Tortola Tourist Places to Visit in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, America

Tortola Tourist Places to Visit in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, America

Tortola is the largest island of British Virgin Islands, a special collectivity of British Overseas Territory. It is home to the capital city of BVI, Road Town and it houses the higher majority of the population of BVI. Tortola is a tourist paradise featuring beautiful beaches, botanical gardens and museums.

 

Geography of Tortola:

Tortola measures a length of 19 km and width of 5 km, covering an area of 55.7 sq. km. It is located at 18°25′ N 64°35′ W at a maximum latitude of 530 meters.

 

History of Tortola:

Tortola was called by different names by many explorers in the past, as of native’s information, Tortola was named by Christopher Columbus and its literal meaning is ‘Land of the Turtle Dove’. It was called by Santa Ana by Columbus, Ter Tholen by Dutch and finally the name ‘Tortola’ was fixed by British.

 

How to reach Tortola?

Tortola is served by Terrence B. Lettsome Airport which is located in neighboring Beef Island, around 13 km away. Some air operators serving airport include BVI Airways, Cape Air, Air Sunshine and Seaborne Airlines.

Tortola is also well connected with nearby islands with regular ferry services operated by Tortola Ferry.

There are taxis, cars and buses always ready to serve tourists in Tortola and the major taxi providers include:

  • BVI Taxi Association
  • Elroy’s Pleasure Tours
  • Karl Scatliffe
  • Road Town Taxi Association

 

Culture, Food and Shopping in Tortola:

Tortola is one of the well cultured islands in Virgin Islands group housing many educational institutions and cultural centres all around.

The prominent food corners in Tortola include:

  • Village Cay Marina
  • Le Cabanon
  • Brandywine Bay Restaurant
  • 15 Abbott Lane

Tortola houses all the kinds of shops including handicrafts, fashion, clothes, jewelry and electronic. Entertainment centres are also found in Tortola.

 

Things to do in Tortola:

  • Sailing
  • Surfing
  • Scuba diving
  • Gite boarding
  • Windsurfing
  • Historic sites
  • Hiking

 

Places of interest in Tortola:

Cane Garden Bay:

Cane Garden Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches of Tortola. It offers great surfing and boat riding activity and there are many restaurants, a bar, two vendors and a supermarket at the periphery of the beach.

 

Josiah’s Bay Beach:

Josiah’s Bay Beach is located on the northern shore of Tortola offering outstanding surfing experience. Winter months are ideal to visit marvelous Josiah’s Bay Beach.

 

St. Philips Church Ruins:

St Philips Church Ruins is the 19th century church which was built in the year 1833. It was also calledas Church at Kingstown and now tourists can see the only ruins and remains of church here.

 

Other places of interest in Tortola include:

  • R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens
  • Main Street
  • Sage Mountain National Park
  • Cane Garden Bay Beach
  • Chikuzen Shipwreck
  • Beef Island International Airport
  • Smuggler’s Cove Beach
  • Mount Healthy National Park
  • Maya Cove Anchorage
  • Josiah’s Bay Plantation
  • East End

 

Best time to visit Tortola:

From January to April will be the ideal time to travel Tortola.

 

Accommodation options in Tortola:

Tortola is the most populated island of BVI and it also receives a large number of overseas tourists throughout the year for its marvelous tourists destinations, due to this there are plenty of resorts, hotels and lodges located all around the island with amazing facilities and services like spa, golf, recreation centre, doctor on call and airport shuttle and much more. List of major hotels in Tortola include:

  • Frenchmans
  • Sugar Mill Hotel
  • Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina
  • Maria’s by the Sea
  • Rhymers Beach Hotel
  • The Tamarind Club
  • Nanny Cay Marina & Hotel
  • Fort Burt Hotel
  • Moorings Mariner Inn Hotel
  • Sea View Hotel
  • Elm Beach Suites
  • Village Cay Hotel
  • Lambert Beach Resort
  • The Heritage Inn
  • Sebastian’s on the Beach
  • Icis Villas

Best Tourist Places to Visit in Spanish Town, British Virgin Islands, America

Best Tourist Places to Visit in Spanish Town, British Virgin Islands, America

Spanish Town is the 2nd largest town on the British Virgin Islands located on the southern Virgin Gorda. It is the tourism and fishing based town offering distinctive shopping opportunities and numerous bareboat sailing activities every day. Spanish Town also called as the Valley is home to regional airport, Yacht Harbor Marina and a national park ‘The Baths’ which is in the south of the town.

 

History of Spanish Town:

It is believed that, Cornish miners were the first settlers of Spanish Town and now tourist can see remnants of boiler house, chimney and mine shafts from Cornish miners here. Spanish Town served as the capital of BVI until the capital shifted to Road Town in 1714.

 

How to reach Spanish Town?

Virgin Gorda Airport caters with air connectivity to all the settlements of Virgin Gorda Island including Spanish Town and it operates flights to Saint Thomas, San Juan, Saint Croix and Vieques, operated by Air Sunshine, Island Birds and Seaborne Airlines.

