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Located on a stretch of powdery white sand just outside Christiansted, this resort has units ranging from studios to four bedrooms, all with fresh breezes and glorious views. Have a dip in the pool, built around an old sugar mill.

With an old sugar mill as its centerpiece, this hotel has 24 rooms, suites, and a villa scattered up the hillside at Apple Bay. Its restaurant is a big draw (seeSugar Mill Restaurant, Tortola). Rooms are done in tropical brights and pastels, and there’s a small beach and a pool.

Look for sautéed scallops with a ginger lime sauce or flying fish tempura in this lovely restaurant (seeSugar Mill Restaurant, Tortola).

Food writers Jeff and Jinx Morgan have created one of the island’s most enchanting restaurants in an old sugar mill. The food matches the alfresco air, with Caribbean-inspired dishes predominating. The menu changes daily, but pumpkin soup and spicy chicken with pineapple salsa often appear (seeSugar Mill Restaurant).

Selections include lithographs of modern Tortola, prints of old maps, metal works, and brightly colored paintings that will remind you of the tropics long after your vacation is over.

With a shopping center that’s home to a Kmart department store, grocery stores, movie theaters, and fast food places, Sunny Isle and its environs are the heart of the island’s economy. Go there for a gander at island life. Visitors find it a great place to shop for incidentals at better prices than in hotel or in-town shops, and it’s a convenient lunch stop on your drive from Christiansted to Frederiksted.

Good jazz on the waterfront in Frederiksted.

Clear, warm water with high salt content makes it easy to float. Join the locals for their early morning or late afternoon swims along the island’s beaches.

Enjoy great swimming off the BVI – dive in from your charter boat or do laps off the beach for some easy and efficient exercise, or just float in the waters and enjoy the landscape.

You’ll be continually tempted to dunk in the crystal clear sea that surrounds Virgin Gorda and the outer islands. Savannah Bay and the Baths (seeThe Baths, Virgin Gorda) in Virgin Gorda especially provide fantastic swimming.