British Virgin Islands in a Day

Dear reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. We continue our trip in the Caribbean to Tortola. Tortola is one of the most scenic islands in the Eastern Caribbean. It’s also the largest and the central-most point of the British Virgin Islands (also referred to as BVI). It was one of the stops during our two-weeks cruise, exploring this part of the world. Just a day isn’t enough for most of the places, but our cruise trip was a kind of exploration adventure to decide which islands are worth visiting in the future 🙂

The article for British Virgin Islands is part of the series of posts presenting the islands we visited and giving you tips on what to see and do “in a day”. The other islands we visited were:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Barbados
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• St Kitts & Nevis
• St Maarten
• Saint Lucia
• St Vincent & The Grenadines
• Trinidad & Tobago

In order to read our recommendations for each island, just follow the links. We also shared our overall cruise experience and tips when going on a cruise for the first time. Now back to British Virgin Islands.

Although it is a British territory since 1672 and the citizens are legally EU citizens, this was the only island where they advised us to take our passports before getting off the ship. In the end, nobody checked them at the pier. 

Tortola  Island, British Virgin Islands

Tortola is blessed with gorgeous blue vistas, verdant hills and powdery white-sand beaches. Aside from the beautiful landscape, its nearness to islands such as Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke, and Anegada makes it a perfect cruise vacation spot. In fact, island hopping is one of Tortola’s main attractions.

Although there are nice places to visit in Tortola, we decided to go to the neighboring Virgin Gorda. Other people recommended it as a must-visit place and this is what we did. 

Ferry to Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Firstly we checked the excursions to Virgin Gorda offered on board. There were two options (two different times of departure). The price was €100 per person for only two hours actual time on the island. We thought that it isn’t worth it and we opted for an alternative. I had researched that there are ferries between the two islands. The potential problem was that the timetable of the ferries was really tight, but we decided to give it a try.

We arrived at Tortola port at around 10 AM. As we had only 40 minutes to get to the ferry, we wanted to be the first ones on the queue. As soon as the doors opened, we moved swiftly towards the ferry pier which is around 10 minutes walk from the port. The return tickets for the ferry cost only $36 per person. There was also a bonus- free Wi-Fi on board: coming from the cruise ship with no free Wi-Fi on board, it was a good beginning of our day 🙂

Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

The ticket included a transfer from the pier at Virgin Gorda to the Baths. For your information there are two convenient ferries leaving for Virgin Gorda- at 10:20 and 10:40 (you can check the timetable of the two companies- Speedy’s and Smith’s here https://www.bvitourism.com/inter-island-ferries).

The dramatic shape of the BVI’s third largest island, Virgin Gorda, reminded Christopher Columbus of a reclining woman, or “Fat Virgin,” inspiring its name. Although it was located just 25 minutes by ferry from Tortola, Virgin Gorda has a different landscape. It is much smaller and less populated than Tortola. It was definitely “virgin”. The ride from the pier to the Baths was around 10 minutes. They waited with open-air buses at the pier and took all people arriving with the ferry. Once you get to the Bath’s, you have to pay the entrance fee of $5 per person.

The Baths National Park , Virgin Gorda

The centerpiece of this dramatic area on Virgin Gorda’s west shore is The Baths, a geological wonder comprising awe-inspiring granite boulders, which form sheltered sea pools on the beach’s edge. The Baths is a collection of massive granite boulders some of them 10-12 meters in diameter, with white sand beaches and hidden rock pools. These rocky formations are a result of the molten rock seeping up into the existing volcanic rock layers.  The molten rock did not reach the surface, so it cooled down slowly and formed the hard crystalline granite layer. Further shrinkage and cracking formed blocks, which were exposed when the softer volcanic rock above eroded away. The weather conditions further rounded the corners of the boulders in order to form the shapes that we see today.

Devil’s Bay

We started the tour from southern-most point which is the Devil’s bay. Once entering the park just head left. A series of steps scaling the boulders will lead you to this small bay. The “hike” takes around 15 minutes, but do not worry if you have only your flip-flops with you- it is doable. Once we reached the sea, we saw it was rough and it was impossible to enjoy the beach. However, it was peaceful with hardly anyone around. We decided to head north by the water via a tiny path in between the boulders. In 10 minutes we finally reached Devil’s Bay.

I have no idea where this name comes from, but there is nothing devilish in this bay. This is one of the most beautiful bays we have ever seen. Turquoise, flat water, with tens of white yachts and boats on the horizon.

I forgot to mention that Virgin Gorda is popular among luxurious yacht lovers. Thankfully we arrived before the big crowd from the ship was there. Have in mind that in this part of the bay there are no bars or restaurants, you can take drinks and food with you.

The Baths

After spending around an hour in this beautiful bay, we decided to head towards the neighboring Bath’s bay. I do not know what to advise you to do- whether to start with Devil’s Bay first and then go to the Baths or the other way around. The thing is that you should pass through a picturesque trial consisting of a series of steps and rope handrails in order to reach the other location.

You pass through small caves and sometimes even through the water (depending on the tide). However, people are passing in both directions, resulting in huge queues and long waiting time. Although the distance is not long, it took us around 45 minutes to get from the sandy Devil’s Bay to the Baths. 

As the Baths has stairs leading to it directly from the park entrance, this was the most crowded location. It has one or two cafes and some kiosks where you can buy stuff. After the beauty of Devil’s Bay, this one was not that impressive. In fact here the landscape is different, the boulders are closer to the shore, which makes it the perfect background for taking nice pictures.

Top of the Baths Restaurant

The last stop before heading back to the ferry to Tortola island, was the restaurant located at the entrance of the park- Top of the Baths. The view is definitely stunning. With regards to the restaurant, do not expect anything extraordinary- the view is what you are there for. You can enjoy the local specialty- lobster- with a panoramic view to this nature wonder.  

Road town, Tortola 

In order to get back on time for the departure of the cruise ship, we had to catch the ferry at 15:00. Thus left us some time to walk around Road town- the main town on Tortola island.

We took Main street and there we saw some nice architecture, but the overall impression (at least from this area) is that it is an industrial one. So, we headed back to the ship. Next to the pier there was a corner with colorful kiosks selling different souvenirs. Yes, I know, it is such a touristy thing, but at least it added some vividness to the otherwise industrial spirit around.  

Well, this was our one day in British Virgin Islands. Given the limited time we had there, we took the best out of it. Are you excited about the stories from the next islands? They are all coming soon in the section Caribbean.