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Caribbean lobsters lack the claws of their northern cousins, but they’re still a sweet, succulent seafood, served in several ways in the Virgin Islands. The simplest lobster dish, just drizzled with melted butter and served in the shell, may be the best, but many people prefer it stuffed with crabmeat.

Lobster served in many forms is the thing at this beach-front restaurant. If you’re there for lunch, opt for the lobster salad sandwich on a soft roll.

A stop at the Cruzan Rum Distillery gives you a glimpse into the island’s rum-based history as well as the present. The distillery, now owned by a liquor conglomerate and using modern methods, still has enough old buildings to make it a worthwhile visit. Your tour through the rum-making process ends with a free rum tasting; you can also shop for rum (seeCruzan), rum cakes, and t-shirts at its store.

Kids over 10 can experience the underwater world through a basic diving course or spend more time to receive their diving certification card. Instructors are child-friendly and understand their limitations. There’s no better way to add that wow factor to a USVI or BVI vacation.

Several hundred people make the 8.375-mile (13-km) trip up hill and down dale from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay on a Saturday in late February. This race attracts top-notch runners, walkers, and even a couple of people pushing baby carriages. The course record stands at 53:15.

This easy half-mile (1-km) loop trail across from Cinnamon Bay Campground on the North Shore Road takes you through sugar factory ruins and past an old cemetery that dates to Danish times. Make stops at the numerous labeled examples of the island’s vegetation to add to your child’s botanical knowledge (seeCinnamon Bay Ruins Trail).

Look out for darting fish and colorful reefs from the portholes of the submarine (seeAtlantis Adventures, St. Thomas).The captain and crew narrate the trip.

Breathtaking is the best word to use when describing this lengthy stretch of luscious white sand. The hillside overlook, just as you start down toward the beach entrance, provides terrific photo opportunities for shutterbugs. Pack a picnic lunch and bring plenty of water and sunscreen, as there are no facilities. While it’s easy to reach and just a short drive from Spanish Town, the beach sees few visitors.

The heart of Virgin Gorda’s commerce and transportation, Spanish Town is squeezed between the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Most of its shops and restaurants are housed at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor. Lively Lee Road bisects the west side of town, with the tiny strip of an airport on the east. The ferry dock sits a short walk from Yacht Harbor. Residents often refer to Spanish Town as The Valley, but that is in fact the name of the island’s southern part.

Very close to the busy Baths National Park (seeThe Baths National Park, Virgin Gorda), the white, sandy Spring Bay Beach provides a peaceful respite worth the five-minute walk from the road. Pretty natural pools created by huge boulders provide perfect swimming and snorkeling. Swings and picnic tables on a grassy lawn get you out of the sand. You’ll find a few restaurants at the nearby Baths and along the 10-minute drive to Spanish Town.

The lovely Pavilion restaurant offers diverse entertainment in winter (seeLittle Dix Bay Pavilion, Virgin Gorda).

Handcrafted leather goods are the highlights.

Spectacular white sand beaches, providing superb sunning and snorkeling, rim this 15-sq mile (39-sq km) atoll. The reef fringing the island keeps the waters calm and the fish plentiful. Some beaches have fanciful names such as Cow Wreck, so named because a ship full of bones destined to become buttons washed up on the reef. Casual restaurants serving seafood and more sit along the sands, well back from the water.

Works by local artists like Aimee Trayser and Avelino Samuel are exhibited at this cozy gallery. Trayser’s paintings take on an impressionistic flair, while Samuel turns native woods into bowls and fanciful pieces. Shop also for ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry.

After Great Britain set the stage by outlawing slavery in 1808 and then seized a number of slave-carrying ships in BVI waters, this British colony finally freed its slaves on August 1, 1834. The former slaves continued life as paid laborers.