Pizza Pi: Best of the US Virgin Islands
Pizza Pi is the world’s only sailboat pizzeria, moored since 2014 in Christmas Cove off St. Thomas. Here’s the floating pizza spot and how to visit by yacht.
Pizza Pi is the world’s only sailboat pizzeria — a 37-foot boat converted into a floating pizza kitchen, moored since 2014 in Christmas Cove off the East End of St. Thomas. You raft up, dinghy over, or swim up for a fresh 16-inch New York-style pie, eaten on floats in the water. There’s no street address and no walk-in door, so you arrive by boat, which is exactly why it belongs on a crewed yacht charter: your captain picks up a mooring, texts the order ahead, and the pizza comes out while you’re already in the water.
What Is Pizza Pi?
Pizza Pi is a floating pizzeria built inside a converted 37-foot sailboat, moored in Christmas Cove off St. Thomas and reachable only by boat (Pizza Pi). It serves fresh 16-inch New York-style pizzas made onboard daily — not wood-fired, but baked in commercial ovens on the boat — alongside craft cocktails and frozen drinks. The owners bill it as the world’s only sailboat pizzeria, and it has grown into one of the most talked-about places to eat in the US Virgin Islands.
The concept is the appeal. There’s no dock, no parking lot, and no front door: the “restaurant” is a boat permanently moored in a turquoise cove, and the dining room is a set of floating platforms in the water beside it. You pull up, order a pie, and eat it with your feet in the sea. Pizza Pi has been written up by Vice, Caribbean Journal, and Atlas Obscura precisely because there’s nothing else quite like it.
Pizza Pi is a floating pizzeria built inside a converted 37-foot sailboat, moored since 2014 in Christmas Cove off St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. It serves fresh 16-inch New York-style pizzas made onboard in commercial ovens, and it’s reachable only by boat. Its owners call it the world’s only sailboat pizzeria.
Where Is Pizza Pi?
Pizza Pi floats in Christmas Cove on Great St. James island, off the East End of St. Thomas — about five minutes by boat from St. Thomas and fifteen from St. John (Pizza Pi). Christmas Cove is a calm, protected anchorage tucked on the west side of Great St. James, a short hop from the Red Hook side of St. Thomas, and there is no land route to the pizza boat itself — the cove is the parking lot.
View data table
| Travel time by boat to Christmas Cove | Minutes |
|---|---|
| From St. Thomas | 5 |
| From St. John | 15 |
Approximate minutes by boat to Christmas Cove. Source: Pizza Pi.
That location is the whole reason a boat makes sense. Christmas Cove is a favorite overnight anchorage on a US Virgin Islands charter, and Pizza Pi turns it into a dinner stop — one of the more memorable of the US Virgin Islands charter destinations, and worth folding into a route through the islands of the US Virgin Islands. It’s also the other half of the territory’s floating-food scene: the pizza boat here in Christmas Cove and the floating taco bar Lime Out, with locations in Lindbergh Bay (St. Thomas) and Coral Bay (St. John).
Pizza Pi floats in Christmas Cove on Great St. James island, off the East End of St. Thomas — about five minutes by boat from St. Thomas and fifteen from St. John. Christmas Cove is a protected anchorage inside a designated marine sanctuary, and there is no land access to the pizza boat, so every guest arrives by water.
How Do You Get to Pizza Pi?
You get to Pizza Pi by boat, and the smoothest way is to order ahead: text or call your order the same day, giving your name, boat name, dining time, and whether you’ll eat on the floats or take it to go (Pizza Pi). Then you raft up alongside, dinghy over, or swim up to three large circular floats that seat 30 guests, first-come with reservations available. You can eat right there on the water or carry the pie back to your own deck.
Getting there without your own boat means booking a group trip or water taxi, which is doable but means someone else’s schedule. On a crewed charter, Christmas Cove is simply one of your anchorages: you moor up, snorkel the reef, and time the pizza for whenever you’re hungry. St. Thomas is also the gateway to the British Virgin Islands next door, so it’s worth understanding how a USVI charter compares to the BVI when you plan a week around stops like this.
To reach Pizza Pi you order ahead by text or call the same day, then raft up, dinghy over, or swim up to three floating platforms that seat 30 guests, first-come with reservations available. You then dine on the floats beside the boat or take the pizza back to your own yacht.
What’s the Story Behind the Pizza Boat?
Pizza Pi opened in Christmas Cove in November 2014, after founders Sasha and Tara Bouis spent about two years converting a derelict 37-foot sailboat named “Pagan” (Pizza Pi). He was a Manhattan-born mechanical engineer and former catamaran captain; she a self-taught yacht chef. They bought the hull in 2012, rebuilt it at a Tortola boatyard, and renamed it “Pi,” fitting it with three ovens, refrigeration, a fresh-water maker, and a prep station — a full pizzeria packed into a sailboat.
