British Virgin Islands

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Road Town

Population

22,000

Government

Overseas territory of the UK

Religions

Christianity (Protestant, Catholic)

Languages

English

Calling Code

+1284

Nationality

British Virgin Islander

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• Utrecht (71%)
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Introduction

Dolphins!!!

© All Rights Reserved Ali-Mike

Of the two lots of Virgin Islands, the British counterpart is by far the less busy, less touristy and less trodden. While the American Virgin Islands capitalized on their natural drawcards and turned into a thriving scene of travellers' fun and games, the Brits emphasized other industries (such as the ever-reputable money laundering), carefully maintaining sound ecology while at it. This means tourist facilities are costly, but there also less tourists. It also means that the best way to enjoy the islands is by having access to your own sea-faring device, be it a rubber tube or a yacht (though we do not strongly recommend the former). There is nothing quite like dropping anchor at an uninhabited island and spending a few days exploring the wild inland and the untouched beauty of the underwater world. For those with the dough, the British Virgin Islands offer up plenty of those opportunities.

Brief History

Geography

Regions/Islands

Out of the roughly 60 islands that make up the British Virgin Islands, the following 4 islands are the main ones.

• Tortola is the largest, most populous island and the site of the capital Road Town
• Virgin Gorda
• Anegada
• Jost Van Dyke

Cities/Towns

• Road Town is the country's capital
• The Settlement is the main town on the island of Anegada
• Great Harbor is the main town on Jost Van Dyke.

Sights and Activities

The Baths

The Baths is a collection of giant boulders at the seaside. They are located at the island of Virgin Gorda near the island's southwest corner. They form national park and are probably the most popular tourist attraction of the British Virgin Islands. The rocks form a series of small caves that flood with seawater, although there is no safety concern. A bigger concern is the fact that The Baths are usually just very crowded with tourists so come very early or late during the day to have some secluded spots for yourself.

Copper Mine National Park

The Copper Mine National Park is also on the island of Virgin Gorda, not far from The Baths in the southwest of the island. The site includes impressive ruins like a chimney, boiler house, cistern and mine shaft house and together form a national park and protected area. Between 1838 and 1867, miners worked the mine but since then it has been abandoned. Nowadays, the area with its spectactular coastline form an excellent place for a picnic.

Anageda

Probably one of the least developed parts of the British Virgin Islands, at least two-thirds of Anegada's shoreline is pristine beach and the turquoise waters offer fantastic snorkeling and swimming. Loblolly Bay and beach is one of the best pieces of sand anywhere in the world and there are several beach bars to have a drink and just enjoy some of the most relaxing places in the Caribbean without the huge cruiseship crowds.

Tortola

Tortola island is the place to be for beautiful beaches and it has the best nightlife of the islands. There are huge collections of restaurants and nightclubs and the capital Road Town is a decent place to spend some time and enjoy the colourful buildings and botanic gardens. It also has some fine museums, where you can witness some relics dating back to the slavery time.

Events and Festivals

Weather

The British Virgin Islands have a very pleasant and tropical climate with generally warm and humid weather. The seabreeze makes things relatively mild though and water is never far away. Temperatures generally average around 30 degrees Celcius during the day yearround and 23 degrees at night. December to May is the dry season, where July to October is the rainy season, but this generally means some showers at the end of the day instead of days of rain on end. Hurricanes are possible though from August to October.

Getting there

Plane

Most international flights arrive on the main island of the British Virgin Islands, Tortola. Fly BVI is a charter airline serving San Juan in Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands and Antigua. Island Birds has charters from San Juan and Saint Martin to Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Beef Island. BVI Airlines offers charter flights in the region as well.
Clair Aero flies from Anegada, a smaller island, to Saint Thomas as well and Aero Gorda flies there from Tortola.

Boat

• There are about 4 operators which have ferry services between St. Thomas (Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook) and Tortola (West End and Roadtown). Contact Road Town Fast Ferry for options. From Road Town on the British Virgin Islands there are ferries about every 50 minutes to Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. From Red Hook to Road Town is about 35 minutes. Contact Caribbean Maritime Tortola Fast Ferry (340) 777-2800), Smith's Ferry (340) 775-7292 or Native Son Inc. (340) 774-8685 for details about schedules and prices.
• There are about 4 or 5 sailings in eacht direction between Cruz Bay, St. John (USVI) and West End, Tortola (BVI).
• There are also two ferry operators offering service between St. Thomas (Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie) and Virgin Gorda.
• To end, there are 2 crossings a day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between Red Hook, St.Thomas and Cruz Bay, St. John (USVI) for Jost Van Dyke (BVI).

Contact Inter Island Boat Service (340) 776-6597 for these last three international connections by ferry.

Getting around

Plane

Fly BVI flies between Tortola, Anegada and Beef Island. There are 4 flights between Tortola and Anegada as well with Clair Aero. BVI Airlines offers charters between the islands of the British Virgin Islands.

Boat

There are at least 6 operators between several destinations within the British Virgin Islands with many connections on a daily basis. Two of them have services between Tortola and Virgin Gorda. Other connections include Virgin Gorda to Beef Island vv, Tortola to Jost van Dyke vv, Beef Island to Marine Cay vv and Tortola to Peter Island vv. Check the schedule (also between BVI and the US Virgin Islands) at the BVI Welcome site.

Smith's Ferry now also makes sailings to and from the northern island of Anegada and both Tortola (Road Town) and Virgin Gorda (Spanish Town) three times a week in both directions.

Other operators between several islands include North Sound Express and Speedy's. New Horizon Ferry travels between West End on Tortola and Jost's Great Harbour on Jost van Dyke.

By Car

Renting a car is a good option to get around the main islands of Tortola and Virgin Gorda. Although the islands are not very big, especially Tortola is rather hilly and traveltimes can add up. If you want to cover a lot of the islands, it is better to rent a car than taking taxis all the time. Both international and local companies rent cars, and prices start at around 40 USD a day and weekly rates are often more economical. Driving is at the left, you have to be 25 years old to rent a car and you also need to purchase a temporary driving permit at rental companey or police station.

By Bus

If you are travelling by road other than having your own wheels, there is a good chance it will be a in taxi or minibus bringing you to your resort, beach, airport or ferry terminal. There are no fixed bus schedules.

Red Tape

Nationals from the following countries require a visa:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Cote d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinia, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principle, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

Everyone else can stay for 30 days without a visa.
For further information, check the Governmental website.

Money

See also Money Matters

The US Dollar, or "greenback", is the national currency of the British Virgin Islands. One dollar consists of 100 cents. Frequently used coins are the penny (1¢), nickel (5¢), dime (10¢) and quarter (25¢). 50¢ and $1 coins also exist, but are rarely used. Frequently used banknotes are the $1, $5, $10 and $20 notes. $2, $50 and $100 notes can also be found, but are rarely used.

Work

Study

Language

The official language of the British Virgin Islands is English.

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to the British Virgin Islands is: 1-284
To make an international call from , the code is: 011

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