Caribbean (Fodor's, 2011) - Fodor's Travel Publications [0]
1. Welcome to the British Virgin Islands
2. Maps
3. The British Virgin Islands Planner
4. The British Virgin Islands Beaches
5. Tortola
6. Virgin Gorda
7. Jost Van Dyke
8. Anegada
9. Other British Virgin Islands
Copyright
WELCOME TO THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
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Once a collection of about 60 sleepy islands and cays, the British Virgin Islands—particularly the main island of Tortola—now sees huge cruise ships crowding its dock outside Road Town. Shoppers clog the downtown area, and traffic occasionally comes to a standstill. Even the second-largest island, Virgin Gorda, gets its share of smaller ships anchored off the main village of Spanish Town. Despite this explosive growth in the territory’s tourism industry, it’s still easy to escape the hubbub. Hotels outside Road Town usually provide a quiet oasis, and those on the other islands can be downright serene.
Each island has a different flavor. Want access to lots of restaurants and shopping? Make Tortola your choice. The largest of the BVIs, it covers 10 square mi (26 square km) and sits only a mile from St. John in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). If you want to kick back at a small hotel or posh resort, try Virgin Gorda. Sitting nearly at the end of the chain, the 8-square-mi (21-square-km) island offers stellar beaches and a laid-back atmosphere. If you really want to get away from it all, the outermost islands, including Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, will fill the bill. Some of the smallest—Norman, Peter, Cooper, and Necker—are home to just one resort or restaurant. Others remain uninhabited specks on the horizon.
Visitors have long visited the BVI, starting with Christopher Columbus in 1493. He called the islands Las Once Mil Virgines—the 11,000 Virgins—in honor of the 11,000 virgin companions of St. Ursula, martyred in the 4th century AD . Pirates and buccaneers followed, and then came the British, who farmed the islands until slavery was abolished in 1834. The BVI are still politically tied to Britain, so the queen appoints a royal governor, but residents elect a local Legislative Council. Offshore banking and tourism share top billing in the territory’s economy, but the majority of the islands’ jobs are tourism-related. Despite the growth, you can usually find a welcoming smile.
TOP ATTRACTIONS
With more than 60 islands in the chain, sailors can drop anchor at a different, perfect beach every day.
Laid-back luxury resorts offer a full-scale retreat from your everyday life.
Diving and snorkeling are great, and vibrant reefs are often just feet from the shore.
Your trip isn’t complete until you’ve chilled at the casual beach bars on Jost Van Dyke.
There’s no mass tourism; the farther you get from Tortola, the quieter things become.
GETTING ORIENTED
Most of the 60-some islands, islets, and cays that make up the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are remarkably hilly and volcanic in origin, having exploded from the depths of the sea some 25 million years ago. The exception is Anegada, which is a flat, coral-limestone atoll. Tortola (about 10 square mi/26 square km) is the largest member of the chain.
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Restaurants
1 Spaghetti Junction | 2 Capriccio di Mare | 3 Le Cabanon | 4 Roti Palace | 5 Village Cay Restaurant | 6 The Dove
Hotels
1 Moorings-Mariner Inn | 2 Village Cay Resort
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Restaurants
7 Pusser’s Landing | 8 Jolly Roger | 9 1748 Restaurant | 10 Sebastian’s Beach Bar & Restaurant | 11 Sugar Mill | 12 Myett’s | 13 Quito’s Gazebo | 14 Sky | 15 Mountain View
Hotels
3 Nanny Cay Hotel | 4 Fort Recovery Beachfront Villas | 5 Long Bay Beach Resort | 6 Sebastian’s on the Beach | 7 Sugar Mill Hotel | 8 Myett’s
Beaches
Apple Bay | Cane Garden Bay | Long Bay West | Smuggler's Cove
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Restaurants
16 CalaMaya | 17 Brandywine Bay | 18 Turtles
Hotels
9 Hodge’s Creek Marina Hotel | 10 Surfsong Villa