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THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Pristine white-sand beaches, a rich history and culture, and breathtaking landscapes make the British Virgin Islands one of the Caribbean’s preeminent real estate investment opportunities. The agents at Caribbean Real Estate Showcase want to share the unique culture that is the British Virgin Islands and show you how to make the most of your real estate investment here. Near the many spectacular harbors in Tortola or along the more secluded beaches of Virgin Gorda, luxury villas provide you a retreat and investment unmatched in the Caribbean. Vacation villas and rental villas are also available here as well as Tortola and the smaller Jost van Dyke to the north. Whether it’s a luxury villa you want for you and your family’s vacations or a rental villa to boost your income, the agents at Caribbean Real Estate Showcase will be your guide in your quest for the perfect Caribbean real estate investment in the beautiful British Virgin Islands.
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Overview
With the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands form the Virgin Islands Archipelago. The British Virgin Islands are located at 18 30 North latitude and 64 30 West longitude. All together about 60 islands make up the British Virgin Islands; approximately 15 of them are inhabited. There are also many islets and cays that are considered part of the BVI. The British Virgin Islands have a total area of just over 150 square miles.
The main islands in the British Virgin Islands are Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost van Dyke. Tortola is the largest and most inhabited island in the British Virgin Islands. Its name means “Turtle Dove” in Spanish. Anegada, which means the “Drowned Land,” earned its name from Spanish explorers because it is not a volcanic island but one that lies flat due to its coral and limestone composition. Christopher Columbus thought Virgin Gorda looked like a woman lying down or reclining, so he gave it the name Virgin Gorda, or “Fat Virgin.” Jost van Dyke, the smallest of the four main islands in the British Virgin Islands, takes its name from 17-century Dutch privateer Joost van Dyk.
The British Virgin Islands are located northeast of the U.S. Virgin Islands and are only about 30 minutes away by ferry. They are a premiere Caribbean destination for yachters, beach enthusiasts, snorkelers, fishermen, windsurfers and divers.
History
Amerindian peoples may have been the first group to inhabit the British Virgin Islands. The Arawaks, who were from South America, settled the islands by about 100 BC. By the 15th century, the Caribs, who resided in the Lesser Antilles, took control of the British Virgin Islands from the Arawaks.
During his second expedition to the New World, Christopher Columbus sailed past the British Virgin Islands. Columbus named them the “Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes,” or “Saint Ursula and her 11, 000 Virgins.” The name was later shortened to “Las Virgenes,” or simply “The Virgins.”
Europeans began to explore the islands in the early 16th century. Englishman John Hawkins made several stops in the British Virgin Islands during his voyages in the Caribbean. Francis Drake followed Hawkins with explorations in the 1580s and 1590s.
Joost van Dyk, a Dutch privateer, founded the first permanent settlement in the British Virgin Islands sometime around 1615. Joost van Dyk established Road Town by 1625 and stayed there until the Spanish drove him out in September of that year because of van Dyk’s support of the siege on San Juan, Puerto Rico. Two islands in the northwestern area of the British Virgin Islands bear his name.
The Dutch later tried to mine copper on Virgin Gorda in the eastern part of the islands. The Spanish attacked the Dutch settlements at Tortola several times in the 1640s, wiping out much of the colony. The British privateer John Wentworth raided the Dutch at Tortola in 1665.
British forces took over the British Virgin Islands in 1672. Though the Dutch continued throughout the remainder of the 17th century to reclaim and recover the islands, the British never relinquished them. The population of the British Virgin Islands remained very small throughout this period.
Like many of its other colonies in the Caribbean, the British cultivated sugar in the British Virgin Islands. They used slave labor. Slaves had been in the British Virgin Islands since at least the mid-17th century. Britain abolished slavery in 1834 throughout all of its territories.
The British Virgin Islands’ sugarcane industry began to decline after the abolition of slavery. Several powerful hurricanes later in the century hastened the end of sugar as a cash crop and led many British planters to abandon their lands and sugar cultivation.
