Planning a Trip

Before you go, contact the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board, 1270 Broadway, Suite 705, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 800/835-8530 or 212/696-0400). Other branches of the British Virgin Islands Information Office are located at 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1202, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (tel. 213/736-8931), and at 1275 Shiloh Rd., Suite 2930, Kennesaw, GA 30144 (tel. 770/874-5951). In the United Kingdom, contact the B.V.I. Information Office, 15 Upper Grosvenor St., London W1K 7PJ (tel. 207/355-9585).

The tourist board's official website is www.bvitourism.com.

Currency Note -- The British Virgin Islands use the U.S. dollar as their form of currency. British pounds are not accepted.

Getting There

Your gateway to the B.V.I. will most likely be either Tortola or Virgin Gorda. Supplies and services on the other islands are extremely limited.

By Plane -- There are no direct flights from North America or Europe to Tortola or any of the British Virgin Islands, but you can make easy connections from St. Thomas, St. Croix, or San Juan in Puerto Rico. Beef Island, the site of the major airport serving the British Virgin Islands, is connected to Tortola by the one-lane Queen Elizabeth Bridge.

American Eagle (tel. 800/433-7300 in the U.S.; www.aa.com) has at least four daily flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the airport at Beef Island. San Juan is serviced by dozens of daily nonstop flights from cities in North America, including Boston, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Miami, and Raleigh-Durham. You can also fly American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) to St. Thomas, then hop on an American Eagle flight to Tortola. Air Sunshine (tel. 800/327-8900 or 284/495-8900; www.airsunshine.com) flies from San Juan or St. Thomas to Beef Island (connected to Tortola) and on to Virgin Gorda.

Another choice, if you're on one of Tortola's neighboring islands, is the much less reliable LIAT (tel. 888/844-5428 within the Caribbean, or 284/495-1187; www.liatairline.com). This Caribbean carrier makes short hops to Tortola from Antigua and St. Maarten in small planes not known for their careful scheduling.

Flying time to Tortola from San Juan is 30 minutes; from St. Thomas, 15 minutes; and from the most distant of the LIAT hubs (Antigua), 60 minutes. There's also a small airport on Virgin Gorda.

By Ferry -- You can travel from Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas) by public ferry to Road Town on Tortola, a 45-minute voyage. Boats making this run include Native Son (tel. 284/495-4617; www.nativesonbvi.com), Smith's Ferry Services (tel. 284/495-4495; www.smithsferry.com), and Inter-Island Boat Services (tel. 284/495-4166). The latter specializes in a somewhat obscure routing -- that is, from St. John to the West End on Tortola. One-way and round-trip fares range from $25 to $49.

Getting Around

By Boat -- On Tortola, Smith's Ferry (tel. 284/495-4495; www.smithsferry.com) and Speedy's Fantasy (tel. 284/495-5240) operate ferry links to the Virgin Gorda Yacht Club (a 30-min. trip). The North Sound Express (tel. 284/495-2138), near the airport on Beef Island, has daily connections to the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda. Peter Island Boat (tel. 284/495-2000) also shuttles passengers between Road Town on Tortola and Peter Island at least seven times a day. The ferry cost for both round-trip and one-way is $15.

By Car, Bus or Taxi -- There are car-rental agencies on Virgin Gorda and Tortola; flat-fare taxis also operate on these islands, as well as on some of the smaller ones. Bus service is available on Tortola and Virgin Gorda only.