The BVI’s Best Views

*_{View of the Sir Francis Drake Channel looking towards St. Thomas. (photo: Alan Smith)}*

The BVI is rich with postcard worthy views and touring the islands looking for the best is a fun pursuit. The only equipment you need is a camera, or a smart phone, and a sense of adventure.

A Host of Islands

My personal tour starts at my house where I look out at the Sir Francis Drake Channel, named after the legendary English privateer. In 1595 he sailed down this picturesque Channel to attack the Spanish Armada amassed outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Nowadays, it is dotted with sailboats leaning into the wind, on their way to the next anchorage and a well-earned sundowner. A mere three miles to the south, I see St John with its lush green national park; if I look eastward, I see a host of British Virgin Islands including the western tip of Norman Island.

To the west lies Jost Van Dyke, an isle of white sand beaches and bountiful beach bars. In the evening when Great Harbour fills with hundreds of mast lights, I know that Foxy is having one of his celebrated parties.

*_{A BVI Sunset taken from Omar’s on Frenchmen’s Cay, Soper’s Hole. (photo: C. Colli)}*

Sir Francis Drake Channel

But you don’t have to come to my house to get a great picture, views are everywhere. That is the perk of living on islands that are mountainous, yet rimmed with drop dead gorgeous beaches. When I drive along the Sir Francis Drake Highway from Road Town to West End, a panoply of islands parade by. What a drive! There is Peter Island, Norman Island, Carrot Rock and St. John. It is Google maps in 3-d.

*_{A favorite view from Top of the Baths, Virgin Gorda (photo: C. Colli)}*

Stunning Vistas

When first time visitors get off the plane at the Terrence B. Lettsome airport off Tortola’s East End, they are often stunned by the islands’ beauty. How many places on earth have an airport that is perched on the edge of a turquoise sea dotted with emerald green islands? Arrive by ferry from St. Thomas and you cruise by a shopping cart full of island goodies including Norman and Peter Islands on one side of the boat and Tortola’s south shore on the the other. For a first-time visitor it is mind boggling. To this long-term resident, it is as amazing as the day I first arrived.

Then there are the mountains. Steep, and ribboned with winding roads, Tortola requires a mastery of the third dimension. The mountains offer an endless array of view-points. Yes, hold onto the steering wheel, and try to keep your eyes on the road, but also keep your camera or smart phone handy and look for breaks in the foliage, because the photo ops will come one after the other.

*_{Looking at the Sir Francis Drake Channel, named after the legendary English privateer.(photo: C. Colli)}*

Over the years I have amassed an enormous photo collection of views. It is difficult to stop. Even a view that I have photographed countless times, can look different according to the time of day. Getting a great photo isn’t always easy. To snap the perfect shot, I have come close to falling down a hillside, risked sunburn and suffered from ant bites and cactus thorns. But it’s always been worth it.

So, what are my favorite views? Well, there are many, but one that I love, is looking westward from Sopers Hole at sunset. Then there is Long Bay. Its long stretch of white sand with Belmont Hill at the western end is a classic Tortola shot. Keep in mind that Belmont Hill was once worshipped as a deity by the Amerindians who lived here over 1,000 years ago, so that photo becomes almost mystical.

_{A sweeping view of North Sound including some of the BVI’s most exclusive resorts and locales. (photo: C.Colli)}

Cane Garden Bay

I have numerous pictures taken from Cane Garden Bay looking out at Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Cay. On Virgin Gorda, The Baths and Spring Bay are eye popping photo ops. Those boulders jutting from the landscape just beg to be photographed! Hog’s Heaven, a barbecue restaurant high on the Virgin Gorda ridge has a sweeping view of North Sound including some of the BVI’s most exclusive resorts and locales including Necker Island, Prickly Pear, Leverick Bay and Bitter End.

_{The boulders at Spring Bay, Virgin Gorda, one of the BVI’s many picturesque spots. (photo: Brandon Smith)}

Jost Van Dyke

On Jost Van Dyke, the classic view point is from the top of the road that runs between White Bay and Great Harbour. With its perimeter of pure white sand and harbor dotted with anchored boats, White Bay, begs to be photographed. Even the taxi drivers know this. The last time I went, my driver helpfully stopped at just that point so I could snap the shot.

And More

If you can’t make up your mind where to shoot, do like my husband. He has a favorite spot on Tortola’s West End Road where he often stops at sunset. It looks out at the western end of Tortola and St. John, Great Thatch and Tobbago with St. Thomas in the far distance. He has captured the glory of that view in a variety of shades from blue gray to vivid gold and apricot.

So choosing the right view in the BVI is never a problem. My greatest issue (and really, it’s not much of one in the scheme of things) is to choose which photographs to keep and which ones to eliminate so I can make space on my camera for more.