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. If you fly into Beef Island and you’re staying on Virgin Gorda, take this one.

No public ferry runs from Tortola into the North Sound. For Bitter End, Saba Rock or Oil Nut Bay, take the ferry to Spanish Town and a taxi to Gun Creek, or hire a boat straight there. Speedy’s sells a private run to Saba Rock or Bitter End for up to 10 passengers at $650 one way.

Jost Van Dyke ferry from Tortola

New Horizon Ferry runs the Jost Van Dyke ferry from West End to Great Harbour, a crossing it puts at about 20 minutes. Boats leave West End at 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Taxis wait at the Great Harbour dock to take you on to White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar. The last boat back leaves Great Harbour at 5:00 pm, an hour before the last one out, so a day trip ends earlier than the outbound timetable suggests.

On Wednesdays in season, New Horizon also runs from Jost Van Dyke to Virgin Gorda. Its own site and the Tourist Board give different times for that sailing, and neither defines “in season,” so ask before you plan a day around it.

Ferry to Anegada

Smith’s Ferry is the public boat to Anegada. It leaves Road Town at 7:00 am and 3:30 pm, calling at Virgin Gorda on the way according to the Tourist Board, and leaves Setting Point for Road Town at 8:30 am and 5:00 pm. It sails on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but only on the dates in its monthly calendar, and the calendar skips weeks: October 2026 has no sailings from the 15th to the 29th.

On a sailing day, the early boat out and the evening boat back leave you most of a day on the island, long enough for lobster at The Lobster Trap. Smith’s doesn’t publish a fare online, so ask when you book.

How do private water taxis work in the BVI?

A private water taxi in the BVI is a fast powerboat with its captain, hired by the boat for a transfer or a day of stops. Since 1 June 2025, only licensed BVI vessels may carry passengers between two harbors or anchorages in the territory, a rule that covers foreign-based water taxis too (Government of the Virgin Islands, 2025).

That rule decides who you call. For a hop between BVI islands, book one of the Tortola-based operators. For the crossing from St. Thomas or St. John, all four companies below can carry you, and on the way in the captain clears your whole party through BVI customs while you stay aboard.

These are the four water taxi companies we recommend, two on each side of the border.

Island Time BVI

Island Time BVI is one of our trusted partners, working out of B-Dock at Nanny Cay on Tortola. It collects from Beef Island airport, Red Hook and Cruz Bay, and delivers to marinas, hotels, villas and yachts at anchor, with transfers out to Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Guana Island and Scrub Island. For island hopping, its half-day charters last about four hours and its full days seven to eight, with fuel, snorkel gear and some drinks included. Every trip is priced by quote.

Chillout Charters

Chillout Charters also runs from Nanny Cay, and it’s the only one of the four that publishes prices for a full island-hopping day. It picks up from moorings anywhere in the BVI, Anegada, Cooper Island and Norman Island included. Water taxi fares are quoted, with fuel, drinks and the international processing fees on a crossing already in the price.

A full day with Chillout means about 7.5 hours on the water and up to five stops. The price covers the captain, fuel, snorkel gear, drinks, cruising permits and National Parks fees.

View data table

Full-day itinerary	Stops	Price per boat
Lost in Paradise	Sandy Cay or Sandy Spit, Bubbly Pool, White Bay, Norman Island or Little Harbour	$1,550-$2,200
Snorkeler’s Dream	Monkey Point or Diamond Reef, The Baths or Cistern Point, Cooper Island or Pirates Bight, The Indians or The Caves	$1,650-$2,300
Beach Bar Hoppin’	Cooper Island, Willy T, Pirates Bight, Foxy’s, Soggy Dollar	$1,700-$2,350
Top Hot Spots	The Baths, The Indians and The Caves, Pirates Bight or Willy T, White Bay	$1,750-$2,400
Billionaire’s Playground	The Baths or Spring Bay, Eustatia Reef or Oil Nut Bay, Nova, Saba Rock or Bitter End, Sand Box	$1,750-$2,400
Your own 4-5 stops	Your choice	$1,800-$2,450
Anegada Adventures	Anegada, weather permitting	$1,950-$2,500

Chillout Charters’ published full-day rates, per boat, across its four boats for 10 to 12 guests. Lunch and gratuity are extra. Checked 14 October 2026.

Split ten ways, the least expensive full day comes to $155 a head, before lunch and a tip. Chillout says 15% to 20% is customary.

The Last Mile

From Oasis Cove Marina, just outside Red Hook on St. Thomas, The Last Mile prices one-way trips for the whole boat for up to eight guests. Its rates start at $795 to West End, $1,050 to Jost Van Dyke and $1,350 to Virgin Gorda, with a captain, a mate, fuel and drinks included. BVI customs fees aren’t in those prices: it collects $60 per person each way, in cash. It says its boat is BVI-flagged, so it can also collect you from a BVI dock for the trip back to St. Thomas.