The islands did not have a legislative body of government in place until January 1774. Many observers commented on the lack of order and lawlessness that characterized the islands into the 19th century. Quakers established a settlement in the British Virginia Islands in 1727 and stayed for more than forty years. From 1872 to 1960, the British Virgin Islands were part of Britain’s Leeward Islands.
The Dutch owned the islands to the southwest of the British Virgin Islands that in 1917 became the U.S. Virgin Islands when the United States of America purchased them. The British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands have enjoyed a good relationship over the 20th century.
Britain administered the British Virgin Islands as part of the Leeward Islands from 1833 to 1960. The Leeward Island government during this time also included other Caribbean nations such as Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Antigua. The British Virgin Islands became an autonomous nation within the British Commonwealth in 1967.
Government
The British Virgin Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom but governs itself in what is a constitutional democracy. Queen Elizabeth II of England technically is the head of state, but she is represented in the islands by a governor.
An Executive Council advises the governor and is the uppermost level of policy making for the government of the British Virgin Islands. The Executive Council includes the Chief Minister, whom the Governor appoints from the members of the Legislative Council, who themselves are elected. The governor also appoints two to three other ministers from the Legislative Council who serve on the Executive Council. The Governor is not a member of the Executive Council but does preside over its meetings.
The legislative branch of the British Virgin Islands is the Legislative Council, which is comprised of 13 members. Four members are elected across the entire BVI; the other nine are chosen by district. The Legislative Council makes laws for the islands. Members serve no longer than a four-year term. The Chief Minister can call for new elections by dissolving the Legislative Council.
The British Virgin Islands’ judicial branch is broken down into an Appeal Court, a High Court, a Magistrate Court and an Office of the Registrar of the High Court. The Appeal and High Courts are connected to the Organization of Easter Caribbean States, or OECS, where the British Virgin Islands have had membership since the 1980s.
Statutory agencies such as the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board or the British Virgin Islands Social Security Board administer specific areas related to the government or commerce of the islands.
Road Town on the island of Tortola is the capital city of the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands drafted and put a new constitution in place in 2007 known as the Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007. It replaced a constitution in effect since 1976.
Political parties on the British Virgin Islands include the National Democratic Party (NDP), the United Party (UP), and the Virgin Islands Party (VIP).
Economy
The British Virgin Islands boast one of the Caribbean’s most thriving economies. Like so many other nations in the Caribbean Islands, tourism plays a huge role in the British Virgin Islands. More than 800,000 tourists traveled to the British Virgin Islands in 2005.
Along with tourism, the other important parts of the British Virgin Islands’ economy are offshore banking, financial services and company registration. More than 500,000 companies were included in the BVI registry at the close of the year 2004.
Agricultural operations center on livestock and poultry farming along with cultivation of fruit, vegetables, and some sugar cane. Industry accounts for a very small percentage of the British Virgin Islands’ economy, but those that have some presence on the islands include rum distilling, concrete block manufacturing, and boat construction.
Money
The British Virgin Islands have used the United States dollar as their legal currency since 1959.
Demographics
The population of the British Virgin Islands is approximately 28,000. Some 40% of the population resides in urban areas. More than 83% of the islands’ residents are black, 7% are white, and the remaining 10% includes Indian and mixed races.
Most residents of the British Virgin Islands reside on Tortola. Only about 200 people live on Jost Van Dyke.
Protestantism is the most popular religion, claiming some 86% of the islands’ residents. Roman Catholics account for 10% of the population.
The British Virgin Islands’ main airport is the Terrence B. Lettsome Airport. It is located on Beef Island, which is a small island off Tortola’s east end. The airport used to be known as the Beef Island Airport.
Language
English is the official language of the British Virgin Islands. Some Spanish is spoken on the islands.
