Area Daily: Foxy’s New Year's Party on Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Cap off 2008 with a bang at the coolest party in the Caribbean – on the teeny island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. Hundreds of yachts descend on Great Harbour where revelers ring in the New Year (locally known as "Old Year's Night") dancing barefoot on the beach at Foxy’s, the quintessential beach bar owned by Caribbean legend Foxy Callwood, local troubadour and raconteur.

Never heard of Jost Van Dyke? This 4-mile island is easy to miss, but it’s a quick sailboat ride from Tortola and St. Thomas. Named after Joost Van Dijk, a 17th-century pirate whose feats of buccaneering are lost to history, locals call it the “barefoot” island as the lifestyle is so casual you’ll never need shoes.

After a night of groovin’ to Foxy’s reggae-blues rhythms, hit the small islands off Jost Van Dyke's east end, perfect for sunning and snorkeling in the shallow reefs. If you’re not too hung over, JVD Scuba & BVI Eco-Tours will take you on a tour of the remote and rarely seen Great Tobago (a marine sanctuary for a nesting colony of the magnificent frigatebird) and the north side of Jost Van Dyke, where bottlenose dolphins are plentiful.