Fully vaccinated visitors (those with at least two doses of a two dose or one shot of a single-dose vaccine) do not need to take a test to visit the island.
Children under 18 traveling with fully vaccinated parents or guardians are allowed to adhere to the same rules as their fully vaccinated parents.
The beach at The House hotel in Barbados.
What about unvaccinated travelers?
Unvaccinated visitors need to present a negative pre-flight test taken no more than three days prior to arrival — either standard PCR, rapid PCR or rapid antigen.
On arrival, all unvaccinated travelers will be tested at the airport; if they test negative, they can freely roam the island. If positive, they will need to quarantine.
Barbados.
Barbados has also announced that unvaccinated travelers who have documented evidence of having had Covid within 90 days prior to arrival do not need a test on arrival. They still need a pre-flight test, however.
The US Virgin Islands, among the biggest tourism success stories of the pandemic, has announced a major updates to its entry rules: the lifting of all restrictions for American travelers.
That means U.S. citizens traveling from the US mainland and other territories will no longer be required to complete the US Virgin Islands Travel Screening Portal to travel to the destination.
The US Virgin Islands had been requiring testing for unvaccinated travelers; now all American travelers, regardless of vaccination status, can travel restriction-free to the destination.
A beach in St Croix.
The US Virgin Islands continues to be exempt from the CDC’s inbound testing requirement. That means Americans who travel to the USVI don’t need a test to return to the mainland.
“The health and well-being of our residents and visitors alike continue to be our biggest priority”, says Joseph Boschulte, Commissioner of Tourism. “The Department of Tourism along with Governor Bryan’s Office and the Virgin Islands Department of Health, have worked together to closely monitor the COVID cases in the territory and strategically take steps that will ensure the health and safety of our residents and visitors. Our measures have proven successful and give us the confidence to continue to ease travel and testing requirements to the territory so that we can continue to safely welcome visitors.”
Honeymoon Beach in St John.
Indeed, the US Virgin Islands has seen sparkling tourism numbers since it first reopened for tourism in the summer of 2020, with the Travel Screening Portal held up as an exemplar for the Caribbean.
For international travelers 18 and over, including travelers from the British Virgin Islands, the USVI will still require proof of vaccination and a negative antigen or PCR test within 24 hours if traveling by air, or within five days if traveling by ferry.
Marriott’s growing Caribbean all-inclusive portfolio will add another new resort later this year, Caribbean Journal has learned.
The company has announced the signing of the Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun to its all-inclusive portfolio, with plans to open at the end of this year.
The property is owned and managed by Blue Diamond Resorts; it will join the fast-expanding All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, which now includes almost 30 properties in the Caribbean and Latin America.
It’s yet another addition to Marriott’s major push in to what is easily the hottest concept in the travel industry, particularly in the Caribbean: all-inclusive.
“We are thrilled to continue working with Blue Diamond Resorts to add another exciting all-inclusive resort to the All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy portfolio,” said Laurent de Kousemaeker, Chief Development Officer, Caribbean and Latin America, Marriott International. “The Autograph Collection Hotels brand champions individuality with each hotel being a product of passion, making this brand an exceptional fit for this significant project and the other 20 Blue Diamond Resorts that have joined the collection.”
The 1,049-room hotel, which also includes a waterpark, will have amenities like a theater, a bowling alley, 12 different dining concepts and nine bars.
It’s the latest step in the two companies’ growing alliance; last year, Marriott announced a long-term agreement with Blue Diamond that added 20 hotels in the region to the Marriott all-inclusive portfolio.
Marriott’s current all-inclusive resorts are located in Antigua, Barbados, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, and Saint Lucia.
“We are excited for Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun to join Marriott’s Autograph Collection brand,” said Jordi Pelfort, President of Hotels and Resorts at Sunwing Travel Group, Blue Diamond’s parent company. “Today’s announcement reinforces Blue Diamond’s position as one of the fastest growing hotel chains in the Caribbean.”
Sailing through the British Virgin Islands on a chartered catamaran is every bit the fantasy journey it sounds like, but here’s one surprise I got during my time cruising around Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke on a Moorings charter yacht: the trip can actually be pretty affordable as well as remarkably customizable.
Design your own vacation — in advance, or on the fly
During my most recent BVI trip with Moorings in February 2022, I had a fairly rigid plan to make stops at all the major islands, along with two resorts, Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht Club — both beautifully restored and reopened after being heavily damaged by hurricanes in 2017.
On past trips, however, we were more or less able to plot each day’s itinerary the night before based on weather, distance, and mood. A stop for snorkeling at The Indians, perhaps, or drinks aboard the legendary party boat Willy T? A nice meal at Pirates Bight, or sampling from the rum bar at Cooper Island? And when do we make the obligatory stop for our Painkillers at the Soggy Dollar on Jost Van Dyke?
Every day can be an adventure of choices — (almost) all of them fun.
“The beauty of a yacht charter vacation, and especially a charter vacation in the British Virgin Islands, is the flexibility,” says Ian Pedersen, senior marketing manager at the Moorings. “The number of islands in the region and the wide variety of picturesque stops to explore allow visitors to craft their own unique schedule and itinerary, and being aboard your very own yacht means you can go anywhere you like, whenever you like.”