Medical Services
Peebles Hospital in the capital on Tortola is the main hospital for the British Virgin Islands. It is a small hospital, but it has an emergency room. There is one clinic on Virgin Gorda and a number of them on Tortola. Persons with major medical problems usually seek treatment or are taken to nearby hospitals at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands or San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Climate, Geography and Weather
The British Virgin Islands have a typical Caribbean climate: subtropical moderated by trade winds.
The average temperature is the British Virgin Islands fluctuates between 77 degrees in the winter months and about 83 degrees in the summer months. Like other Caribbean islands, the British Virgin Islands do not get a large amount of rainfall.
Tortola is the largest island in the British Virgin Islands. It is 12 miles in length running east to west and about 3 miles wide running north to south. Anegada is the British Virgin Islands’ second largest island at 11 miles by 3 miles. Virgin Gorda is the third largest island in the British Virgin Islands; it encompasses some 8 ½ miles.
The Sir Francis Drake Channel runs between Tortola and Virgin Gorda. South of it are a number of small but well known islands in the BVI, including Norman Island, Peter Island, Salt Island, Cooper Island and Ginger Island.
The Anegada Passage is a stretch of water running off Virgin Gorda’s east coast north towards the island of Anegada. Off Virgin Gorda’s northwest coast lies the small group of islands known as the Dogs.
The North Atlantic Ocean is north of Jost Van Dyke and Tortola. The Caribbean Sea is south of Tortola and Virgin Gorda. The U.S. Virgin Islands are southwest of Tortola and the Sir Francis Drake Channel.
The islands in the British Virgin Islands are all volcanic with the exception of Anegada, which is made of coral. Mount Sage on Tortola, which rises about 1750 feet, is the highest point in the British Virgin Islands.
Recreation
“Limin’” is a tradition in the British West Indies that means relaxing, hanging out, just enjoying the beaches and other island pastimes.
As in most Caribbean islands, beaches are a huge attraction for tourists and locals. Popular beaches along Tortola include Apple Bay Beach, Brewer’s Bay Beach, and Elizabeth Beach at Lambert Bay, which has exquisite white sands and amazing views. The beach at Cane Garden Bay on Tortola is also home to some of the best night clubs and restaurants on the island. For those who want some privacy, Smuggler’s Cove on the western tip of Tortola offers pristine, clear waters and much seclusion.
Beachgoers heading to Virgin Gorda will want to take in the Baths National Park, where small pools formed by boulders provide a special complement to the beautiful sands and rich marine life. Devil’s Bay beach also has boulders and stunning white sands. A spectacular reef and a little more privacy await beachgoers at Mahoe Bay on Virgin Gorda. Other popular beaches on Virgin Gorda include Spring Bay, Trunk Bay and Savannah Bay, which may be the prettiest beach on Virgin Gorda.
The White Bay Beach on Jost Van Dyke has garnered all sorts of accolades as one of the best beaches in the Caribbean Islands and indeed the world. It features a huge reef that is a favorite for snorkelers and several exciting bars. Beachgoers and snorkelers alike will enjoy Sandy Cay and Sandy Spit Beach on Jost Van Dyke.
Anegada’s beaches include Loblolly Bay, which offers seclusion along with several fine beach bars and dining establishments. Flash of Beauty Beach is good for beaching and snorkeling and has charming conch shells that children and adults will enjoy.
Tortola has become one of the Caribbean’s premier places for yachting. Soper’s Hole Wharf & Marina is a first-class marina offering boating facilities and services, shops, restaurants and other amenities. Trellis Bay near the airport at Beef Island is a popular stopping point for sailboats.
Fishing is one of the British Virgin Islands’ most popular recreational activities. Many of the fish here are also caught in other Caribbean islands, such as marlin, wahoo, tarpon and bonefish. Both deep sea and fly fishing are available on the British Virgin Islands. A number of charter fishing services offer half and full day fishing trips throughout the British Virgin Islands.
Tortola offers a number of excellent surfing spots, including Josiah’s Bay and Cane Garden Bay on the North Shore. On Tortola’s west side, surfers enjoy Apple Bay and Bomba’s, where a nearby bar has the locals’ favorite party each month known as the Full Moon and Friday evening fish fries. The best surfing conditions on the British Virgin Islands are usually between November and March.
