The British Virgin Islands are best known for perfect sailing conditions, but they also have more than 100 dive sites well worth an underwater visit. While the BVI may not have walls or drift diving, The British Virgin Islands have a wide variety of exotic dive sites with countless reefs, towering coral pinnacles, underwater caves, lava tunnels, canyons, massive boulders and grottoes. The BVI have a choice of dive sites that range from the novice snorkeler the experienced scuba diver. Not only does the dive sites boast dramatic sea caverns and extraordinary shipwrecks and ir temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit year-round but visibility may reach more than 100 feet.
A marine park system and mooring buoy program administered by the National Parks Trust and the Ministry of Natural Resources are dedicated to the preservation of reefs and marine life.
Exploring the BVI underwater havens is in itself extraordinary. Land-based divers can lodge at world-class resorts, quiet villas or campgrounds. . For those who wish to make diving and boating the focus of their holiday, the options range from adventurous to luxurious. Guided tours of Smuggler’s Cove on Tortola, Great Dog Island, Blonde Rock, or dozens of other sites are one possibility.
In the British Virgin Islands, there is much to explore with just a snorkel and mask at one of the many incomparable dive sites around 60 islands and cays. For adventure-seekers, many fascinating shipwrecks lie scattered across the ocean floor. If you’re a novice, choose from sheltered wrecks like the Rokus off the southeast tip of Anegada, or the Chikuzen off Tortola’s East End, a 268-foot steel-hulled refrigerator ship blessed with visibility so good you can stand on the bow and see all the way to the stern. More advanced divers can explore the Rhone off Salt Island, a British mail ship sunk in a storm in 1867, generally recognized as the best dive site in the Caribbean.
VIRGIN GORDA - Spring Bay in Virgin Gorda has a gorgeous sandy beach perfect for snorkeling. Nearby at The Baths, an extraordinary natural landscape awaits, with partially submerged grottoes created by huge boulders that were scattered by ancient volcanic activity. Snorkelers can tour giant boulder fields or immerse themselves in coral-encrusted shallows.
TORTOLA - Brewer’s Bay on Tortola holds schools of trumpet fish, barracuda, octopus, stingrays and sergeant majors, and Smuggler’s Cove at the northwest end of the island, offers two reefs, just 100 feet offshore, which are the playground of grunts, squirrel fish and parrot fish.
ANEGADA - Off Anegada, the wreck of the Parmatta, which ran aground in 1853 on her maiden voyage, provides an opportunity to see butterfly fish, turtles and huge groupers.
OTHER ISLANDS - A tank and a regulator will allow for a closer look at the region’s numerous coral gardens, many in less than 30 feet of warm aquamarine waters. The Caves at Norman Island are rumored to have been the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure tale Treasure Island. At Joe’s Cave, an underwater cavern on West Dog Island, divers can swim alongside giant grouper, eagle rays or flowing schools of glassy sweepers. The Chimney at Great Dog Island near Virgin Gorda reveals a coral archway and canyon covered with a wide variety of sponges and coral, including the rare white variety.
Swarms of schooling jacks circle the tops of submerged sea-mounts that rise from the depths to within a few feet of the surface. Divers can explore crevices and undercut ledges as they spiral down to depths approaching 100 feet, perhaps catching a glimpse of a tarpon, amberjack, turtle, or shark, and listening for the songs of migrating whales.
If you want to "try" to see the whale migration (whales permitting!), go between late December and early April, stay in the North Sound area, and do advanced dives in open waters north of Virgin Gorda at the Chikuzen and Invisibles. The most likely months to see whales is during February and March when they have babies and must travel on or near the surface.
Courtesy of britishvirginislands.com
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