Getting to the British Virgin Islands
Most visitors from the US reach the British Virgin Islands by ferry: a flight to St. Thomas, then a boat across to Road Town or West End on Tortola. Airline tickets to the BVI itself mean Beef Island, at Tortola's east end, and the one nonstop from the mainland leaves from Miami. Either way you cross an international border, so everyone, children included, needs a passport.
Written by Virgin Islands VillasUpdated Oct 2026
Should you fly to Tortola or take the ferry?
For most travelers from the US the ferry is the way in, by our read. The one nonstop from the mainland to Beef Island that the BVI Tourist Board names leaves from Miami, so nearly everyone else is connecting anyway, and St. Thomas, where six airlines fly nonstop from the mainland, has a dock for each end of Tortola. Fly straight in if you are coming through Miami or San Juan, or staying at Tortola's east end or on Virgin Gorda, where the airport is the nearer door.
| Way in | Leaves from | Operator | Sailings | Crossing | Adult fare | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferry to Road Town, Tortola | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | Native Son, Road Town Fast Ferry, Smith's Ferry in rotation | Up to 3 a day | 50 min | Quoted at booking | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Ferry to West End, Tortola | Red Hook, St. Thomas | Road Town Fast Ferry | 3 a day | Not stated | Quoted at booking | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Ferry to Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke | Red Hook 7:30 am, Cruz Bay 8 am | Inter Island Boat Services | Sun, Tue, Fri | Not stated | $150 round trip listed, plus $30 customs | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Ferry to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda | Charlotte Amalie | Speedy's | Saturdays | 90 min | $60 one way, $110 round trip | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Flight to Beef Island | Miami | American Airlines | Not stated | Not stated | Quoted at booking | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Flight to Beef Island | San Juan and St. Thomas | Cape Air | Not stated | Not stated | Quoted at booking | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Flight to Beef Island | San Juan, Antigua, Santo Domingo, Barbados, St. Maarten | interCaribbean | Not stated | Not stated | Quoted at booking | Oct 16, 2026 |
Verified on the operators' own pages and the BVI Tourist Board's on the dates shown. Speedy's Saturday boat pauses each autumn, September 1 to October 31 this year by its own notice, and is usually back in early November; check with Speedy's before you plan on it.
Which St. Thomas dock suits your Tortola house
Choose the dock by the house, not by the flight. Charlotte Amalie, the dock for travelers coming from Cyril E. King Airport, serves Road Town, with three companies sharing the sailings on a rotation the BVI Ports Authority publishes month by month. Red Hook, on St. Thomas's East End, serves West End with Road Town Fast Ferry. The St. Thomas to Tortola ferry page carries the timetable, the rotation and the fees added up.
The choice matters because of the drive on the far side. West End is 32 minutes by car from the Road Town ferry terminal by our measurement, so a house at West End, Frenchman's Cay or Smuggler's Cove sits closer to the Red Hook boat, and a house in Road Town closer to the one from Charlotte Amalie. October runs a low-season timetable, which the Tourist Board's page says gives way to the regular one in November; check the operator's page for your week.
British Virgin Islands airport: flights land on Beef Island
Tortola's airport is Terrance B. Lettsome International, code EIS, on Beef Island, which the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge ties to Tortola's east end. American Airlines has flown in from Miami since June 1, 2023, per the BVI Tourist Board, which also says nothing flies direct from Canada, Europe or South America. The rest are regional hops: Cape Air lists Tortola to San Juan and to St. Thomas on its booking site, and interCaribbean lists San Juan, Antigua and Santo Domingo, adding Barbados and St. Maarten from March 2026 by its own release. Virgin Gorda keeps a small airport of its own, code VIJ.
What none of them publishes is a fare. Airlines quote only inside their booking engines, so we print none rather than an aggregator's headline price. The departure charge is the one figure that holds still: flying out, the BVI's $50 is generally already in the ticket, per the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
From Beef Island airport to Road Town and West End
Road Town is under half an hour from the terminal and West End a full hour, and that gap should decide how you arrive. Our measured drives from the Beef Island terminal, without traffic:
| From the airport to | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Trellis Bay dock, for Virgin Gorda | 4 by car, 6 on foot |
| Josiah's Bay | 21 |
| Road Town | 27 |
| Road Town ferry terminal | 30 |
| West End ferry terminal | 61 |
The tradeoff: the airport sits at the wrong end of Tortola for West End. A party flying in to stay there has an hour on the road after the flight, which is why the ferry from Red Hook often lands closer to the house. A party bound for Virgin Gorda has the opposite luck: Speedy's leaves from Trellis Bay, a short walk from the terminal, six times a day.
