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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.

Home to a handful of hoppin’ bars, some guesthouses, and a few small stores sitting along its sandy lanes, Great Harbour is the island’s main settlement. If you’re sailing and haven’t cleared Immigration in Tortola, visit the BVI Customs and Immigration office on the waterfront. If you want a change of scene, take a stroll west to White Bay, the next bay over and home to Sandcastle hotel and restaurant (seeSandcastle, Jost Van Dyke). Head off to the east to Little Harbour, which offers more bars and restaurants.

This island served as the setting forTwo on the Isle , a 1960s movie starring Sidney Poitier and John Cassavetes, which was based on a 1930s book by Robb White. The 8-acre Marina Cay is now home to a Pusser’s Hotel and Restaurant (seePusser’s, Marina Cay). Take the complimentary ferry from Trellis Bay, Tortola, and spend a day visiting the bar and the beaches, snorkeling, or taking a stroll around the island. The home White built has been restored as a reading room and book exchange.

A mostly unpopulated island, Norman Island was reputedly the setting for Robert Louis Stevenson’s bookTreasure Island . The island’s main harbor, the Bight, draws sailors to its Pirates Bight, a bar and restaurant located on the beach, and the floating William Thornton bar and restaurant. Around the Bight sits a series of caves that make for great snorkeling. The anchorage can get busy with dinghies going to and fro, so be careful while in the water.

A handful of small resorts fringe North Sound’s shoreline. Most are reached only by complimentary boat service from Gun Creek or in the case of Biras Creek Resort, from Beef Island (seeBeef Island). The majority welcome day visitors to their restaurants and shops. Protected North Sound serves as one of the BVI’s hottest sailing destinations. Sailors on week-long charters out of Tortola and the USVI drop anchor here and head for the easy camaraderie of the bars.

Islanders still harvest salt from the three natural ponds that dot this tiny cay. You’re welcome to come ashore to inspect the salt ponds, stroll the beach, and enjoy the solitude. A popular dive site, the Wreck of the Rhone National Park sits just offshore. TheRhone, a 310-ft (94-m) royal mail ship, split in two when it hit Salt Island during an 1867 hurricane. The captain and most of the crew perished.

An unpopulated speck off Jost Van Dyke perfect for those who love solitude, Sandy Cay is ringed with a desert-island style beach. With no protected harbor, it is best used during the winter season as a day sailboat anchorage or stopping spot for power boats. When calmer summer weather arrives, it makes a fine overnight halt. Swim in limpid water, sun on the gorgeous white beach, and stroll through the greenery that covers the interior of the island.

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.