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Tortola Travel Guide: 106 reviews and 284 photos
We arrived on Tortola by cruiseship on a beautiful, sunny, perfect day. As we approached the Road Town harbor and the island of Tortola, the highest deck of our ship gave us a perfect vantage point from which to view hundreds of moored sailboats bobbing on the clear, aquamarine sea, and green hills dotted with colorful houses which presented a breathtaking sight! Tortola, unlike some Caribbean Islands, is a very green island.
We could see immediately that there was no ship terminal and that a walk into downtown Road Town would be a long one. As it turns out, we never did see "downtown" Road Town as we had already booked a 4-hour island tour in an open-air, jitney bus, and the tour did not take us into downtown Road Town. Tortola is not the type of island that you can see alot of if you do not rent a car, or take an excursion or tour.
Both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands lie to the East of Puerto Rico. The main British Virgin Islands are made up of Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and many, many smaller islands, cays, rocks, etc. Tortola itself is closely surrounded by the small islands of Beef Island, Great Camanoe, Guana Island. Road Town looks almost directly at Peter Island to the south.
Tortola, like St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has some of the most beautiful bays and beaches in the world and there are a LOT of them! You've probably heard of Cane Garden Bay, Josiah's Bay, Frenchman's Cay, Brewer's Bay, etc., etc.,. They are gorgeous! Not all of the island is as prosperous or beautiful as what you see on first sight coming into the harbor! But the positives far out weigh the negatives. People with time and money on their hands continue to build homes in some of the best locations on the island.
Road Town has the great advantage of being a naturally sheltered and deep water harbor so it comes as no great surprise that it's a great place for docking cruise ships and can actually accommodate two cruise ships at once. Tortola also seems to attract other pleasure sailboats large & small from around the world. The Royal BVI Yacht Club at the Reef Road Marina is a spectacular sight; sailing and competitive sailing are part of the cultural & social scene of this island.
Tortola is still working on building a larger airport, but at this point in time, Tortola is still reachable only by boat/ship, ferry or on a non-direct flight via small aircraft from Puerto Rico or St. Thomas or other islands. Flights arrive at Beef Island at the Terrence B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS) airport.
The Virgin Islands were first discovered by the Amerindians, but it was Christopher Columbus who is given credit for "discovering" them on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. At different times the islands came under the domination of the Spanish, Dutch, French and Danes. Some sources say that the islands were originally named "Islas Virgines" when Columbus compared their beauty to St. Ursula, and the legendary 11,000 young virgins who followed her.
The infamous pirate "Blackbeard" aka Edward Teach, aka "Thatch" is also connected to Tortola, supposedly having used "Soper's Hole" as another of his havens around 1715 to 1718. Some believe that Great Thatch Island and Little Thatch Island may have been named for the scallywag.
Although there was some interest in mining on Virgin Gorda, the farming of sugar cane by the British, who had annexed the islands in 1672, became the chief interest in settlements there. Subsequently the exportation of sugar, molasses and rum became the major exports of the B.V.I. Today, tourism is the number 1 industry although small amounts of mangos, avocados, bananas, and sugar cane are still grown. As our tour guide/driver, Santa, would say, "That's the nature of these islands."
- Pros:Some of the most gorgeous beaches and bays in the world!
- Cons:Not as much to do as on some of the other islands!
Reviews (10)
Odds & Ends
Favorites
(1)
Some information which may be useful to the day traveler or those planning on a longer stay: The official language of... more travel advice
Reaching Tortola
Transportation
(1)
The British Virgin Islands have some of the most spectacular views anywhere in the Caribbean. Getting there is worth the... more travel advice
Located at Cane Garden Bay
Hotels
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We did not stay on the island of Tortola because we arrived by cruise ship. But one of the few places we saw which had... more travel advice
Roaming Livestock
Local Customs
(1)
One local custom that seems to be common on many Caribbean islands is the practice of letting livestock roam about... more travel advice
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Comments (18)
Sylvia, brilliant photos and great commentaries about this gem of the British Virgin Islands. Have a lovely weekend.
Hi Sylvia..once again well written informative tips with good pics...and yes..you can usually tell what people are like by the way that they treat their animals the burro reminded me of so many I've seen when travelling..
Enjoyed reading the story about the poor burro - I hope he diod get fed...and this is another awesome place you've been too...Norman :)
Detailed, informative pages. This is a wonderful example of what's available via cruises. The open-air bus tour sounds excellent. Breathtaking beaches. Your tips are always topnotch and so star-worthy.
An interesting & informative page , Sylvia. Anegada looks like a great diving spot. And the Bomba!! Wow-must be fun at party time.Pity about the unfriendly service.
Excellent page with a lot of information!
Great tips on Tortola, thanks for sharing and enjoy your travels!
Tortola seems to be a nice place but too bad you met unfriendly peoples! Wow, tea spiked with hallucinogenic mushrooms !… In Montenegro, there are also plenty of caws wandering freely along (and across !) the roads
Great page, Syliva. I will definitely refer back to it as I plan for our trip! :-)
Looks like an idyllic place to be, except for some surly locals. Lovely views and interesting tips. Wish I could visit the place!
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