Dolphin Water Taxi

Dolphin Water Taxi prices by the seat rather than the boat. It sails from American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook, offers a meet-and-greet at St. Thomas airport, and gives one published example from the airport to Tortola is $180 for the boat ride plus $25 for the land transfer, with a minimum number of guests. BVI entry and exit fees of $75 and $45 per person are collected in cash at its booth. It asks for 72 hours’ notice.

How do you get from St. Thomas to the BVI?

Two public ferry routes cross from St. Thomas to Tortola: Charlotte Amalie to Road Town in 50 to 60 minutes, and Red Hook to West End in about 30 (BVI Tourist Board, 2026). Both are international crossings, so every passenger needs a passport and the BVI’s online entry form, which opens 72 hours before arrival.

Road Town Fast Ferry, Native Son and Smith’s Ferry take turns on the Charlotte Amalie run, and Road Town Fast Ferry now runs the Red Hook route. Aquatic Rentals, which ran the Sea Express boats from Red Hook, suspended all ferry service on 31 August 2026 (Virgin Islands News Online, 2026). Older guides still list it, so check an operator’s own site before you trust a timetable. A third route, Speedy’s Saturday boat from Charlotte Amalie to Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda, is paused for the low season and due back on 7 November 2026.

Bring US dollars in cash for two BVI fees: a $10 environmental levy, collected from each visitor on arrival, and a $20 departure tax when you leave by sea. Private boats pay higher entry and exit fees than ferry passengers, and each water taxi handles them differently, as the company notes above show, so ask whether a quote includes them. Our USVI to BVI crossing guide walks through both directions step by step, with every crossing time and fee.

For the trip home, water taxi operators suggest booking a flight that leaves St. Thomas at 1:30 pm or later.

Which BVI islands can you visit in a day?

Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke make a day trip from Tortola by public ferry, and Anegada does on Smith’s Ferry sailing days. Pirates Bight runs its own boat from Hannah Bay on Tortola to Norman Island. Cooper Island and The Indians have no public ferry, so you need a water taxi or a day boat (operator timetables, October 2026).

Virgin Gorda: The Baths and the North Sound

The boulders and pools of The Baths national park are the reason most people take the ferry, and Spanish Town is the closest ferry dock to them. For the resorts and beach bars of the North Sound, read our Virgin Gorda and North Sound guide. Bitter End runs a launch from Gun Creek about every hour from 8:30 am and calls it complimentary, but ask whether day visitors can ride. Saba Rock’s launch is for resort guests.

Norman Island: The Bight

Without a public ferry, most visitors come by water taxi, day boat or the Pirates Bight boat to swim, snorkel the caves and eat at the floating Willy T bar.

Peter Island

The resort’s ferry leaves from Road Town for its guests and visitors it has approved, so arrange a visit with the resort first. Our guide covers what Peter Island offers a visitor.

Cooper Island and The Indians

Book a water taxi, or a Chillout or Island Time day that includes them. The Indians snorkel site is a set of rocks with no beach, so plan on staying in the water. Cooper Island Beach Club is closed for the season until early November 2026.

Ferry or water taxi: which should you book?

On the Jost Van Dyke run, the ferry costs less than a private water taxi even for a group of ten (New Horizon and Chillout Charters published fares, October 2026). A water taxi earns its price when you have luggage, a tight connection, or a stop the ferries don’t reach.

Four adults pay $160 between them for the round trip on New Horizon. Chillout’s four-hour Jost Van Dyke trip from Nanny Cay costs $985 for the boat. What the boat buys is the rest of the day: a stop at Sandy Spit on the way, a pickup from your own dock, and no race for the last boat back.

What should you know before island hopping in the BVI?

Carry cash, and expect fewer boats on Sundays and public holidays. A few dates and policies to plan around this season:

• Public holidays: on Heroes and Foreparents Day, Monday 19 October 2026, Speedy’s runs a limited Road Town service but a full Beef Island one.
• Closures: Marina Cay, reached on Scrub Island’s ferry from Trellis Bay, is closed until 8 November 2026.
• Cancellations: each water taxi sets its own terms. Chillout and The Last Mile refund in full with seven days’ notice and Dolphin with 48 hours’, and all three refund if weather stops the trip.
• Island Time day charters: cancel seven or more days out for no charge, or pay half between three and seven days.

Can you island hop the BVI by yacht?

Yes, and on a crewed charter the yacht does the hopping. You sleep aboard, and the captain moves the boat between islands while you swim, snorkel or eat lunch at anchor. There’s no timetable to watch and no last ferry to catch.

A week aboard reaches the same islands as the ferries and water taxis, and the nights are spent at anchor instead of back on Tortola. Our 7-day BVI itinerary shows one way to string them together, and our rates guide shows what a crewed catamaran week costs. When you’re ready to compare boats, browse crewed yachts with Vital Charters.

The bottom line

For most visitors, island hopping in the BVI means a ferry to Virgin Gorda or Jost Van Dyke and a water taxi to the places the ferries skip. Check the operator’s own timetable the day before, carry cash for any crossing, and book a Tortola-based boat for hops between BVI islands.

Staying on land? Our guide to the best BVI hotels covers where to base yourself, including before or after a week on the water.