Two Jost Van Dyke Beach Bars Among Top in Caribbean

The BVI has long been an exclusive destination, the domain of the “in the know.”  But the word is increasingly out, and lately, the British Virgin Islands have been making multiple top travel lists in a growing number of prestigious publications. 

Last month Virgin Gorda came in eight of 23 top destinations to visit in 2023. It is a fun – and well deserved award. Who doesn’t love Virgin Gorda? The BVI also made Condé Nast’s “2022 Hot List” and Architectural Digest’s Top Places to Visit in 2022”

Now two iconic Jost Van Dyke Beach Bars – Soggy Dollar and Hendo’s Hideout, both on White Bay – have made USA Today’s Top Ten list of Caribbean Beach Bars.  

There are countless sand in your toes beach bars scattered throughout the British Virgin Islands’ many standout anchorages – all with their own stories, and their individual appeal. But if you are heading to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke, Hendo’s and the Soggy Dollar are without a doubt, beach bars of note. Popular and fun, they have the type of barefoot pizzazz that is a BVI specialty. 

Soggy Dollar

The Soggy Dollar Bar has been a mainstay of the BVI beach scene, serving up burgers and fries and the eponymous Painkiller for over 50 years. When the Soggy Dollar opened in 1970, there was no mains electricity, just the occasional use of a generator and dinners served by candlelight. The roads were unpaved and rocky, and cars were a rarity; the population of a few hundred hardy residents getting around by foot or boat.  

It was the early days of the BVI’s Charter boat industry, but even then, the Soggy Dollar Bar was a must do port of call on every yachtsmen’s itinerary. And while the Soggy Dollar Bar lacked amenities, it had the Painkiller, a rum, pineapple and coconut drink that the bar invented that year. Said to have been named after the local Noni fruit, known for its pain killing properties, the drink soon became ubiquitous around the islands. To pay for their drinks, sailors swam ashore with dollars in their swimsuit pockets, and the personable barkeeps hung the wet dollars to dry on a clothesline strung behind the bar. Hence the Soggy Dollar Bar was born.

Today, White Bay is one of the BVI’s most popular anchorages with several dozen bars lining its beach. Yet, Soggy Dollar retains its simple roots. Housed in its original concrete building it has seen generations of boaters sallying up to the bar. Beach chairs and wooden picnic tables are nestled under the palms. Next door are brightly colored guest cottages, newly rebuilt after Hurricane Irma leveled the originals in 2017.  

Hendo’s Hideout

Hendo’s Hideout next door to the Soggy Dollar Bar has been in operation since 2017. Owned by Ehren Hendersen part of a family of Virgin Islands hospitality entrepreneurs. It is a beach bar, but with a different vibe. 

The large open-air structure is raised off the sand and built of gleaming hardwood – a beach bar that prides itself on serving a Caribbean inspired menu and inventive drinks in a unique tropical setting. There are plenty of tables beneath the pavilion, but if you want a front row view of the ocean, picnic tables are scattered on the sand out front. Lounge chairs beneath bright orange umbrellas are nestled beneath coconut palms.  Fortunately wait staff will find you wherever you are sitting.

Next door to the restaurant, are a series of newly opened guest cottages, also built of hardwood and perfect for people who can’t bear to leave White Bay at the end of the day.