USVI vs BVI????
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what the heck is a hillock? A small a hill or some kind of ogre?
Long bay sounds like the best bet so far.
Rhone Man (or anyone else), is there any general areas you think I should look for? That is, areas with some restaurants/bars to walk to, but not developed/urban so its still picturesque... what you would expect for virgin islands?
Thanks again for all your thoughts!
Long bay sounds like the best bet so far.
Rhone Man (or anyone else), is there any general areas you think I should look for? That is, areas with some restaurants/bars to walk to, but not developed/urban so its still picturesque... what you would expect for virgin islands?
Thanks again for all your thoughts!
Timoblue
Contributor
If your prepared to travel around a little you will probably find more of what your looking for.
Long bay for instance has Bomba's surf shack just down the road at Apple Bay, known for its full moon parties. Further up you can try the Sugar Mill hotel for its restaurant or its smaller one situated just on the beach. Carrot Bay which is virtually untouched has some small bars/restaurants scattered around and is just a little further along.
If its beaches you need i would say this place boasts some of the best...although as RM has already said - no shore diving.
Best beach this side of the island Tortola Beaches: Smuggler's Cove, BVI and not too far from Long Bay.
If your budget allows though you would need a 4 wheel drive to reach it, as the road is slightly inaccessible, but well worth it.
I guess it all depends on how much you like to walk. Your pretty much off the beaten track here though as far as 'developed' is concerned.
Good luck
Long bay for instance has Bomba's surf shack just down the road at Apple Bay, known for its full moon parties. Further up you can try the Sugar Mill hotel for its restaurant or its smaller one situated just on the beach. Carrot Bay which is virtually untouched has some small bars/restaurants scattered around and is just a little further along.
If its beaches you need i would say this place boasts some of the best...although as RM has already said - no shore diving.
Best beach this side of the island Tortola Beaches: Smuggler's Cove, BVI and not too far from Long Bay.
If your budget allows though you would need a 4 wheel drive to reach it, as the road is slightly inaccessible, but well worth it.
I guess it all depends on how much you like to walk. Your pretty much off the beaten track here though as far as 'developed' is concerned.
Good luck
alashas
Contributor
full fin,
We learned how to dive with http://www.divebvi.com/ on Virgin Gorda in 03, dove off St. John in '04, and have been to the BVI a # of times since then. Jeff, AKA "VGdiver" has given you a good description of the differences. We have 11 divers in our extended dive family, and we reached a consensus that we prefer the BVI. Haven't been to STT, so don't really know what the diving is like there. The BVI has a healthy reef system, with a lot of colorful coral and your typical Caribbean reef fish species. It also has a # of wreck dives, including "the wreck of the Rhone," one of the most significant wreck dives in the Caribbean:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/208262-140th-anniversary-wreck-rhone.html
Personally, VG is probably our favorite island in the Caribbean, and Dive BVI is an outstanding dive shop, with 2 locations on VG. However, if you are going to Tortola, Cane Garden Bay is a very good location, as others have mentioned. Here is a listing of some of the accommodations on CGB:
http://www.b-v-i.com/Tortola/Lodging/CaneGardenBay/cane.htm
This is also helpful: http://www.turq.com/bvi/tortola/placestostayindex.php
I would also encourage you to take a close look at Chateau Relaxeau Caribe on Little Apple Bay, just a short drive W of CGB. You are near several very good restaurants, close to Smuggler's Cove, probably the best beach on Tortola, and will not have to deal with cruise ship passengers on CGB, their favorite destination on Tortola (depending on when you will be on Tortola):
http://www.britishvirginbeer.com/chateau_relaxeau_caribe_2006.htm
If you stay on the N side of Tortola, then I would give serious consideration to catching the morning ferry at Soper's Hole, AKA "West End," to JVD in order to do 2 or 3 dives with Capt. Colin of http://www.jostvandykescuba.com/
There are seldom dived, pristine sites at JVD, including Playground, a very colorful site with caves, swim throughs and large schools of fish (tell Colin you want to do your SI on Sandy Spit, an acre or so sandy patch that is a terrific place to spend an hour), Cathedral, a swim through that leads you to a cave inside JVD in which you can surface, and Pirate's Purchase, a fully intact sail boat in around 90' of water that Colin "discovered" a few yrs ago.
You can see photo albums of all of these places, including the dives, here:
http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/
I'll be on VG next week!
Enjoy your trip, alashas
We learned how to dive with http://www.divebvi.com/ on Virgin Gorda in 03, dove off St. John in '04, and have been to the BVI a # of times since then. Jeff, AKA "VGdiver" has given you a good description of the differences. We have 11 divers in our extended dive family, and we reached a consensus that we prefer the BVI. Haven't been to STT, so don't really know what the diving is like there. The BVI has a healthy reef system, with a lot of colorful coral and your typical Caribbean reef fish species. It also has a # of wreck dives, including "the wreck of the Rhone," one of the most significant wreck dives in the Caribbean:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/208262-140th-anniversary-wreck-rhone.html
Personally, VG is probably our favorite island in the Caribbean, and Dive BVI is an outstanding dive shop, with 2 locations on VG. However, if you are going to Tortola, Cane Garden Bay is a very good location, as others have mentioned. Here is a listing of some of the accommodations on CGB:
http://www.b-v-i.com/Tortola/Lodging/CaneGardenBay/cane.htm
This is also helpful: http://www.turq.com/bvi/tortola/placestostayindex.php
I would also encourage you to take a close look at Chateau Relaxeau Caribe on Little Apple Bay, just a short drive W of CGB. You are near several very good restaurants, close to Smuggler's Cove, probably the best beach on Tortola, and will not have to deal with cruise ship passengers on CGB, their favorite destination on Tortola (depending on when you will be on Tortola):
http://www.britishvirginbeer.com/chateau_relaxeau_caribe_2006.htm
If you stay on the N side of Tortola, then I would give serious consideration to catching the morning ferry at Soper's Hole, AKA "West End," to JVD in order to do 2 or 3 dives with Capt. Colin of http://www.jostvandykescuba.com/
There are seldom dived, pristine sites at JVD, including Playground, a very colorful site with caves, swim throughs and large schools of fish (tell Colin you want to do your SI on Sandy Spit, an acre or so sandy patch that is a terrific place to spend an hour), Cathedral, a swim through that leads you to a cave inside JVD in which you can surface, and Pirate's Purchase, a fully intact sail boat in around 90' of water that Colin "discovered" a few yrs ago.
You can see photo albums of all of these places, including the dives, here:
http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/
I'll be on VG next week!
Enjoy your trip, alashas
Gussy
Contributor
How about for exploring marine life close to the shore?
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