Skip to content
British Virgin Islands Views, Insights and Travel Tips
Current Date: 25 October , 2026
About Us（https://thebviinsider.com/about-us/）
Contact（https://thebviinsider.com/contact/）
Articles（https://thebviinsider.com/articles/）
BVI Guide
Staying on land（https://thebviinsider.com/staying-on-land/）
People and Heritage（https://thebviinsider.com/people-and-heritage/）
Why Sail The BVI（https://thebviinsider.com/sailing/）
Diving and Snorkeling（https://thebviinsider.com/diving-and-snorkeling/）
Activities（https://thebviinsider.com/activities-best-things-to-do-in-the-bvi/）
Many Islands（https://thebviinsider.com/many-islands-many-flavors/）
More Info
Entry Requirements（https://thebviinsider.com/entry-requirements-and-protocols/）
Useful Information（https://thebviinsider.com/useful-information/）
Hotels & Villas
Villas（https://thebviinsider.com/hotels-villas/）
Yachts & Diving
Charter Yachts（https://thebviinsider.com/charter-yachts/）
About Us（https://thebviinsider.com/about-us/）
Contact（https://thebviinsider.com/contact/）
Journey with us（https://thebviinsider.com/a-journey-through-the-british-virgin-islands/）
Articles（https://thebviinsider.com/articles/）
BVI Guide
Staying on land（https://thebviinsider.com/staying-on-land/）
People and Heritage（https://thebviinsider.com/people-and-heritage/）
Why Sail The BVI（https://thebviinsider.com/sailing/）
Diving and Snorkeling（https://thebviinsider.com/diving-and-snorkeling/）
Activities（https://thebviinsider.com/activities-best-things-to-do-in-the-bvi/）
Many Islands（https://thebviinsider.com/many-islands-many-flavors/）
Useful Info
Useful Information（https://thebviinsider.com/useful-information/）
Hotels & Villas
Villas（https://thebviinsider.com/hotels-villas/）
Yachts & Diving
Charter Yachts（https://thebviinsider.com/charter-yachts/）
Top Ten Things to Do in The BVI
From powdery sand beaches to crystal clear waters and unsurpassed sailing, the BVI stands apart from other Caribbean destinations. But with so many diverse activities and great sites to visit, where do you start? Let’s explore just a few of the best.
Number 1: Sailing Around the Islands
Staying on land at a hotel or guesthouse, doesn’t mean you can’t go sailing. A fleet of BVI based day sail boats will take guests out for a day of sailing and snorkeling to several outer island destinations. All one needs is a tote bag, sunscreen, a beach towel and a sense of adventure. Most day charter boats depart around 9am and return around 5pm and provide snorkel tours, along with snorkel gear, drinks and lunch.
Charter boat at anchor. Photo: Courtesy of Conch Charters. Chartering a boat is the top thing for many BVI visitors.
One of the most popular destinations for day sail charters is the Norman Island Caves. This series of partially submerged caves on the island’s western shore, have been carved by millennia of wave action and erosion. They also come with a reputation. It is said that Norman island was the setting for Treasure Island , Robert Louis Stevenson’s famed 18 th century tale of pirates and skulduggery. So it’s not surprising that the Norman Island Caves are often referred to as the Treasure Caves. Although no gold is to be found inside these caves, the soft orange sponges and red corals that line the stone walls are treasure of another sort. Outside the caves and along the rocky shoreline there are schools of sergeant majors, sea grasses. If lucky, you may spot a sea turtle or ray.
The BVI’s reputation as the sailing capital of the Caribbean is well-deserved. Its cluster of closely situated islands are easy to sail to. While its many gorgeous anchorages offer the promise of a refreshing swim and a tropical cocktail at day’s end. Many sailors charter vessels for a week or two, some with a crew (most often a captain and cook). others board “bareboats” (skippered by an experienced member of your own charter party). Aboard a charter boat the entire BVI is at your disposal.
Other popular day sail destinations include White Bay on Jost Van Dyke, Sandy Cay and Benures Bay.
For more information on other sailing options including crewed one or two-week charters and bareboats, go to “Sailing” https://thebviinsider.com/sailing/ The section also includes a list of the BVI’s many scenic anchorages.
Number 2: Sage Mountain
A view from Sage Mountain National Park, the BVI’s highest point.
Immerse yourself in tropical foliage and a rainforest-like environment at Sage Mountain National Park. The BVI’s highest point is located on the island of Tortola. At 1,716 feet and 127-acres, the park has lofty views, cool breezes and a variety of tropical and dry forest vegetation. The park’s numerous trails are graveled and easy to follow.
