Været i Virgin Gorda (Anegada) i januar

January on St Thomas is high season in both senses: the weather is about as reliable as it gets, and the cruise ships are at their thickest, so how busy town feels on any given day is a question of how many are in port that morning. The water is a touch cooler than later in the year without being cold - a shorty is enough for diving - and the daytime breeze is what makes the heat comfortable. The one January variable regulars name is the Christmas Winds, which sometimes run on into the month and make a day or two properly windy. Our row has the trades at 29.1 kph, which is that breeze with a number on it. The record: 28.8C days that feel like 30C, 22.9C nights, 9.7 precipitation days carrying 38.6mm, 10.4 hours of sun and a 26.5C sea.

Virgin Gorda's forum is upfront that October is one of the rainiest months, often over 5 inches for the month, but posters were consistent that what feels like 'rain almost every night' is usually a passing shower rather than steady all-night rain. It's technically the height of hurricane season, though the real risk is lower here than the August/September peak - trip interruption insurance still gets recommended given how much can ride on the forecast. Many restaurants, shops and some hotels close for the low season roughly mid-August through mid-or-late October, so the payoff for visiting is genuinely quiet beaches and low-season prices for anything still open.

Forum posters call April the driest month on the island, with daytime temperatures typically in the low-to-mid 80sF and nights in the low-to-mid 70sF, moderate 10-15mph winds, and mostly sunny days interrupted by only occasional passing showers rather than sustained rain. The Baths - Virgin Gorda's famous granite boulder formations and tide pools - benefit from this reliably dry, calm stretch for both visibility and comfortable exploring. Posters also flag a practical value angle: low season typically kicks in right after Easter, so late-April/early-May travelers can often catch the tail end of the best weather alongside meaningfully lower hotel rates and thinner crowds than the winter peak.