7-Night BVI Discovery — Tortola to Virgin Gorda

Day 1 — Tortola: Embarkation

Board at Nanny Cay Marina on Tortola — the British Virgin Islands' main charter hub, with every service available. Road Town is 10 minutes by car; the hills above give panoramic views over Sir Francis Drake Channel. Welcome dinner at Nanny Cay's The Pub, a sailors' institution.

Day 2 — Norman Island & The Caves

Sail southwest through Sir Francis Drake Channel to Norman Island — the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The sea caves at Privateer Bay are a superb snorkelling site: lit from below by refracted light, filled with sergeant major fish, tarpon and the occasional sea turtle. The William T floating bar and restaurant anchored in the Bight is a BVI institution.

Day 3 — Jost Van Dyke

Sail north to the smallest of the four main BVI islands — Jost Van Dyke (population: 300, bars: several famous ones). Great Harbour has the legendary Foxy's Tamarind Bar, which has hosted everyone from Eric Clapton to the Sultan of Brunei. White Bay has Sandy Ground, Soggy Dollar Bar (birthplace of the Painkiller cocktail) and Sandy Spit — a perfect deserted beach cay just offshore.

Day 4 — Sandy Cay & Little Harbour

Sandy Cay — a tiny uninhabited island north of Jost Van Dyke, owned by Laurance Rockefeller and now a nature preserve. Pure white sand, perfect reef, complete peace. Continue to Little Harbour on Jost Van Dyke for dinner at Sidney's Peace and Love — literally a restaurant accessible only by dinghy.

Day 5 — Virgin Gorda: The Baths

The most famous attraction in the BVI — The Baths at the southern tip of Virgin Gorda. Enormous granite boulders (the same geology as the Seychelles) create a series of grottos, pools and passages. Arrive by tender from the anchorage at Spring Bay. Afternoon at anchor in North Sound — the most protected anchorage in the BVI.

Day 6 — Virgin Gorda: North Sound

Explore Virgin Gorda's North Sound — the Bitter End Yacht Club (recently rebuilt after Hurricane Irma), the Saba Rock Resort perched on a tiny islet, and the extraordinary diving and snorkelling at the surrounding reefs. Overnight at anchor in the clear, calm water of the Sound.

Day 7 — Anegada

Sail north to the flat coral island of Anegada — ringed by a horseshoe reef, entirely different from the volcanic BVI around it. The famous Anegada lobster (fresh from the pot at Neptune's Treasure or the Anegada Reef Hotel) is the reason to make the passage. Pink flamingos in the salt pond, complete peace and extraordinary water colour.

Day 8 — Return to Tortola: Disembarkation

A morning sail south back to Road Town or Nanny Cay for disembarkation. Terrence B. Lettsome International Airport (Beef Island) is 15 minutes from Road Town; water taxis connect to St. Thomas (USVI) for international flights.