Necker Island: Can You Visit on a BVI Yacht Charter?
Necker Island is Richard Branson’s 74-acre private BVI island. See how crewed charter guests anchor off, join the 12-guest wildlife walk and snorkel off Guana.
Necker Island is Sir Richard Branson’s 74-acre private island in the North Sound of the British Virgin Islands, run as a hotel by Virgin Limited Edition (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026). On a crewed yacht charter you can anchor off it, walk it on the one guided tour allowed ashore if a slot is open, and snorkel the reefs nearby. What you can’t do is drop in for lunch.
Guana Island, off Tortola’s northeast coast, works much the same way, and both fit easily into a week in the BVI. Our guide to a BVI crewed yacht charter covers the whole territory, and the British Virgin Islands destination page shows the yachts that cruise it.
Where is Necker Island?
Necker Island sits in the North Sound of the British Virgin Islands, off the northern end of Virgin Gorda, and Prickly Pear Island is “just a five-minute boat ride” away (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026). Guests staying on Necker reach it by speedboat, a 30-minute run from Beef Island airport on Tortola.
On a charter, that puts Necker at the edge of North Sound, a few minutes from the sound’s moorings and restaurants. Our Virgin Gorda and North Sound guide covers them in detail, including Saba Rock, the Bitter End, Leverick Bay and the beach bar on Prickly Pear.
Branson owns a second island across the water. Moskito Island is “just two miles from Necker Island,” and Virgin Limited Edition rents the three villas of its Branson Beach Estate one at a time or together (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026). Like Necker, it’s for guests who book a stay, and it doesn’t take afternoon visitors.
Who owns Necker Island?
Sir Richard Branson owns Necker Island, which he bought in the late 1970s for a reported $180,000 after the owner turned down his first, lower offer (Wikipedia, 2026). Virgin Limited Edition, Virgin’s luxury hotel company, runs the island today and says Branson designed it to be his family’s home.
The island has been rebuilt twice. In August 2011 a fire, believed to have been started by lightning from Tropical Storm Irene, burned down the Great House. Six years later Hurricane Irma tore through the BVI and destroyed most of the island. Necker was back in business the following autumn, with an official reopening in October 2018 (Caribbean Journal, 2018).
Is Necker Island open to the public?
Necker Island isn’t open to the public. Virgin Limited Edition books it whole for one group, or by the room on the dates it sets aside for individual stays (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026). Nobody who isn’t staying can buy a day visit, a meal or a drink. The only way ashore without booking is a small guided wildlife walk.
No published rule forbids landing, but the island isn’t set up for passing boats, and the people on the beach are the ones who booked it. Even a group that has the whole island must give the hotel notice if a large party of outside friends is coming over (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026), so visitors arrive as somebody’s guests.
The beach falls under BVI policy, which holds that “all shores and all beaches” in the territory are vested in the Crown, with “free access from any part of the waters” (VI Magazine, citing Resolution No. 7 of 1989). Reporting a minister’s reminder in 2023, Virgin Islands News Online put the public’s right at the water and the shore “up to the area of land that is owned privately” (Virgin Islands News Online, 2023).
On Necker that means the sand and nothing behind it: the trails, the Great House and the animals are for the people staying there and for the guided walk. Ask your captain before anyone swims ashore, and treat the beach as a swim stop at most.
Can you tour Necker Island without staying there?
Yes, on the Necker Island wildlife walk. Branson granted its guide, Gumption Creque of Virgin Gorda, “the exclusive privilege” of bringing guests onto the island, with a maximum of 12 visitors on any given day (BVI Traveller, 2019). Creque’s company, Sea It Clear Tours, still runs it in 2026.
The walk lasts about two hours and 45 minutes, with some gentle inclines, and runs in a morning slot from 9:00 to 11:45 or an afternoon slot from 1:00 to 3:45 (Sea It Clear Tours, 2026). It runs “most days of the week, subject to island availability.” The animals on its list include rock iguanas, giant tortoises, flamingos, lemurs, kangaroos, scarlet ibis and cockatoos.
Book the walk before you fly: the operator takes full payment when it confirms your date, and every guest signs a waiver. Pack proper walking shoes, since flip-flops aren’t allowed and anyone without suitable footwear can’t join. When you book, tell the operator you’re on a yacht in North Sound. The tour arrives by its own water taxi, so your crew and the operator can agree where to meet.
How much does it cost to stay on Necker Island?
A room on Necker Island costs $6,000 a night during individual stays, for two people sharing a Great House or Bali room, according to Virgin Limited Edition’s published 2026 rate card (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026). A 2.5% service charge and a 3% BVI hotel tax go on top. The rate includes meals, drinks, watersports and the boat transfer.
Virgin Limited Edition doesn’t publish a price for the whole island. When Necker reopened in December 2020, after its pandemic closure, exclusive use started at $105,000 a night (Virgin Islands News Online, 2020). Today the island sleeps up to 48 guests across 11 bedrooms in the Great House and 10 Bali houses (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026).
Our breakdown of BVI crewed catamaran charter rates shows what a week costs by yacht size, and our comparison of a BVI villa rental and a yacht charter weighs a stay ashore against a week aboard.
