Jost Van Dyke Island

Jost Van Dyke is the last island on the list of the most beautiful islands in British Virgin Islands. This is the smallest of the British Virgin Islands' four main islands, measuring around 8 square kilometers (3 square miles). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, in the northern part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Jost Van Dyke is located around 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of Tortola and 8 kilometers (5 miles) north of Saint John. Little Jost Van Dyke is located at its eastern end.

Jost Van Dyke has a large number of visitors. Private boats and ferry services from Tortola, Saint Thomas, and Saint John provide access to the island. Great Harbour is the most popular destination (or Belle Vue). Small bars and eateries line the beach strip around the harbor. Foxy's Bar in Great Harbour has been a popular stop for Caribbean sailors since the late 1960s. Foxy's and the other pubs in Great Harbour now attract a small crowd all year and thousands of revelers on New Year's Eve (also known locally as "Old Year's Night"). Great Harbour is one of the busiest ports in the BVI, with approximately 7,000 boats passing through in 2008. Tourist, particularly yachting tourism, is the mainstay of the economy today.

Another popular beach bar on the island is the Soggy Dollar Bar, which is located in nearby White Bay. It is said to be the birthplace of the popular Painkiller cocktail. The Soggy Dollar bar is properly called because there was no road or dock when it was built. (A road has been built from Belle Vue, but there is still no pier.) Boaters commonly anchor off the beach, swim to shore, and pay for their beverages with wet money to get to the beach where the bar is located. White Bay is now surrounded by beach bars and is a popular stop for yachts and boaters from Tortola, St. Thomas, and St. John. Visitors include group trips from the US Virgin Islands and even small cruise ships.

Location: British Virgin Islands