Like so many other Caribbean destinations, the British Virgin Islands offer great snorkeling. Cam Bay, off the island of Great Camanoe on Tortola’s northeast tip, entices snorkelers with its reefs and lagoons, where fish and marine formations abound. Snorkelers can take a small boat to Devil’s Bay National Park along Virgin Gorda’s southwestern end and tie up there to enjoy its snorkeling opportunities. Spring Bay off Virgin Gorda is also a popular snorkeling site where tourists can tie up small boats.
Scuba divers might want to try out the Mercurious Rock diving site off Little Tobago/Great Tobago National Park. The waters around the small islands known as the Dogs near Virgin Gorda are also excellent diving sites featuring colorful fish and coral reefs.
Kayakers will delight in the British Virgin Islands’ many islands, islets and lagoons, which feature beautiful scenery and stunning plant and animal life. Windsurfers travel to the British Virgin Islands every summer to compete in the Highland Spring HIHO Windsurfing and Sailing Adventure. The event will celebrate its 25th year in 2009.
Shopping, Dining, Night Life
Beaches and watersports are not the only excitements the British Virgin Islands offer. Shopping, dining and dancing late into the Caribbean night are also mainstays of the British Virgin Islands.
Main Street in the capital city of Road Town on Tortola is a prime destination for shopping in the British Virgin Islands. The A.H. Riise Rolex Boutique in Road Town has perhaps the Caribbean’s best assortment of Rolex and Tudor watches. Fine jewelry is available at Colombian Emeralds, D’Zandra’s, and Jewels and Azura in Road Town. Flamboyance offers perfumes at locations in Tortola and Virgin Gorda.
HIHO, who sponsors the windsurfing championships each year, has fine Caribbean clothing at its shop in Road Town. Other apparel stores include Latitude 180 and BVI Apparel Factory Outlet Stores.
Art galleries include Aragorn’s Studio at Trellis Bay, Bamboushay Pottery Studio on Nanny Cay, Caribbean Landscapes at Little Apple Bay and The Gallery on Main Street in Road Town.
Visitors to the British Virgin Islands will find unique shops at both Trellis Bay and Saba Rock Nautical Museum and Gift Shop. The latter features objects recovered from the Wreck of the Rhone diving site and other Caribbean shipwrecks. The shops at The Wharf at Soper’s Hole are also excellent shopping spots in the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands abound in restaurants offering exquisite Caribbean flair. The historic Fort Burt Hotel near Road Town offers great cuisine overlooking the spectacular Road Harbor. Sugar Mill Hotel at Soper’s Hole is an upscale restaurant serving favorites from the British Virgin Islands and Caribbean.
At Little Harbor on Jost Van Dyke, Sidney’s Peace and Love serves up Lobster caught off the Anegada reef and prepared according to an old Caribbean tradition. Ali Baba’s has pig roasts on Monday nights. The Soggy Dollar Bar is also a local favorite on Jost Van Dyke.
Popular beach restaurants include Myett’s Garden & Grille along the white sands of Cane Garden Bay. Pusser’s Pub is a waterfront bar in the center of Road Town serving great beers and Caribbean rum. Quito’s Gazebo in Cane Garden Bay is also a favorite spot on Tortola that features live music and dancing, including reggae music. Quito’s has a character all its own in a special setting.
The Caribbean nightlife comes alive on the British Virgin Islands with music and dancing. The sounds of fungi and steel bands can often be heard through the streets of Tortola. Fungi is a style of music only heard on the British Virgin Islands and uses instruments like gourds, washboards and other homemade devices.
Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke has the only microbrewery in the British Virgin Islands. Foxy’s serves up tasty Caribbean dishes and is one of the BVI’s best places for live music and dancing. Proprietor Foxy Callwood can be heard singing his own Calypso ballads there on a regular basis.
