British Virgin Islands, Jost Van Dyke

Take a Vacation with Hotels, Bars and Beach

There is no time like the winter to take a vacation in the Caribbean. Leave falling trees, freezing temperatures and power outages behind and head for the British Virgin Islands, the BVI. The island of Jost Van Dyke is a small island to the north of Tortola.

The island's appeal is more about what it's lacking than what it's got. Simply put, there isn't much there. A couple scallops of white sand beach, clear aquamarine water behind a protecting reef, a dozen boats riding at anchor and palm-trees.

Bars and Accommodations at Jost Van Dyke

At the north end of White Bay, a handful of beachfront businesses and a couple of bars. The Soggy Dollar, which is attached to the unobtrusive Sandcastle Hotel, (just sold for upwards of 4 mill) and 'One Love', owned by Seddy Caldwell and his partner Raquel. Seddy's father owns Foxy's, located deep in the embrace of Great Harbour and famous for throwing the best New Year revel in the Caribbean. Then there is Ivan's Stress Free Bar at the other end of the beach.

Everything about Ivan's, especially the accommodation, is primitive, which is a good thing. From day one, no shoes necessary. Even the walk over the short but rocky pathway to the next beach, is eased by two bins holding an assortment of flip-flops, one at either end of the trail. The crew from a boat named 'Escape' started it. Leave your flip-flops behind when you head back north.

Accommodation at Ivan's is in one of a handful of cabins parked among the trees or in one of the equally small number of tents, pitched among the bushes and palms along the beach. The men's and lady's washrooms, provide all that they are supposed to provide, and nothing more. Washroom attendant? A mongoose.

The bar and kitchen are rustic and self serve. Just try to serve yourself a single, it's impossible! Photographs of former guests are plastered across the wall. Keith Richards and Kenny Chesney look healthier and happier just being on JVD.

If you think Acapulco and Sannibel Island suck, then this is your kind of place. If you want to lie amid a row of a hundred pristine deckchairs with drinks service and ten dollar tips, go somewhere else. When you leave, tell Ivan 'we're gone to come back' he'll understand. You'll be back. JVD. On this good earth, as close as it gets to Paradise.

How to get there: Air Can. from Vancouver via Toronto via Antigua. Or, American from Seattle via somewhere to Beef Island. Cost of stay @ Ivan's Stress Free Bar/ White Bay Campground. Tents $30 a night. Cabins $40-$65: Drinks: Soda $2; Virgin P-C $3.50; Painkiller $5.00. Food: eat out or bring your own, there are kitchen facilities and a bar-b-cue. Live music by local musicians, irregular in the off-season, regular in the busy season. Really, there is no off-season. A final thought, extra clothes? You don't need them. Two pair of shorts, a couple of T-shirts and a sunhat or, two bikinis, borrow one of the shirts and buy a sunhat at Wendell's. You're good to go.