Arriving in Tortola on a cruise ship
Cruise ships dock in Road Town, Tortola's capital, at the pier beside the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park. The government describes the park as a five-acre waterfront of 11 buildings and 18 kiosks with shops, restaurants and services, run by the BVI Ports Authority, as of February 2026. The town is on foot from the pier.
The beaches are not. They lie over the ridge on the north shore, Brewers Bay 18 minutes by car from Road Town and Cane Garden Bay 22 by our measurement, so a beach day starts with a taxi. Virgin Gorda and The Baths are a ferry ride further, Speedy's from Road Town, which only works when the return boat lands well before the ship's all-aboard time. The Road Town page covers a day ashore in town, and Cane Garden Bay and Brewers Bay have their own pages.
Passport, entry form and fees at the BVI border
A passport, for everyone. Since March 1, 2025 the Government of the Virgin Islands has required a valid passport book, or for a US citizen a US passport card, for the length of the stay, and exempts only BVIslanders and Belongers. The card works only by sea: US Customs and Border Protection does not take it from anyone flying back into the United States, so a party that flies in or out through Beef Island needs passport books. Children need one too, and an American arriving from St. John or St. Thomas is crossing an international border, not hopping between neighbors. The entry form has been online since January 1, 2025, on the government's BVI ED card site; fill it in before you arrive and carry a copy.
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental and tourism levy | $10 | On arrival, by air or by sea |
| Departure tax by sea | $20, or $15 for residents | Leaving by ferry |
| Departure charge by air | $50 | Leaving by air, generally inside the ticket |
Per the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, checked October 16, 2026. Arriving by sea, you clear in at Road Town, West End, Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke or Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda, the ports of entry the BVI Tourist Board lists; the Great Harbour office keeps 8:30 am to 4:30 pm daily on its list. Anegada is not a port of entry, so a boat from the US islands clears in at one of the four first.
How to get to Virgin Gorda and the other islands
Through Tortola, on most days; on a Saturday, Speedy's sails straight from Charlotte Amalie to Spanish Town, outside its autumn pause, for $60 one way. Each outer island has its own boat from a Tortola dock, and the resort islands run their own launches:
| To | From | Operator | How often | Adult fare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda | Road Town or Trellis Bay | Speedy's | Daily | $30 one way, $40 round trip, Oct 2026 |
| Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | Speedy's | Saturdays, outside the autumn pause | $60 one way, $110 round trip, Oct 2026 |
| Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke | West End | New Horizon Ferry | Five a day | On the BVI ferry page |
| Anegada | Road Town | Smith's Ferry | Set days | On the BVI ferry page |
| Peter Island, Scrub Island, Guana Island | Set by the resort | The resorts' own boats | Set by the resort | Ask the resort |
The BVI ferry page has every route between the islands in one table, with this month's times and fares.
How do you get to Tortola, British Virgin Islands?
By ferry from St. Thomas or by air to Beef Island. The ferry leaves Charlotte Amalie for Road Town, 50 minutes per Road Town Fast Ferry, and Red Hook for West End, with fares quoted at booking as of October 2026. American Airlines flies from Miami, and Cape Air and interCaribbean from San Juan.
How do you get to Virgin Gorda?
By Speedy's ferry from Tortola to Spanish Town, from Road Town or from Trellis Bay, a 4 minute drive from the airport. The adult fare is $30 one way and $40 round trip on Speedy's rates page as of October 2026. Speedy's also sails from Charlotte Amalie on Saturdays outside its autumn pause.
Can you fly direct to the BVI from the US?
From Miami, yes: American Airlines has flown to Beef Island since June 1, 2023, per the BVI Tourist Board. From elsewhere in the US the route is a connection, usually through San Juan or St. Thomas, and from St. Thomas the ferry is the other way across. Fares are quoted only at booking.
Where do cruise ships dock in Tortola?
In Road Town, at the pier beside the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park, a five-acre waterfront of shops and restaurants run by the BVI Ports Authority, per the Government of the Virgin Islands as of February 2026. The town is walkable from the pier; the north-shore beaches are a taxi ride over the ridge, Brewers Bay 18 minutes and Cane Garden Bay 22 by our measurement.
Do US citizens need a passport for the BVI?
Yes. Since March 1, 2025 the Government of the Virgin Islands requires every visitor, children included, to hold a passport book or, for Americans, a US passport card for the whole stay. The card covers the ferry only; anyone flying needs the book, because US Customs and Border Protection does not accept the card for a return by air. A driver's license that gets you onto St. John does not get you into Tortola.
- Things to do in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands
- British Virgin Islands map
- British Virgin Islands weather, month by month
- Ferries between the British Virgin Islands
- Norman Island and the pirates of the BVI
- Scuba diving in the British Virgin Islands
Facts checked against the BVI Tourist Board, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Government of the Virgin Islands, Speedy's and Inter Island Boat Services. Checked October 2026.