Jost Van Dyke
Jost Van Dyke is perfect a place to find serenity, peace and relaxation; especially when the world seems to be so full of stress, instability and anxiety.
Visiting this island now will take one back to a world of 75 years ago, where even today residents never lock their doors and keys are still left in the ignitions few island cars; where one can walk on the beach in the evening and still feel completely safe; where one can initiate a pleasant conversation with anyone, anytime and anyplace; where one can be casual, in attire and attitude all day and night; where restaurants can still be inexpensive and the food is still great and entertainment is wonderful.
Visit Jost Van Dyke where the water is crystal clear blue and beautiful, where one will feel nothing but peace in a place so stunning and serene. A place that our minds, but not our hearts, have long forgotten….a place that is only a few hours away! You will rejoice again in just being alive.
Jost Van Dyke is about four miles long and boasts several lovely beaches and its picturesque Great Harbour, with its beach-side West Indian village. Jost Van Dyke is a very popular watering hole with sailors on its southern shore, including Foxy’s Tamarind Bar on the beach which is a cultural center and a fun place to hang out. Foxy’s New Years Eve Party is the most popular in the Caribbean and fills up with rafted yachts.
Jost Van Dyke has fewer than 200 inhabitants that are widely known as a very welcoming people. The island’s name, itself conjures up a rich and colorful past. Jost Van Dyke is said to have been named after an early Dutch settler who was a former pirate. Although the island measures only four by three miles, with its highest point at 1,054 feet, the rugged island has been called home by many people: including the Arawak Indians, Caribs, the Dutch, Africans, and the British.
At Great Harbour, Little Harbour, and White Bay one will find, protected anchorages and unspoiled beaches, shaded with coconut palms and sea grape trees. On your Jost Van Dyke vacation, be sure to visit the inviting restaurants, bars, and charming shops that sell local treasures. For lunch, selections include barbecues, grilled fresh fish, flying fish sandwiches, West Indian rotis, and lobster. The restaurant, Club Paradise is famed for its conch stew and barbecued ribs. Happy Laury’s Snack Bar is well known for its pig roasts and divine honey-dipped chicken. The Soggy Dollar Bar as well as Gertrude’s in White Bay are both renowned for drinks mixed with the island’s famous rum, frosty beers, and concocted tales of pirates and sunken treasure. Parties on Jost Van Dyke are legendary, especially at Foxy’s. The bar and its owner are both known to world travelers for New Year’s Eve and Halloween parties that never fail to fill Great Harbour with yachts. The “Painkiller,” which is one of the most famous cocktails in all of the Caribbean, originally conjured up at The Soggy Dollar Bar. Explore the history of Jost Van Dyke within vegetation-covered ruins of centuries-old sugar mills, or along old trails, crisscrossing the island.
Interestingly enough, William Thornton, who was the architect of the U.S. Capitol Building, was born on the island, and John Lettsome, who founded the London Medical Society, was born on a neighboring island of Little Jost.
Observe whales and dolphins in the autumn or winter from a peaceful hilltop, or, if you so desire, visit the island’s East End where you can relax in the foaming seas’ natural jacuzzi. Little Jost and Sandy Cay are a short boat ride away, and nearby, you can find extraordinary and advanced dive sites on Great Tobago, and even a marine sanctuary sheltering a nesting colony of incredible frigate birds.
Jost Van Dyke is easily accessible by boat or by ferry. Accommodations may be available at several small hotels and simple beachside cottage. Choose to stay on land or rest at anchor, either way, you’re sure to go home with unforgettable memories of this incomparable island.
Jost Van Dyke Vacations and Jost Van Dyke Luxury Honeymoon Packages, Jost Van Dyke Vacations Image Provided by the BVI Tourism Board
Jost Van Dyke Vacations Image Provided by the BVI Tourism Board
Activities on Jost Van Dyke: sailing, swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling, shopping, sampling island cuisine, hiking, visiting historic ruins.
There are good scuba diving and snorkeling sites around Jost Van Dyke that teem with colorful tropical fish, barracuda, reef squid, large tarpon and numerous coral gardens.
