Virgin Islands Travel Blog

Traveling to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the US Virgin Islands (USVI)…. Two-for-one.

The last of the Leeward Islands for me to visit..  The far north of the Caribbean Lesser Antilles - Part 4.

I arrive in Tortola, BVI via a difficult full-day, 4 island hop transfer.  Starting in St. Lucia,,, crisscrossing the Caribbean.  Amazingly,  my luggage arrives with me!!!  Take a deep breathe Bruce.. your alive - and made it out of another tin can !!

Beef Island, EIS airport - connected by a land bridge to Tortola.. I’m in the Virgins.  I find a taxi transfer into Road Town – the capital and largest town.

After immagration -- a dispatcher asks if I need a taxi – yes I do…  easy pizzy,,,, a fixed price taxi transfer - $25 - even though it’s 10pm.  Immediately  it’s clear  this island is Westernized.  Developed good roads and modern cars. Nice buildings. Working streetlights.  Tortola is small ,, but nothing like the ‘poor cousin’ island-nations to the south.

The Virgins are a cluster of tiny islands – divided between US and UK – officially territories.  Territories or not.. they are each have their own tight immigration, taxes on arrival, passport stamps, online entry apps,, and make their own rules when they feel the need. Be prepared.

I’ve arranged 2 nights at the Fort Burt Hotel,  just at the edge of town – Road Town. It’s reasonably priced.. most hotels in the Virgins are a fortune.  Fort Burt turns out great.  Breakfast available!!! Lira the old woman cook/waitress seems to run the place 😊  I loved her vibe.   This is the first hotel I’ve had for a month that has a kitchen!!!  I feel like a king.

I’m here to dive.  Booked aboard the BVI Aggressor – another live aboard scuba dive boat.  Sticking to my normal plan,, I arrange a few free days before joining the dive boat.  Be early,  don’t miss the departure !!

Spending my free time in Tortola,  I walk Road Town.  Finding my dive boat docked at the Village Cay Marina.. I also locate the Ferry dock .. After my dive boat trip – I’ll be taking a ferry to the nearby US Virgin Islands..

Road Town is a typical Cruise ship town. There is always at-least one ship in port!!  I find a good cabana bar and enjoy a Carib..then have and an early dinner at Pussers Restaurant – a local mainstay of BVI.   Tortola is a big step up economically from the last 8 Leeward Islands I’ve visited.  Maybe a needed the break.

Life aboard the BVI Aggressor.    Not unlike the other dive boats I’ve been on.  It’s dive, eat, sleep.  Up to 5 dives per day..  I manage 24 dives on this trip. Hitting 70 for the year – a good start for 2025.

Only 8 guests on board,, and the ship can handle 20.. So,  there is plenty of room to spread out,, and lots of attention from the staff.

The highlight dives were on the Santa Monica rocks,  on the most southern point of BVI.  Great sharks and dive experiences.  I see over a dozen sharks during this trip. Just Caribbean Reef Sharks and Nurse Sharks.. but cool to see them.

About half my BVI reef dives were excellent.  With the reefs in great shape.. But the other half,  the reefs are struggling.  BVI is in the Hurricane path, getting smashed each year.. And again,  like almost all Caribbean islands - no water treatment system,, just pipes into the oceans.. and tons of Cruise ships.    At least I didn’t see any net fishing here .. that gives me hope.

Good Macro photography on several dives.  Enjoyable night dives,, and the normal mix of wrecks.  Overall,  a good trip.   Interesting trivia.. This is one of the last trips in BVI for this ship.. Its moving to the Bahamas..  So no live aboard dive boats in BVI for the foreseeable future.  Good timing I got this visit in 😊

Wrapping up my week of diving.. I head directly to the Ferry in Road Town.  A one hour transfer, and I’m in the US Virgin islands – St. Thomas.

USVI are again very Westernized,  no surprise there.  Cruise ship central.. again!!  I book in at Bluebeards Hotel.  Up a steep hill overlooking the main town in St. Thomas – Charllotte Amalie.

The US purchased these islands form Denmark in 1917.   Strangely,, they drive on the left here.  A taxi driver says its is a carryover from Denmark.. But Denmark drives on the right ?  seems its more likely it’s an English influence – with the historically more prosperous BVI, Tortola near by.

I take a well needed rest in USVI.  Sleep in, work on my dive photos, continue to learn my Insta 360 camera and begin this blog.

The highlight of my St. Thomas visit is wandering Charllotte Amalie from my hotel.  The old quarter has 10-15 tiny alley ways,  filled with bars and retail.. the alley’s are gorgeous.. plants, colorfully painted.. old-school vibe.

And always,, I visit the forts.. Fort Christian – the original Danish fort is small, but interesting.  Well maintained.   And nearby,, the historic 99 steps.  – under reconstruction while I visit.

Already time to repack.. I take the return ferry back to Tortola, BVI..  for a final night there.  Same plan – Fort Burt Hotel.  Then off to the airport the following day.

I’ve got another 4 island hop flights facing me today…  Heading to Bonaire – my second home.

Most of my time in the Virgin’s.. was on a boat diving.. But 4 nights in Tortola and 3 in Charllotte Amile gave me a feel for these islands.  Even though I did enjoy my stays at both BVI and USVI ,, particularly the conveniences of Westernization,,, They are both too developed for my liking….and the vibe is a little-off.  … my example below !!

***

One last observation on USVI..

In USVI,  I was greeted with terrible customer service.  Often I was ignored by the staff, they divert their eyes,  treat me like I am an inconvenience to them.  Treat me with what felt like racism and disrespect.

I’m just trying to check-in to my hotel.  Or I’m just trying to order a coffee.  Or I’m just trying to get a table at a restaurant.  WTF ??  Why is USVI like this ?  I did not experience this at such a flagrant degree on any Caribbean Island this year!!

Yes,, I've certainly experienced this disrespect many times in life..... in the US and around the world ... but here it is intentionally in my face!!

Normally I can bond with anyone .. just be friendly and open, smile, give people the respect they deserve.  But NO,, that doesn't work here … not in USVI.

Then;  at the Ferry I befriend a black man.  An Economist, heading to BVI to give a lecture.  Clearly a man of the highest quality.  He offered his theory on this topic…total agreeing with my experiences in USVI.

He says:  For the locals of USVI --  Service is the same thing as Servitude.  That they feel that I am forcing them to work.  The opposite of ‘normal’ customer service thinking and training - that employees should be grateful for the customers,,,, that the customers are creating their job.

He continues to say:  this culture is ‘baked into them’ in USVI's - his exact words. And,,,

it’s very very hard to break thru that barrier.

I’ll be thinking of my conversation with my new friend for a long while.