Dive Sites : Caribbean : Virgin Islands : British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands Scuba Diving

60 Dive Sites in 15 Destinations

British Virgin Islands Top Scuba Diving Locations

Cooper Island (15)
Dead Chest Island (2)
George Dog (2)
Ginger Island (4)
Great Dog (3)
Great Tobago (1)
Jost Van Dyke (6)

Long Bay (1)
Norman Island (8)
Pelican Island (1)
Peter Island (5)
Tortola and Anegada Area (8)
West Dog (4)

Christopher Columbus was inspired to name them Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins) in short, the Virgin Islands. The Caribbean Virgin Islands archipelago consists of the US and British territory. To add to the mix, the islands east of Puerto Rico are known as the Spanish Virgin Islands.

Their original inhabitants were Arawak, Carib and Cermic Indians who perished after the colonial era due to famine, exploitation and widespread illness. Shortly after African slaves were brought to work plantations. These are the ancestors of the present day West Indian inhabitants of the Caribbean.

The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays in the Caribbean. 15 Islands in the archipelago are inhabited and their general population totals 22,000. Tortola is the largest island, hosting capital Road Town.

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They are situated under the North Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea in the south. Most of the islands display rugged terrain due to their volcanic origins, with the exception of Anegada, which is a flat limestone and coral island.

British Virgin Islands Scuba Diving

The line formed by Cooper Island, Salt Island and Ginger Island along the southern boundary of the Sir Francis Drake Channel have many of the British Virgin Islands best dive sites.

Picturesque Cooper Island, with its coconut palms, bougainvilla, frangipani, hibiscus, and orchids is mostly uninhabited and great for reef diving. Its most popular dive is a wreck in the Marine National Park - The Wreck of the Rhone, a Royal Mail Steamer which met its fate during hurricane in 1867 near Salt Island. The wreck was the set for the Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset movie 'The Deep' and is covered in coral and frequented by barracuda, sea turtles, stingrays, angelfish, yellowtail and snappers. Wreck Alley on Cooper Island has a line of three wrecks at 80ft next to a wall.

Additional sites nearby include Rhone Reef, Blonde Rock, Painted Walls, Cistern Point. Don't miss Devil's Kitchen, on the windward side as well as Thumb Rock and Markoe Point. Marine life here includes sightings of tarpon, queen angelfish, grey snappers and blue tang French angelfish and sea horses.

Ginger Patches on the north side of Ginger Island is breathtaking as well as the famous Alice in Wonderland site known for its Gigantic mushroom-shaped coral and playful blue cromis and butterfly fish swimming around purple and green seafans, pillar coral and gorgonians, not to mention patrolling sergeant majors.

The Indians are situated near Norman Island. Diving here exhibits tunnels and convoluted rock formations with beautiful coral and plenty of reef fish.

Pelican Island's Rainbow Canyon is a perfect spot for beginner level divers to enjoy garden eels, reef fish and nurse sharks. Black Forest and Angelfish Reef are also a must. The reef sports eagle rays and southern stingrays.

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