Introducing British Virgin Islands
What happens when steady trade winds meet an island-flecked channel with tame currents and hundreds of protected, salt-rimmed bays? Every mariner worth his sea salt sails there – which is how the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) became a sailing fantasyland. More than 40 islands bob in the group, welcoming visitors with an absurd amount of beach.
Advertisement
Tortola is the archipelago’s father. It holds most of the population and commerce, and its demeanor is a little bit stern as a result. That doesn’t mean it won’t let its hair down at a full-moon party or out on the bay windsurfing. Virgin Gorda is the BVIs’ beauty, beloved by movie stars, millionaires and yachties. Somehow she’s maintained her innocence, with a clutch of exceptional national parks. Jost Van Dyke is the jovial island, where a man named Foxy is king and ‘time flies when you ain’t doin’ shit, ’ as the T-shirts proclaim. Not-like-the-others Anegada floats in a remote reef; if you’re looking to get away from it all, this atoll has a hammock waiting. Then there are the sprinkling of out islands – some uninhabited, some with just a beach bar, some with shipwrecks to dive on. You’ll need your own boat to reach them, but since the BVIs are the world’s charter-boat capital, you’re in luck.
While the islands are British territories, there’s little that’s overtly British. The BVIs are quite close to, and intermingled with, the US Virgin Islands, though the BVIs are more virginal as far as development goes.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Tips & articles
-
Celebrity travel: if you can’t be a star, join them
9 August 2011
Now that you can fly to Iceland on the Iron Maiden plane (check out our recent Q&A with the plane’s...
-
The ultimate sailing trips
1 October 2010
Pack your sea legs for this whip around the world’s sunniest sailing spots, taken from Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences.1....
-
10 classic sailing adventures
1 September 2010
Pack your sea legs for this whip around the world’s sunniest sailing spots. In this excerpt from Lonely Planet’s 1000...
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
-
RE: St Vincent and the Grenadines
by nomadicjess 13 September 2011
Hi Would you consider the British Virgin Islands? I used to work on a dive boat there but they do so much more than just dive! You…
-
Great Info On Number of Visitors By Island
by mgtraveler 06 September 2011
I ran across a very informative website called [One Caribbean|http://www.onecaribbean.org/statistics/countrystats/] that gives tourist…
-
RE: Caribben
by mgtraveler 04 September 2011
Here is a good [link|http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1915617&messageID=17161693#17161693] that will tell you…
See all Thorn Tree forum discussions for British Virgin Islands
Hotels & Hostels
Check out all our reviewed and recommended accommodation and book online.
Advertisement