If you’re a first-timer, the range of options can be intimidating. That’s why Moorings provides sample itineraries on its website, and employs a staff of vacation planners who can help you iron out the finer details.
Your captain also can be an invaluable planning resource if you’re not certain about what to do — and a literal lifesaver when things go a bit sideways.
A Moorings yacht in St Thomas, where the company also has a base in the VI.
On my 2022 trip, for example, my itinerary called for a dinner stop at Guana Island, one of the top private island resorts in the Caribbean and famous for its natural beauty. On this evening, however, nature wasn’t in an accommodating mood.
My captain, Ben Moreton, an affable Brit who came to the BVI after years spent sailing off the coast of Australia, made a valiant effort to get us to Guana against heavy wind and seas, but wisely made the choice to turn back to a safe port. The meal we had together at a beach bar back on Tortola that night might not have been quite as glamorous as a resort dinner, but it made a whole lot more sense. And Guana Island will still be there the next time I go back to the BVI.
“You should always be prepared for conditions to change during your trip and be open to options that are recommended by the captain,” advises Moreton. “They will always be looking for the most suitable locations around the conditions that are given. Remember that a boating holiday is unique for many reasons, and one of them being that your environment is always changing. The opportunity to sail on a boat is always a very fortunate position to be in, and you can always look back on the good and difficult times as an experience like no other.”
The key to affordability: bring friends
Anyone familiar with traveling by RV can understand the basic premise of your means of transportation also serving as your hotel for the night. And it’s every bit as true on the waters of the Caribbean as on a roadtrip on land.
You won’t really be spending much time in your cabin other than for sleeping. But the berths are comfortable, and Moorings captains are expert at finding the harbors and moorings with the calmest waters to ensure a good night’s sleep. While you’re sailing, you’re likely going to spend most of your time on deck, but in poor weather the catamarans have spacious cabins to take shelter from the rain.
My February 2022 charter with the Moorings entailed a week on a four-cabin catamaran, called the Moorings 4800. It’s a 48-foot sailing catamaran that also can operate under power, available both as a bareback charter (meaning you’re the captain) or crewed with a captain provided by Moorings.
A Moorings 4800.
In January 2023, a four-cabin sailing catamaran like the one I chartered in the BVI for 6 nights in starts at $16,000.
However, in low season, like October 2022, the same boat can be had for as little as $9,000 for the week.
An all-inclusive crewed yacht, including the captain, starts at around $17,000 for the week. Monohull boats, also available from Moorings, are slightly more affordable and also available as bareback or crewed charters.
Don’t forget, however, that the costs of a one-week yacht charter include the price of the boat, fuel, and, if you choose, a captain, chef, and food. The latter two are optional if you know how to captain the boat yourself, and provision the boat yourself.
(If you do hire a captain and/or chef, keep in mind when you’re calculating costs that a tip is customary for good service — typically 20 percent of the cost of the charter. Trust me, once you see how much work a good captain does during your week at sea, you’ll realize the gratuity is well-earned.)
If you aren’t a sailor, you can also travel with a friend who is an experienced skipper, as I did on my previous trip to the BVI with Moorings. Sailing with friends who know how to sail also frees up one more cabin to help defray the cost of the charter — you’ll be splitting four ways instead of three.
“Because a yacht charter is so flexible and has so many different options available … from bareboat, sail-it-yourself trips to luxury all-inclusive charters with captain and chef, the pricing can vary widely,” notes Pedersen. “The industry standard, however, is that the yacht is priced per-day, not per-person. So on a four-cabin sailing yacht costing $15,000 for a 7-day charter, for example, if four couples join together then the cost is roughly $535 per-couple, per-day, roughly the cost of what one might expect at an all-inclusive resort.”
The Moorings has a broad network of bases across the Caribbean, meaning you can take this kind of sailing vacation from bases in Antigua, Belize, the BVI, The Bahamas, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, St Thomas and St Martin.
“The difference, of course, is that aboard a yacht charter you essentially take your hotel room with you anywhere you wish, so the yacht acts as your hotel room, rental car, and daily excursions in one nice, neat package,” he says.
Provisioning the boat with food and drink, and making meals for yourself, is another way to keep costs down. Some market items are pricier than stateside, but Moorings is quite reasonable with their markups: a piece of salmon for dinner was $11, but I also paid just $2.50 for a dozen eggs and $13 for a bottle of Mount Gay Eclipse rum.
Either way, you’re still paying less for onboard meals and drinks than you would at a restaurant or bar. Well-equipped galleys ensure that you’ll eat well whether you just want to boil some water for coffee in the morning or make a full-blown evening meal with friends.
Of course, dining on delicacies like Anegada lobster and other delicious Caribbean food is part of the destination you’ll want to experience, but even making your own breakfast, or mixing your own drinks when you’re safely tied up at a mooring at the end of the day, can save you quite a bit of money.
And that’s just a small part of what you’ll have to raise a glass to on a Moorings yacht charter.
