Owners Joe and Amanda Trattner are very partial to this island and hold it true to their hearts as they got hitched in March 2013 on one of their beautiful beaches! Jost Van Dyke is an island “lost in time” where you won’t find hotels, chain restaurants, drive throughs, or many cars for that matter. The island has chosen to keep it’s quaint local roots and prides themselves on being stress free, and one of the most amazing islands you can visit in all of the Virgin Islands (Joe & Amanda Agree)!

Your Day begins by stopping at Great Harbor which is home to quaint local shops, bakeries, and bars like World Famous Foxy’s. One Love Captains will be able to check you in while you explore this beautiful village with your group. From the moment you step foot (barefoot) on the sand roadways/beaches all your stress and worries will vanish into the clean ocean air, and you will feel as if you’ve arrived at a Caribbean island from the early 1900’s.

From There we love to take a trip to a small island off the coast of Jost Van Dyke called “Sandy Spit.” Sandy Spit is a beautiful remote island that you can walk around in 4 minutes and is home to a single palm tree used to shoot many “Corona Commercials”! Here you will be able to snorkel a beautiful reef, float on pool noodles in the turquoise waters, and even grab a beer and have your own “Corona Photo Shoot” so you have pictures to take home that’ll make all your friends jealous of your travels!

From there it’s usually time to grab lunch and we highly recommend our favorite “Lobster Shack” called Sydney’s Peace and Love! You will enjoy home cooked fresh caribbean lobster at this off the beaten path establishment, which will probably be the best meal you have on your entire vacation! They even let you go behind the bar and pour your own drinks!! (Name one stateside restaurant that allows you to enjoy that experience!)

Finally after our stomachs are full we’ll move on to our last stop called White Bay. White Bay probably the softest white sand beach that you will ever put your feet in and also plays host to the World famous “Soggy Dollar Bar!” We’ll chill here for afternoon cocktails, beach relaxing, beach games, good conversation, and overall just an unforgettable experience. Joel Senior (Joe’s dad) describes this place as his favorite place on earth, and will remain this way until someone shows him otherwise.

Joe & Amanda are also in love with this beach as they exchanged vows right down the beautiful white sand beach at an establishment known as “Ivans Stress Free Bar and Campground.” It was an amazing weekend time in the couples life and they’d love to share their love of Jost Van Dyke with you and yours!

Decades ago Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a classic novel known as Treasure Island which takes its readers into a caribbean fantasy world run by pirates, boats, and rum! This book was based off an island in the BVI’s known as Norman Island which can be visited today on One Love!

The day begins by checking the boat in on the west end of Tortola in a sailing marina known as Sopers Hole. After the captain is done checking you in we can explore this quaint marina that has million dollar boats, shops, bars open in the a.m., and a charming local espresso cafe that’ll be sure to get your mind right for what’s to come!

From Sopers Hole we enter the Sir Francis Drake Channel and start making our way to the modern day pirate island. There are two amazing snorkel stops off the coast of Norman Island known as the Caves and the Indians. The caves offer 3 large caves cut into the side of Norman Island that can be explored with a snorkel mask and flashlight! Beautiful fish feed off the reef here and offer an amazing/unique snorkeling experience that you will remember forever. A few hundred yards away is a single rock structure that jettisons out of the middle of the ocean that houses one of the healthiest reefs in all of the virgin islands! Super Bright tropical coral structures line the ocean at this amazing stop which provides food for hundreds of fish and various marine life! Jump in with your waterproof camera and create your own national geographic magazine including all the cool underwater creatures that swim past you as if you were once childhood friends. (P.S. No need to feed the fish while snorkeling off One Love Charters… We know all the best reefs with a natural wildlife habitat so you can feel completely submerged in natures natural wonders as the were meant to be viewed)!

After the snorkel spot of your choosing we will move on to a lunch stop that will take you back to the days with no laws and the world was ruled by pirates. “The Willie T Floating Pirate Ship” (featured on the travel channel as top 10 beach bars in the world) is conveniently tucked away in a calm Norman Island Bay known as the Pirates Bite! It is here that we will find this steel structured pirate boat that is permanently anchored and runs by a set of its own rules. You wont find servers with flair and over the top pirate suits/personalities that can be super fake and annoying. These boys really stick to keeping a real pirate feel and will welcome you with tasty rum drinks, delicious fare, and a slight attitude that is actually a refreshing twist to your regular dining experience. After lunch and drinks be sure to jump off the 25 foot plank located on the second level of this super cool ship that you will only find at “Treasure Island!”
This will lead us into our afternoon travel where we think the best next stops would be at the island of Jost Van Dyke (read full bio by clicking Jost Van Dyke page)! We can do a couple more bar stops to keep the party rolling at spots like Soggy Dollar Bar, Bee-Line Beach Shack, Foxy’s, or countless others. If we’re looking for more kid friendly destinations we can stop at beautiful beach including sandy spit where you may be the only people on the small island!
The treasure island rum run is sure to be an amazing day for adults as well as families (virgin drinks for the kids so they can feel like adult pirates throughout the day)!

