Private Vessel Entry

My husband and I are planning on sailing to the BVI this year aboard our privately owned vessel. Our daughter and family are flying into STT and we plan on shuttling them by private water taxi to us in the BVI. We will meet them at West End after they have been cleared in.

Question: Is the BVI now friendly & welcoming to cruising sailors? What are the current cruising fees & costs?

We have heard mixed reviews from cruising friends telling us to avoid the BVI and just meet our family in STT and sail the USVIs. We only have 9 full days with them including 2 little ones under 5 and want to show them a wonderful time without frustration, unnecessary bureaucracy and feeling unwelcome. I don’t want to regret visiting the BVI as it will cost us significantly to visit. I welcome opinions….

I have sailed back and forth between USVI and BVI on our boat (which is in charter). I believe customs in BVI treated us same as privately owned (without being in charter) and no problems. We often pick up(and/or dob off) friends and family in USVI before heading to BVI and just pay the regular fees/ National Park permit Cruising fees.

I would believe you will have no issues.

Now if the boat is privately owned charter boat based in USVI, I would be hesitant of going to BVI without commercial paperwork, or email from BVI clearly stating what expectations are .

The BVI have always been one of the more onerous places for clearing in and out; and after the somewhat draconian attitudes during the COVID-19 lockdowns and afterwards they have gotten better and returned to their normal state. You won't be welcomed with open arms and a smile, but the process should be quick (as in less than hour). Bring patience, cash (the fees charged are hard to predict beforehand), and ball-point pens (not felt-tip) in order to press down hard through multiple copies of the various forms you'll have to fill out.

If coming from the USVI I think you'll have a better experience clearing in at JVD rather than the west end.

We've cleared in from USVI several times (pre-covid) at West End, JVD and Road Town. JVD is definitely our preference when it works out with our sail plan.

We will be arriving from Sint Maarten about 5-7 days before our family arrives in STT. Our vessel is private and not a charter vessel.

The reason I ask is we have so many cruising friends implore us to stay away. Just not worth visiting in terms of attitudes, bureaucracy & costly fees. Also many cruisers are upset the way BVI treated cruising sailors during covid. I’m talking liveaboard sailors versus vacation charterers. BVI has a bad reputation and left a poor taste in many who simply refuse to visit ever again.

My husband has mixed feelings, but will go for me. I wish to visit as we used to charter there years ago, so for me a trip down memory lane.

It’s a great place to take my young grandchildren.

I might be a bit biased, since I'd been keeping my boats in the BVI for over 15 years when I finally gave up last year and relocated away from the increasingly unfriendly bureaucracy and officials in the BVI. The customs and immigration folks are by far and away the most unfriendly of all of the Caribbean islands I've visited and every time I cleared in or out there was some new fee or tax or duty or surcharge tacked on - not huge amounts, but it begins to add up and I realize that not one cent was actually being used for its ostensible purpose. Nonetheless the BVI remain a beautiful sailing destination and also the easiest one to navigate for charterers and well worth the 1-2 hour hassle of clearing in and out for a week's visit.

I agree with Zanshin 100%. Hassle? Yes. Usually unfriendly? Yes. But, you'll get thru it and it will be worth it. Especially, d_fish, if its a trip down memory lane for you. And, def a great place to take your grandchildren. IMO the negatives of any place get more airtime than the good things which paints a distorted picture of reality. We'll be down the last two weeks of November. If you are there the same time look for s/v Abby Normal To (Leopard 50) and say hi.
Smooth sailing.

Noonsite.com is up to date. Pre-clear via sailclear.com and print out your confirmation page. Be prepared to fill out forms and pay for them even if you pre-clear via sailclear. JVD has customs full time, but immigration/Health is only Tues/Fri/Sun. There are overtime fees outside of normal hours, Sundays, and holidays. Avoid Road Town as the ferry traffic monopolizes C&I. The correct answer, regardless of facts, is "My vessel is privately owned, has never been in charter, and will never be in charter." I find that being completely submissive is an advantage.

https://www.noonsite.com/place/british-virgin-islands/formalities/

Cheers, RickG

I jumped on to Noonsite to check cruising fees for private vessels and stumbled upon this:

“Fees in the BVI are reported to change with
some officials in some ports charging private
yachts extra and excessive fees. If you
question a fee being charged contact the
Ports Authority and keep all receipts.”

This seems very sketchy that this can happen at certain ports. Does anyone know what ports and why? The last thing I’d want to do after clearing is waste my time attempting to resolve an issue such as this.

Im already hiring a private water taxi to transport my family to maximize our time together (8 days) and I now have to worry about not being treated fairly or gouged upon entry a week before my family arrives. I can’t change my mind and cancel the water taxi if I decide to depart BVI due to this treatment.

Given where we would be making landfall our port of entry would most likely be Spanishtown.