To get there, take the Ridge Road to its western-most end and park in a lot located just a short walk from the park. The path to the entrance winds along an uneven forested trail and is a delight in itself. There are two distinct sections to the park. A trail climbing to its highest point is located behind you across from the entrance gate. This trail leads up through a second growth mahogany forest to a lookout at the top of the park. For a more tropical rainforest experience, go through the gate and take the main trail, but then diverge off onto the Henry Adams Trail to the park’s lush northern section. The path leads to a wooden staircase, and past giant elephant ears, large boulders, tall trees dripping with hanging vines, and a myriad of lacey ferns. Eventually the trail will loop around to a majestic banyan (part of the ficus family of trees). With its thick canopy and tangle of aerial roots – the tree provides a great photo op.
Sage Mountain National Park, founded in 1961, is the BVI’s first national park. If you want to learn more about the park’s creation and its founders, American philanthropist, Laurance Rockefeller and BVI conservationist, Joseph Reynold O’Neal go to https://thebviinsider.com/for-the-love-of-nature/
Number 3: Hanging Out in Cane Garden Bay
The Callwood Rum Distillery, a reminder of the island’s rum making past, remains operationa l.
Cane Garden Bay is Tortola’s favorite beach. Once a sugar growing center in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, Cane Garden Bay today is a close-knit community of local families and churches. A dozen or so beach bars and restaurants line one of the island’s most beautiful stretches of sand.
Sheltered by an off-shore reef, the water is invariably calm, making it perfect for sun worshipping, family outings and water sports; it’s a place for a leisurely float or a vigorous swim. Families can rent water toys here including paddle boats, windsurfers and standup paddle boards. Anytime is a good time to hang out in Cane Garden Bay, but one of my favorites is late afternoon: the ideal time to order a cold drink at one of the bay’s open air beach bars and watch the sun as it sets behind Jost Van Dyke and transform the water to a shimmering gold. If you stay through evening, Quito’s, Myett’s and several other bars and restaurants feature live music.
One of the community’s hidden surprises is the Callwood Rum Distillery located behind the road on the western side of the bay. Built of stone, and permeated with the scent of centuries of distilled rum, the distillery is a glimpse into the island’s rum making past. On display are the original wood casks, the still and copper boiling vats; bottles of the distillery’s potent Arundel rum are for sale.
Number 4: The Botanic Gardens
A peaceful refuge: J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens
The four-acre Botanic Gardens in Road Town, is a tropical refuge at the eastern end of Road Town and a microcosm of the region’s plant life. The gardens are named after Joseph Reynold O’Neal, a prominent BVI businessman and an ardent conservationist who along with Margaret Barwick, a former governor’s wife and tropical garden expert, shepherded the gardens to completion in the 1980s.
A majestic row of royal palms and a Victorian style cast iron fountain greet visitors at the garden’s entrance; pergolas draped in petria and other flowering vines grace its pathways and indigenous red footed tortoises and exotic parrots can also be found here.
The gardens, which sit on the site of the BVI’s original agricultural station, represent the different habitats of the BVI. There is a tropical rainforest section, examples of a dry forest habitat, a West Indian traditional herbal garden and an orchidarium. A collection of rare indigenous plants including the endangered Acacia anegadensis , will help ensure the survival of this and other of the BVI’s endangered species. With the assistance of botanists from Kew Gardens in London, seeds and dried specimens of the BVI’s native plants are being collected and preserved at the park. A second set are kept at Kew’s seed bank in the UK.
The Activities section at https://thebviinsider.com/parks-places/ has information on other places to visit in Road Town and throughout the islands.
Number 5: Exploring The Baths
A view through the boulders at The Baths . Photo: Jason C. Smith
I remember my first time inside The Baths on Virgin Gorda, the BVI’s premier natural attraction. I was awestruck by the towering granite boulders that loomed above me like a vaulted cathedral and formed tranquil sea pools on the water’s edge. A product of volcanic uplift and millennia of erosion, The Baths are like a jumble of giant building blocks, a playground for both adults and children.
You can reach The Baths by boat, moor just offshore and swim to the beach. If you arrive by ferry from Tortola or are staying elsewhere on Virgin Gorda, take a taxi to the Baths’ land entrance and follow a narrow dirt path that winds past large boulders, cacti and succulents. The Baths National Park includes the white sand beach of Devil’s Bay to its south which can be reached by following a labyrinthine trail over the boulders within the Baths. A series of ropes and wooden ladders aids the less nimble. Each turn through the interior affords new views and unexpected surprises, glimpses out to the sea and ethereal shafts of light.
Also, part of this unique national park is Spring Bay, a tranquil beach ideal for swimming and floating; a sprinkling of the same large boulders found throughout the Virgin Gorda Valley, dots the beach.