Cultural and Historical Sites
Those who want to explore the early colonial history of the British Virgin Islands will want to see Fort Recovery and Fort Burt on Tortola. Built by the Dutch in the mid-17th century, Fort Recovery is the oldest structure standing in the British Virgin Islands. The Dutch also built the first fort at Fort Burt, but it was rebuilt by the English when they took over the BVI. It was named for William Burt, who was the English Governor of the Leeward Islands. Its foundations, magazine and original canon offer a glimpse into the interesting history of the islands and their Dutch-English origins.
The Dungeon, situated near Road Town and built at the end of the 18th century, features an underground cell. The Powder House at Little Fort National Park on Virgin Gorda is a historical ruin connected to a Spanish site.
Other important historical and cultural sites on Tortola include the Kingstown Church, which was part of a community established by freed slaves in 1833, shortly before Britain abolished slavery. St. Phillips Anglican Church, built in 1840, was believed to have been constructed for freed slaves as well. The Sunday Morning Well site on Tortola commemorates the end of slavery in the British Virgin Islands.
Mount Healthy National Park contains remnants of a colonial sugar plantation, including a stone windmill, and offers insights into slave life on the British Virgin Islands during the colonial period. Botantic Station on Tortola is also a site related to the history of sugar.
The history of the rum industry can be explored at the Callwood Rum Distillery at Cane Garden Bay, where visitors can also get a sample of rum. The old sugar factory at Josiah Bay today is home to a rum distillery opened in the early 20th century. Visitors there will find a nice restaurant, art gallery and shop.
For those interested in architectural history, a visit to Thornton Plantation on Tortola showcases the birthplace of architect William Thornton, who designed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. There are also the remains of the Thornton family sugar factor on this site.
One of the British Virgin Islands’ most fascinating and beautiful spots is the old Copper Mine on Virgin Gorda. It presents a breathtaking view of the Atlantic and has artifacts from the Cornish miners who worked the lands in the mid-19th century. Stone walls from an old Spanish fort can still be seen at Little Fort National Park on Virgin Gorda.
Vestiges of the Arawaks’ amazing history may be found in the East End on Anegada, where thousand year old conch burial mounds remain. The stone walls that survive at the Settlement on Anegada also offer insights into the interesting colonial history of the British Virgin Islands. The Anegada museum has exhibitions on shipwrecks, canons and other elements of its history.
A preservation society on Jost Van Dyke currently is involved in building a replica of a Tortola sloop. Tourists can find an original, 25-foot Tortola sloop at Vigilant. Tortola is also home to the British Virgin Islands’ Folk Museum and the Government House, a building constructed in the early 20th century that once was the residence of the Governor but is now a historic site that provides guided tours and has a museum. Those interested in maritime history will also want to explore the Virgin Islands Maritime Museum at Paraquita Bay on Tortola.
Wildlife, Marine Life, and Flora and Fauna
The British Virgin Islands offer some of the Caribbean’s most diverse and fascinating wild life, marine life geological formations, plants and flowers.
Horseshoe Reef, which surrounds Anegada, is the Eastern Caribbean’s third largest continuous reef. It runs for an amazing 39 miles. The Baths, located on the north side of Virgin Gorda, is a spectacular geological formation of granite boulders and accompanying sea pools. Boulders are also part of the landscapes preserved at the National Park at Shark Bay along Brewer’s Bay, Tortola and at Spring Bay, Virgin Gorda, where the boulders actually make a natural enclosed pool known as the Crawl.
The Turtle Dove is the national bird of the British Virgin Islands. The Oleandor is the national bird of the British Virgin Islands. The White Cedar is the National Tree of the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands have a total of 28 national parks. They showcase the BVI’s beautiful lands, marine life, tropical forests, shipwrecks and bird and wildlife habitats.
The Prickly Pear National Park on the island of Prickly Pear offers spectacular plants and trees, including cacti and white, black and red mangroves. The park is also an excellent venue for beach goers, snorkelers and hikers.
