Things to do in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands

What to do in the British Virgin Islands, island by island

Each island's days sort by how you reach them: by car on Tortola, by ferry and a short drive on the others, and by boat alone for the wreck of the Rhone.

Drive and walk times are our measurements; fares and park fees are the operators' and the National Parks Trust's own, checked October 16, 2026.

Things to do in Tortola: beaches, Sage Mountain and Road Town

Tortola is one ridge with Road Town on one side and the beaches on the other, so most days here begin with a drive over the top. Brewers Bay, Cane Garden Bay and Josiah's Bay are the run from the Road Town ferry terminal; Smuggler's Cove and Long Bay sit minutes from the West End terminal and belong to a house out at that end. Above it all is Sage Mountain National Park, the BVI's first, given by Laurance Rockefeller, which rises to 1,710 feet, the highest point in the British and US Virgin Islands by the National Parks Trust's count. In Road Town itself the J.R. O'Neal Botanic Gardens, on a pass from the same Trust, are a walk from the waterfront, the one sight on the island that needs no car.

Virgin Gorda and the Baths, a ferry day

The Baths are a ferry day from Tortola: Speedy's to Spanish Town, a short drive to the lot, then a walk down to the sand. One National Parks Trust day pass covers Devil's Bay, The Baths, Stoney Bay and Spring Bay, so the walk on to Devil's Bay costs nothing more. Savannah Bay lies the other way from the jetty, the same short drive. The tradeoff: the boats home stop early. On Speedy's timetable as of October 2026, the last boat from Spanish Town to Road Town is 5 pm on weekdays and 3:30 pm on a Saturday; the times shift with the season, so check them for your week. A Saturday at the Baths from Road Town is a morning, or a return through Trellis Bay, whose boats run to 8 pm.

Jost Van Dyke for the day, Anegada on set dates

Jost Van Dyke is the island the day boats come for. New Horizon Ferry crosses from West End to Great Harbour through the day, and White Bay, with the Soggy Dollar Bar on its sand, lies over the hill from the jetty, a short drive or a long walk. Plan the day backward from the last boat to Tortola, 5 pm on New Horizon's timetable as of October 2026; times change by season, so check New Horizon Ferry before you go.

Anegada is the flat one, a coral island with long beaches on its north shore, and it takes planning: Smith's Ferry sails from Road Town only on set dates, a handful a month (seven in October 2026), out at 7 am and back from Anegada at 5 pm on the October calendar; check Smith's calendar for your week before you plan around it. Cow Wreck Beach and Loblolly Bay are a drive from the Setting Point dock, so line up the ride before you sail.

Diving the BVI: the Rhone and the cays

The wrecks and the cays. The wreck of the RMS Rhone lies in Lee Bay off Salt Island, inside a National Parks Trust marine park where a boat needs the Trust's mooring permit, so the way there is a dive boat or a day charter; the same goes for the cays and anchorages between the islands. The boat charters page lists who takes you. Charters set their own hours, which makes them the one way to see two islands in a day without a ferry timetable.

For a week on the water rather than a day, the sailing itinerary lays out the route and the best time to sail reads the months. Families start with the BVI family guide, the pirate history sorts the record from the legend, and the restaurants and bars say where lunch is on each island.