For those who like to speed or sail around the Caribbean, Tortola offers 21 total marinas and moorings. According to the official website of the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board, five of these are protected anchorages where you can tie up and enjoy the views, have a picnic or take a swim. Most of these marinas offer full services for boaters and many have onsite restaurants, resorts or lodges. The five considered most "ideal for boaters" by the Tourist Board are Brandywine Bay, Cane Garden Bay, Hodge's Creek Marina Cay, Soper's Hole and Trellis Bay.
The island's waters are also great for fishing and for $10, you can acquire a one-month fishing permit. While spear-fishing is strictly prohibited, line fishing is allowed in most places outside marine parks. Catch-and-release fishing is encouraged due to ciguatera disease's prevalence in many of the reef fish, but there are many fish that are safe.
Most of the island's marinas and moorings have beautiful beaches nearby, including Cane Garden Bay, but the Tourist Board recommends Apple Bay, Brewer's Bay, Elizabeth Beach, Josiah's Bay Beach, Long Bay Beach and Smuggler's Cove for secluded, palm-shaded beaches that offer perfect conditions for swimming and snorkeling. The waters are clear and many of the beaches are protected from ocean waves. Below the water, coral reefs attract a great variety of sea life.
For beginner scuba divers, shallow seas and sandy bottoms around Tortola offers great places to start by snorkeling. Tortola is also quieter and less crowded than many Caribbean islands, making your dive experience more enjoyable.
For advanced divers, Tortola offers coral reefs, pinnacles and shipwrecks...and more than 100 dive sites. The wreck of the Rhone is considered by many to be one of the best dive sites in the world. The wreck of the Chikuzen is also off Tortola. When diving, there's a good chance you'll see everything from sponges and turtles to eel and sharks.
There are many centuries-old places to visit on Tortola for those into history. Fort Burt is a 17th century Dutch fort located in the capital of Road Town. It was first built on a hill to overlook the harbor as a defense mechanism and was rebuilt by the English in 1776. Now, it's an historic ruin, free and open daily to the public.
The Callwood Distillery is an historic rum distillery with many original structures still standing and the original boiler still operating. If you're a fan of rum, this is a must-see site.
Recovery Fort was built in the 1640s as a military gun post. The ruins are the oldest on the island.
Tortola is awash with antiquities. Just walking down Main Street, you'll see a post office from the mid-1800s and St. Phillips Anglican Church, circa 1840.
If you like cool indoor spaces, the Government House, Virgin Island Folk Museum and North Shore Shell Museum are all great places to visit in Tortola. With many historic artifacts and unique histories, these places are great options for rainy days.
Zion Hill Chapel and St. Phillips Church are historical churches also worth a visit. St. Phillips was the first church built for liberated Africans in all the Americas and Zion Hill is a great example of West Indian simplicity.
A great aspect of a Tortola vacation is the proximity of mountains to beaches. You can spend one day in the waves and the next in the rain forest. Yes, Tortola has remnants of a primeval rain forest in Sage Mountain National Park.
For those who aren't keen on the tourist thing, up in the mountains you'll get the chance to see true Caribbean life. Farms, settlements and churches reflect a rural, simple feel.
J.R. O'Neal Botanic Gardens, real deal at just $3 as of March 2011, offers four acres of flowers and animals to captivate anyone who loves beauty. The gardens include a miniature rain forest, cactus garden, palm grove with more than 62 species, turtle pond and tropical bird house.