The pizzeria has changed hands since; new owners took over in 2023 and keep the boat running on the same idea. What hasn’t changed is the draw: a proper New York slice, made fresh on a boat, in one of the prettiest coves in the Virgin Islands. Pizza Pi’s own site notes it has been ranked the number-one restaurant in the US Virgin Islands by TripAdvisor reviewers, which is remarkable for a place with no address on land (Pizza Pi).
Pizza Pi opened in November 2014, after founders Sasha and Tara Bouis bought a derelict 37-foot sailboat named “Pagan” in 2012 and spent about two years converting it into a floating pizzeria. The boat was renamed “Pi.” The business has since changed hands, with new owners taking over in 2023.
Why Visit Christmas Cove by Yacht?
Christmas Cove is a protected marine sanctuary: Great St. James island is part of the St. Thomas East End Reserves, managed by the US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources to protect the cove’s coral, seagrass, and reef life (USVI DPNR). That protection is the real reason to build a yacht day around it. Boaters use a field of free, first-come mooring balls, with a 10-day limit, rather than dropping anchor on the reef.
The sanctuary status is why the snorkeling here is so good — turtles, rays, and reef fish in clear, calm water, right off the back of the boat. A crewed charter lets you make a half-day of it: pick up a mooring, snorkel the sanctuary, order a pizza for whenever you’re ready, and stay for sunset if the cove calls for it. When you’re ready to plan it, start a yacht search at Vital Charters, or tell our brokers you want Christmas Cove on the route.
Christmas Cove, where Pizza Pi is moored, sits within the St. Thomas East End Reserves — a marine sanctuary managed by the US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Boaters use free, first-come mooring balls with a 10-day limit rather than anchoring, and the cove is known for snorkeling with turtles and rays.
When Should You Visit Pizza Pi?
Pizza Pi is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but it runs on a season: the boat typically closes during peak hurricane months and reopens in the fall, so the safest move is to confirm hours before you point the bow (Pizza Pi). The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs June 1 to November 30, with peak activity from August through October (NOAA), which is why many USVI charters cluster in the winter and spring.
Within a day, earlier is better. Arriving mid-morning on a weekday, before the day boats crowd the cove, gives you the best shot at a mooring, a float, and a relaxed lunch. It pairs naturally with the wider map of Caribbean crewed charter destinations and with the beaches of nearby Magens Bay on the other side of St. Thomas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pizza Pi?
Pizza Pi is a floating pizzeria in the US Virgin Islands — a converted 37-foot sailboat, moored in Christmas Cove off St. Thomas, that serves fresh 16-inch New York-style pizza made onboard. It’s reachable only by boat, and guests eat on floating platforms in the water beside it. The owners bill it as the world’s only sailboat pizzeria.
Where is Pizza Pi located?
Pizza Pi is moored in Christmas Cove, a protected anchorage on the west side of Great St. James island, off the East End of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. It’s about five minutes by boat from St. Thomas and fifteen from St. John. There is no land access — the cove is the only way in.
How do you get to Pizza Pi?
By boat only. Most visitors arrive on their own boat or a crewed charter and raft up, dinghy over, or swim up to the floats; others book a group trip or water taxi. On a crewed yacht it’s simplest: Christmas Cove becomes one of your anchorages, so you pick up a mooring, snorkel, and time the pizza for when you’re hungry.
How do you order at Pizza Pi?
You order ahead the same day, by text or phone, giving your name, boat name, the time you want to eat, and whether you’ll dine on the floats or take it to go. Historically you could also hail the boat by VHF radio. Because the process can change, it’s worth confirming the current ordering method on Pizza Pi’s own site before you go.
Who owns Pizza Pi?
Pizza Pi was founded by Sasha and Tara Bouis, who bought a derelict 37-foot sailboat in 2012, converted it into a floating pizzeria, and opened in Christmas Cove in November 2014. The business has since changed hands, with new owners taking over in 2023 and keeping the boat running on the same concept.
Is Pizza Pi open year-round?
No. Pizza Pi keeps daytime hours, roughly 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but it closes seasonally — typically during peak hurricane season in late summer and fall — and reopens for the winter-spring season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, so always confirm current hours and season on Pizza Pi’s site before planning a visit.
Jason Acosta is co-founder and principal broker at Vital Charters.
Hero photo: “2024 Virgin Islands 26” by anoldent / Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.
The pizzeria with no address on land
Pizza Pi floats on a mooring in Christmas Cove — no dock, no road in. On a crewed charter you pick up a ball, text your order, and swim over while it’s still in the oven.