Wow… Where do we begin with fun things to do locally here in the U.S. Virgin Islands! Lets start by letting you know that owners Joe & Amanda have sailed the Caribbean from St. Lucia up to St. Thomas stopping at many islands including Dominica, Antigua, Le Saints, Guadalupe, St. Martin, etc… and some of the best snorkeling and picturesque white sand beaches can be found off the coast of St. John, St. Thomas, Water Island, and its surrounding cays & keys! If you’re looking to save money on customs/fuel, and do some amazing things on the water then this excursion is for you!

We’ll start the day with a nice reef snorkel at a calm bay of your choosing (we highly recommend Waterlemon Cay as it offers 2 different reef snorkels where you will find amazingly beautiful fish and one of the healthiest reefs the VI has to offer. Swim with trigger fish, parrot fish, snapper, sergeant majors, kingfish, pufferfish, jacks, and so many more! It will truly be one of the more colorful snorkels you will find, and the great thing about it is that it’s only accessible by boat or by parking your car a mile away and hiking to the spot. This is great for groups that want to stay away from the more advertised snorkeling spots so you don’t have a million people kicking you in the face with their fins! 🙂 After the snorkel you can swim up to a beautiful beach that has an awesome hiking trail leading to two old lookout ruins with SPECTACULAR views of the Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, St. John, Great Thatch Island, and many more! We can’t think of a more invigorating way to start the day!

From there we can move on to another destination of your choosing, and we highly recommend Maho Bay which is one of our favorite bays. Amanda and Joe named their dog after this bay because of it shear natural beauty and many of great days/nights spent here winding down! Maho offers a grassy bottom snorkel which means we’re looking for TURTLES and STINGRAYS! Turtles are Joe’s favorite creature to swim with as they have a truly relaxing and care free attitude to them which in turn rubs off on you! Not only will you have privacy at this stop but you will be able to view these creatures in their natural habitat without humans feeding them. Swim with these creatures as long as you want and then let us know when you’re ready for lunch!

Lunch can be enjoyed in many of restaurants located in Cruz Bay St. John, St. Thomas, or Water Island! You just let us know your flavor and we’ll take you to the best spot based on what your hankering. P.S. If your into Seafood there are plenty of restaurants that offer fresh catch from our own waters, bought directly from our local fisherman! Enjoy things like Mahi Mahi, Yellow Fin Tuna, Wahoo, and many more fresh delights! Depending on where we go you could possibly be surrounded by quaint caribbean town life where you can pick up souvenirs like local fruits, spices, and other island knick knacks!

After your belly’s are full it’s time to get back on the boat and seek out more adventure! Pending weather one of our cays called Thatch Island has a thrilling spot that offers one of the best cliff jumps in the VI! Climb up 25 or 35 feet (pending how daring your feeling), look out into the open ocean, and take a step of faith into the air that will excite every sense in your body on your free fall down to the turquoise waters awaiting your splash! A rush like no other will take over, and you will truly feel alive as the adrenaline pumps through your veins! Such a rush, so much fun!

To Close out the day we usually recommend grabbing a mooring ball in a protected bay and just hang out listen to music, float in the water, cocktail it up, snorkel, and just enjoy all the beauty that the U.S. Virgin Islands has to offer!

The Baths at Virgin Gorda is considered to be an unexplained natural phenomenon sort of like the whole stone henge thing! Upon arriving in our boat to the shores of the geological gem you will truly feel like you are in a sort of beautiful futuristic sci-fi movie set. Theres boulders of all shapes and sizes that create a truly unique hike, and is sure to heighten all your senses. Famous for sports illustrated swimsuit shoots there are amazing pictures to be taken around every turn! You can hike through the paths provided or attempt to create your own path. Snorkeling, rock jumping, and photo taking are the main activities at this site. We start the day here as it takes the longest to get to (1-2 hours pending weather), and from here there are a few options

After your hiking and playing around in the baths we will load up on the boat and shoot over to a super cool island down the chain know as Cooper Island! Cooper Island plays host to an amazing eco-friendly resort and has one of the best lunches in all of the British Virgin Islands! Here you will find a laid back way of life where sailboats dinghy in for cocktails and grub. The island has it’s own espresso bar, rum bar, and dishes that are sure to excite anyone pallet! You can eat in the dining room, in some lounge couches under a large umbrella, or even on the shallow waters of the beach as they have quirky cool tables to rest food/drink on while cooling out. The decor is made out of eco friendly materials including reclaimed wood from old sailboats, the service is impeccable, and the overall experience makes it one of the best lunch stops in the BVI’s.

After our belly’s are full we can move on down the chain to Norman Island where your group can choose to snorkel an amazing reef at “The Indians” or snorkel into some caves where you never know what you will find. Pending time Norman Island plays host to the always outrageous Willie T! Willie T is a floating pirate ship bar permanently anchored in the Pirates Bite of Norman island, and you can grab a cocktail their 24/7. Be sure to jump off the plank at the top of the ship before you leave and grab a drink for an amazing cruise back!

We like this itinerary when traveling to Virgin Gorda, but you can also combine the baths with a couple stops on the island of Jost Van Dyke as well!