Spanish Town also has good connectivity with nearby islands by ferry services and the major ferry operators include:

  • Speedy’s
  • North Sound Express
  • Smith’s

To move within the town tourists can refer below tour operators to hire SUVs and taxis:

  • Mahogany Rentals
  • Speedy’s
  • L&S Jeep Rentals

 

Culture, Food and Shopping in Spanish Town:

Virgin Gorda Easter Festival is the major event held in Spanish Town with different activities such as calypso music, vendors and food fairs and much more.

There are plenty of options to enjoy your holidays in Spanish Town and shops are abundant, located all around the town. Traditional markets offer colorful products at reasonable prices.

The prime food corners in Virgin Gorda include:

  • LSL Bakery and Restaurant
  • Bitter End Yacht Club
  • Poor Man’s Place
  • Little Dix Bay Hotel

 

Things to do in Spanish Town:

  • Sun bath
  • Snorkeling
  • Swimming
  • Diving
  • Sviva Spa

 

Places of interest in Spanish Town:

The Baths National Park:

One of the most famous tourist attractions as well as landmark of BVI is the Baths National Park which is home to numerous big rocks which are useful to take rest. It was designated as a national park in 1990.

 

Spring Bay National Park:

Spring Bay National Park was announced as a national park in the year 1974. It includes benches, picnic areas and swings as well as 2.3ha of marvelous sandy beach with snorkeling opportunity.

 

Trunk Bay Beach:

Trunk Bay Beach is surrounded by a palm grove and a private estate situated on the western shore of Virgin Gorda. It is great to enjoy swimming and sunbathing here.

 

Other places of interest in Spanish Town are as follows:

  • Devil’s Bay National Park
  • Copper Mine National Park
  • Savannah Bay Beach
  • Little Fort National Park
  • Yacht Harbour
  • Virgin Gorda Airport
  • Little Dix Bay Beach
  • Taylors Bay Beach

 

Best time to visit Spanish Town:

The ending months of the year will be the ideal time to visit Spanish Town.

 

Accommodation options in and around Spanish Town:

Spanish Town is small but very colorful, neat, clean and pleasant region known for its resorts and hotels which offer latest amenities and services to tourists who come from the different regions of the world time to time. During peak season, hotels generally charge $300+ per night. List of prominent hotels in and around Spanish Town include:

  • Nail Bay Resort
  • Biras Creek Resort
  • Rosewood Little Dix Bay
  • Mango Bay Resort
  • Bitter End Yacht Club
  • Saba Rock Resort
  • Leverick Bay Resort
  • Fischer’s Cove Beach Hotel
  • Paradise Beach Resort
  • The Wheelhouse
  • Gordian Terrace
  • Mooney Bay Estate
  • Virgin Gorda Village
  • Amateras
  • Drake’s Anchorage Resort Inn

Tourist Places to Visit in Road Town, British Virgin Islands, America

Tourist Places to Visit in Road Town, British Virgin Islands, America

Road Town is the capital city of the British Virgin Islands situated on Tortola Island at 18°25′53″N 64°37′23″W. Wickham’s Cay in Road Town is the major commercial, tourism and administrative centre of BVI. HM Prison is the oldest building as well as one of the main landmarks of Road Town. The other landmarks include Old Government House, Harney Westwood & Riegels and the Old Post Office. The name of Road Town is taken from the Nautical Language term ‘the roads’.

 

Geography of Road Town:

Road Town is located on the Road Harbor at an altitude of 10 meters and it enjoys a tropical climate with maximum temperature of 32 °C during the summer months and 29 °C during the winter months.

 

Connectivity to Road Town:

Road Town has its own airport with connections to Saint Martin, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and Puerto Rico. Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport in Beef Island is the nearest international airport to Road Town located at a distance of 13 km.

Road Town houses the harbor of Tortola, served by Tortola ferry with connections to Saint Thomas and other nearby towns.

Locally buses are known as ‘safaris’ which are full-sized passenger vans and very helpful for airport travel and to reach neighboring towns. Also safaris are very cheaper than buses.

Culture, Food and Shopping in Road Town:

Most of the people residing in Road Town belong to Christian community who speak native languages along with official language English.

Road Town houses both traditional market and modern shopping centres which are located in the centre of the town. The major food corners in Road Town include:

  • The Road Town Bakery
  • Roti Palace
  • Indigo Moods
  • Serendipity Bookshop Cafe

 

Things to do Road Town:

  • Scuba diving
  • Turista Libre Private Tours
  • Shopping
  • Swimming

 

Places of interest in Road Town:

J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens:

J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens is the main attraction of Road Town, established in 1979 by British Virgin Islands National Trust, in the centre of the town. This stunning garden is home to different native and foreign plant species such as bougainvillea and hibiscus. Three-tiered fountain, orchid house and tropical bird house are watchable things in the garden.

