Here’s What it’s Like to Spend the Holidays in the Virgin Islands

Have you been thinking about switching out your holidays in the snow for holidays in the sun? We find that when people are first considering a yacht charter vacation over the holiday season, their reservations are mostly based on what they might miss about being home. They’re not sure what to expect and feel a little worried that the holidays won’t be the same on a boat. 

But there are many reasons why Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are among our most popular weeks of the year.

Here are a couple of things to help you decide if spending the holidays in the Virgin Islands sounds right for you and your family…

 

You can bring some of your favorite holiday traditions with you

Have ornaments or stockings you love hanging up every year? Pack ‘em and your crew will decorate the boat with them!

Always go Christmas caroling door to door? Hop in the dinghy and carol around the mooring field!

Feel like Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Grandma’s yams? Send the recipe to your crew, and we’ll make sure it’s a part of your holiday table!

The point is, we’re here to make your holidays at sea just as magical, if not more so, than the ones you’ve spent on land. If you’ve got a tradition you’d like to bring aboard with you, just let us know and we’ll do our utmost to accommodate it. 

 

Instead of staying in the same house, multiple families will sail as a flotilla

If you’ve got a large, multi-generational family group, we’ll help you coordinate which yachts will be the best fit for your group. Then, the yachts’ crews will coordinate your charter so that the boats can all stick together, anchoring/mooring in the same spots each evening.

It’s a ton of fun to sail as a group of boats and makes for amazing photos!

 

Someone else makes the big holiday meal(s)

This is hands down the number one thing our holiday guests love about spending the holidays on yacht charter – they don’t have to do the cooking! Or the planning. Or the shopping. Or the clean-up. Huzzah!

Having a yacht chef is a surefire way to remove all stress from your holiday season. Your chef will work with your food preferences to ensure your holiday meal(s) are beyond memorable. 

 

You’ll rub elbows with the rich and famous 

The holiday season in the Caribbean is one of the most popular times of the year. The uber wealthy love escaping the cold winter weather and all head south, knowing that building a sandman is WAY better than building a snowman. 

 

Some of the largest, most opulent yachts in the world are in the Virgin Islands waters over the holidays, so you’ll have some truly fabulous scenery around you while on charter. And who knows – you may even sidle up next to a celebrity or two at the beach bar. 

Either way, you’ll be sharing the same views and beaches as those who can afford to travel anywhere in the world. You don’t need a billion dollar yacht to soak up this destination!

There are still Christmas trees, but they’re on the beach

Think Christmas won’t feel like Christmas in the Caribbean? Think again. 

The holiday spirit is alive and strong in the Virgin Islands. Locals love celebrating the season here just as much as you do at home. There are holiday decorations everywhere, Jimmy Buffet crooning carols on the beach bar’s stereo, and plenty of cheer to go around. 

Also, if you typically attend religious services back at home for the holidays, your crew can help coordinate a visit for you to a local house of worship.  

 

The fireworks show is over the water – and you watch from your yacht

You’ve never seen a New Year’s Eve fireworks show like ones that takes place over the sparkling Caribbean sea with tropical islands as the backdrop. Watching the bursts of light in the sky from your yacht, floating on the calm waters, is a breathtaking experience. 

There are plenty of NYE parties throughout the islands, if you’d like to dance the night away, or your crew can plan a more low key affair right in the privacy of your own boat. 

 

You create new traditions you now want to repeat year after year

There’s a reason why most of our holiday bookings fill up quickly, often a year in advance. That’s because once you try out spending your holidays in the Caribbean, you want to do it again every year thereafter. 

Spending your holiday on yacht charter not only allows you to bring along traditions from home, but it also allows you to create new traditions: snorkeling before Thanksgiving dinner (while someone else cooks it!), lobster brunch on Christmas morning, a New Year’s Eve bar crawl via dinghy… Not to mention all of the new local holiday treats you’ll soon crave – black cake, sorrel, coquito, guavaberry rum… now we’re getting hungry!

We LOVE spending our holidays in the Caribbean and consider it our pleasure to show our guests the wonder and gifts of the season here. 

 

If you’d like to take a yacht charter for the holidays this year, we have a few remaining bookings available over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Contact our yacht consultant before spaces fill up to check availability and find the perfect yacht for your group’s ultimate charter!