The 265-acre Gorda Peak National Park on Virgin Gorda features an array of tropical and exotic plant life. At Road Town, visitors can take in the four acres of pristine gardens that make the J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens some of the best gardens in all of the Caribbean Islands.
One of the Caribbean’s best dive sites is at Rhone Marine Park on Salt Island. The Wreck of the Rhone is the remains of a Royal Mail Steamer which went down during a hurricane in 1867. The wreck stretches more than 300 feet long and 40 feet wide and preserves many original parts of the ship. The park also includes the site where the anchor of the Royal Mail Steamer ended up after breaking away, which is at Great Harbor on Peter Island.
One of the British Virgin Islands pristine bird watching spots is Diamond Cay off Long Bay on Jost Van Dyke. Birds observed there include pelicans, boobies and tern. At the Fallen Jerusalem National Park on the island of Fallen Jerusalem, birdwatchers can find the red-billed tropic bird, which is endangered, along with noddies, and brown pelicans and brown boobies. The National Park at Little Tobago/Great Tobago has the distinction of being the only nesting habitat throughout the British Virgin Islands for the frigate bird. Cam Bay National Park’s salt pond is another great spot for bird watching in the British Virgin Islands.
Sage Mountain National Park on Tortola has the tallest point in the British Virgin Islands. Its beautiful views are matched by amazing plant life including white cedars, kapok trees, and elephant ears. There is a wildlife preserve at Little Fort National Park on Virgin Gorda.
Fruits that grow on the British Virgin Islands include bananas, mangos, and key limes.
Festivals and Events
A three-day holiday following the first Monday in August celebrates the 1834 abolition of slavery in the British Virgin Islands and the British Empire as a whole. Known as the BVI Emancipation Festival, this favorite event celebrates its 55th anniversary in 2009 and is packed with music, parades, and other special events.
During the Christmas season, Main Street in Tortola comes alive with music, parties, and foods from local shop owners and vendors. Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda has a similar Christmas celebration. The world renowned New Year’s Eve bash on Jost Van Dyke attracts sailors, movie and television personalities, and other famous people who bring in the new year with spectacular parties along the small island’s stunning beaches.
February and March are time for regattas in the British Virgin Islands. The Dark and Stormy Regatta, the Sweethearts of the Caribbean, and the Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival are held annually in the British Virgin Islands and attract sailors from around the world. Foxy’s bar on Jost Van Dyke is the scene for an annual wooden boat regatta.
The renowned J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens hosts a flower show every year. The Easter Festival takes place on Virgin Gorda each year and includes parades, beauty pageants and music. Fishermen come to Spanish Town each spring to try their luck in the annual fishing Jamboree and Wahoo tournament.
Musicians and music lovers around the world flock to Cane Garden Bay on Tortola every year for the British Virgin Islands Music Festival, which takes place around Memorial Day weekend.
Scuba enthusiasts enjoy the annual Wreck Week, which combines diving on hundreds of wreck sites with music, dancing, and parties.
Late June and early July are time for the Highland Spring HIHO windsurfing races, which draw the top windsurfers from around the world to the British Virgin Islands.
Territory Day commemorates July 1, 1956 and is a public holiday.
Radio
ZBVI 780 AM Road Town
ZJKC Isle 95/WJKC 95.1
Links
Vacation Tortola
http://www.vacationtortola.com
British Virgin Islands
http://www.britishvirginislands.com/
British Virgin Islands Tourist Board & Film Commission
http://www.bvitourism.com/
The British Virgin Islands Welcome
http://www.bviwelcome.com/
British Virgin Islands Online Travel Guide
http://www.b-v-i.com/
Soper’s Hole Wharf & Marina
http://www.sopershole.com/
Foxy’s Bar
http://foxysbar.com/home.html
Limin’ Times
http://www.limin-times.com/
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Caribbean Real Estate Showcase is a division of Caribbean Villa Owners Association. 877-248-2862 804-693-5216 804-693-4856 | |||||||||
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