 

Fort Burt:

Fort Burt is a Dutch colonial period fort which was constructed several hundred years ago and later it was reconstructed by British when they captured it from Dutch. Presently tourists can see the only ruins of the fort and Fort Burt Hotel and Restaurant adjoins ruins.

 

Queen Elizabeth II Park:

Queen Elizabeth II Park is a very ancient park, declared as a national park in 1974, houses lot of indigenous and foreign flowers, shrubs and trees including white cedar. The park is also home to children playground.

 

Other places of interest in Road Town are:

  • Folk History Museum
  • Main Street
  • Crafts Alive Market
  • Government House
  • Road Harbour
  • Sir Olva George’s Plaza
  • HMS Prison
  • St George’s Anglican Church
  • Sunday Morning Well
  • Wickham’s Cay
  • Virgin Islands Folk Museum
  • Methodist Church

 

Best time to visit Road Town:

The best months to visit Road Town will be September and November.

 

Accommodation options in Road Town:

Road Town houses most of the luxury accommodation centres of the BVI with upgraded world-class facilitates such as swimming pool, lounge, doctor on call, food on request, spa, recreational activities and airport shuttle. The prominent hotels and resorts in Road Town include:

  • Moorings Mariner Inn Hotel
  • Sea View Hotel
  • Hodge’s Creek Marina Hotel
  • Paradise Suites
  • Prospect Reef Resort
  • Cooper Island Beach Club
  • Hummingbird House
  • Elm Beach Suites
  • Village Cay Hotel
  • Villa Majesty
  • Hotel Castle Maria
  • Fort Recovery Beachfront Villa & Suites Hotel
  • Sebastian’s on the Beach
  • Maria’s by the Sea
  • Nanny Cay Marina & Hotel
  • Fort Burt Hotel

Places to Visit in Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, America

Places to Visit in Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, America

Beef Island is an island belonging to British Virgin Islands, a part of British overseas territory, well known for Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport situated towards the east of Tortola, the largest island of British Virgin Islands. Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is the major link between Beef Island and Tortola Island.

Trellis Bay (east of the airport) and Long Bay (west of the airport) are the two major settlements of Beef Island. Trellis Bay is small but houses a market, restaurants and a beautiful beach, the major tourist attractions of the island.

 

How to reach Beef Island?

Beef Island hosts a major international airport of British Virgin Islands with connection to Antigua, Sint Maarten, Santo Domingo, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia and Anguilla and many other domestic and international destinations and air services are catered by VI Air Link, Anguilla Air Services and BVI Airways.

Tourists can reach neighboring Tortola Island through roadway by car or taxi or bike over Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which is major connection between Tortola and Beef Islands. Enquire at local travel agencies for rental bike and car for local travel.

 

Food and Shopping in Beef Island:

Beef Island is home to restaurant, coffee shop, market and handicraft centres. The major food corners in and around Beef Island include:

  • Brandywine Estate Restaurant
  • BananaKeet Cafe
  • Dove Restaurant & Wine Bar
  • Cooper Island Beach Club
  • Sailor’s Rest Restaurant

 

Things to do in Beef Island:

  • Scuba diving
  • Fishing
  • Surfing
  • Windsurfing

 

Places of interest in Beef Island:

Long Bay Beach:

Long Bay is a spectacular beach offering enjoyable activities of swimming and surfing. White sand of the beach is ideal to take rest and to take part in other activities and tourists can rent surfing equipments at adjoining shops.

 

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge:

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge connects Beef Island with Tortola Island and is also a top sightseeing spot offering a great view of the sea. It was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966 and it was reconstructed in the year 2003.

 

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport:

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport serves all the islands of British Virgin Islands including Tortola Island, located in Beef Island. The construction of airport is really impressive.

 

Other places of interest in Beef Island are:

  • Lambert beach
  • North Shore Shell Museum
  • BVI Folk Museum
  • Fort Burt
  • Folk History Museum
  • Smith’s Ferry
  • Botanic gardens
  • Anegada Island
  • Rhone National Marine Park

 

Best time to visit Beef Island:

Throughout the year is best, especially the months of September and November will be ideal to visit Beef Island.

 

Accommodation options in Beef Island:

Beef Island is small but very beautiful, neat and pleasant island with different specialties. Because of its proximity with Tortola Island, tourists can refer hotels and resorts of Tortola Island for world class hospitality services. These two islands are connected by Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, taxis and cars are always available for travel. The prominent hotels and resorts in Beef Island and Tortola Island are listed here below:

  • Beef Island Guest House
  • Frenchmans
  • Sugar Mill Hotel
  • Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina
  • The Heritage Inn
  • Myett’s Garden and Grille
  • Fort Recovery Beachfront Villa & Suites Hotel
  • Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas
  • Sebastian’s on the Beach
  • Icis Villas
  • Maria’s by the Sea
  • Rhymers Beach Hotel
  • The Tamarind Club
  • Nanny Cay Marina & Hotel
  • Fort Burt Hotel
  • Moorings Mariner Inn Hotel
  • Sea View Hotel

 

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