Where do yachts anchor near Necker Island?
Yachts can anchor off Necker Island. The island’s own arrival page says so in a single line, “Yachts can also be anchored off the island,” just after its directions for staying guests (Virgin Limited Edition, 2026). Whether yours does on the day depends on the swell and on your captain’s judgment.
If the swell is up off Necker, North Sound’s sheltered moorings are close by. Prickly Pear Island, a national park since 1988, lies across the water from Necker and has a boat-up bar and grill (BVI Tourism, 2026). Our Virgin Gorda guide covers its beach and the easy snorkeling off Vixen Point.
Can you visit Guana Island in the BVI?
Guana Island is an 850-acre private island off Tortola’s northeast coast, and “only registered guests are permitted” there, according to the island’s own website, which adds that there is “no public bar, marina, or any commercial facility on the Island” (Guana Island, 2026). From a yacht, Guana is a snorkel stop and a view.
The Jarecki family owns Guana and runs it as a small resort, with 18 rooms and villas for about 35 guests, booked by the room or for the whole island (Guana Island, 2026). Booking direct for late July 2026, a Caribbean Journal writer found a Sea View cottage at about $1,325 a night (Caribbean Journal, 2026). Guana adds an 18% tax and resort fee to every charge (Guana Island, 2026).
Guana’s website calls Norman Island “our sister island” (Guana Island, 2026), and Henry Jarecki owns Norman as well (Wikipedia, 2026). If Norman is on your route, our Norman Island guide covers its anchorages and the Caves. The BVI beach rule covers Guana too, though unlike Necker, Guana puts in writing who’s allowed ashore.
Snorkeling at Monkey Point
Monkey Point, on Guana’s southeast side, is the island’s yacht stop. A Sail magazine crew tied up to “one of the National Park Trust moorings” there and snorkeled over the reef, then sailed on because “the Monkey Point moorings are for day use only” (Sail, 2007). The Trust still keeps its moorings for day use, with a time limit on each (BVI National Parks Trust, 2026), so plan Monkey Point as a morning or lunchtime swim of an hour or so. On a larger yacht, the swim may start with a short tender ride.
Keep the fishing rods stowed at the other end of the island: Guana’s northern tip is a Protected Fisheries Area (Guana Island, 2026).
How do Necker and Guana fit a BVI charter week?
Necker and Guana sit at opposite ends of one stretch of water, so a single day of a BVI crewed charter can take in both: the Necker walk in the morning, then a lunchtime snorkel at Guana’s Monkey Point on the way west. Guana is a 10-minute boat ride from the Beef Island airport marina, off Tortola’s northeast tip (Guana Island, 2026).
On our seven-day BVI itinerary, day five ends in North Sound and day six heads west to Jost Van Dyke, so that’s the day for it. Monkey Point makes the lunch stop if your captain takes the north side of Tortola.
| At a glance | Necker Island | Guana Island |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Sir Richard Branson | The Jarecki family |
| Who can stay | The whole island, or single rooms on set weeks | Registered guests, by the room or the whole island |
| Day visits sold | None | None |
| Ashore without a stay | The guided wildlife walk | No |
| From the yacht | Anchor off, swim and snorkel | Snorkel Monkey Point from a day mooring |
| Overnight | North Sound moorings nearby | Not on Monkey Point’s day moorings |
Sources: Virgin Limited Edition, Guana Island and the BVI National Parks Trust, 2026.
If you’re staying ashore before or after the yacht, our guide to BVI hotels includes Guana, and our guide to island hopping in the BVI covers the ferries and water taxis between Tortola and Virgin Gorda.
Want the Necker walk and a Monkey Point lunch written into your week? Tell us your dates and group size and we’ll match you with a crew that knows North Sound, or start a yacht search at Vital Charters to see which crewed yachts are free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you stay on Necker Island?
Yes. You can book the whole island for your group, or a single room during individual-stay weeks. Virgin Limited Edition’s 2027 calendar has eleven of those weeks, the first from January 9 to 17.
How much does the Necker Island tour cost?
Sea It Clear Tours doesn’t publish a price on its tour page, so ask for one when you request a date. It charges the full amount to your card once it confirms the booking.
Does Richard Branson live on Necker Island?
Virgin Limited Edition says Branson designed Necker as his family’s home. It now runs as a hotel, and the wildlife-tour operator notes that introductions to him aren’t included, “even if he is present on the island.”
How do you get to Necker Island?
Staying guests get a speedboat transfer from Beef Island or Virgin Gorda, included in the rate, or can fly in by helicopter from St. Thomas. Charter guests arrive on their own yacht and anchor off.
Who owns Guana Island?
The Jarecki family, who bought it in 1975 from Beth and Louis Bigelow, according to the island’s own history. They run it as a small resort and wildlife sanctuary.
Is Guana Island all-inclusive?
Mostly, according to Guana’s FAQ. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, along with drinks and snacks, but reserve wines and spirits cost extra and room service carries a surcharge.
Necker, Guana and North Sound, written into your week.
Tell us your group size and dates and we’ll put together a crewed BVI itinerary with the Necker wildlife walk, a Monkey Point snorkel and the best of North Sound.
