sb

Do you fly directly into the British Virgin Islands? Is it luxurious? Can you tell me more about it please. It is for a vacation for my hubby and myself. Thank<BR><BR>SB

Linda

SB<BR> I do not know of any direct flights into BVI. American flies from San Juan. There are connections from St Thomas as well. The airport is way out on the western tip of Tortola- so depending on where you're staying it might be better and cheaper to fly into St. Thomas and ferry to Tortola or Virgin Gorda. There are direct flights to St Thomas.

SB

I didn't know you could take a ferry to the British Virgin Islands. I guess im sort of ignorant in terms of the British Virgin Islands.<BR><BR>Do you know if it is a SAFE & Clean place to go? What about local "beggers" do they have those there, like they do in Nassau?<BR><BR>Thanks SOOOO much!!

Eva

The BVI are one of the safer destinations in the Caribbean, and in 4 trips, I have never been approached by a beggar, much less a peddler. The standard of living is pretty high, and offshore banking is a bigger industry than tourism, which accounts for part of that relative affluence. As for clean, they do pretty well, though most Caribbean islands have a problem with waste disposal because they don't have many places to put it.<BR><BR>The easiest way to get to the BVI is to fly via San Juan into the airport at Beef Island. Yes, you can fly to STT and take the ferry over, but then you are beholden to the ferry schedules, which can be a problem if your flight gets in after 3 pm. The ferry is a nice way to get into island time, and gives you spectacular views of St. John, but it can add time to your travel.

Linda

SB<BR> It is clean, safe- a paradise.No high rises, no fast food. They have strict laws about work and harsh punishment for crime, so it's virtually crime-free. They have a say over who is allowed in.There are no beggars, never saw any poverty like I did on other islands. The people were friendly, neat and very proper.Virgin Gorda has the most luxurious hotels/resorts. Tortola has more to do.If you email me, I'll send you my trip report. Also try traveltalkonline.com and read comments on their BVI board.

jd

SB, my wife and I visit the BVI frequently. As others have mentioned, there is no direct flight from the US. I suggest that the easiest route is to fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico and make the very easy connection from San Juan direct to the BVI. For example, we use Delta Airlines to San Juan. From San Juan, Delta recommends Air Liat and will book the ticket for you. The gates for the two are in the same terminal. In addition to Air Liat, there is also Sunshine Air and a third whose name escapes me. The flight from San Juan to Tortola's Beef Island Airport takes around 30 minutes--it's not far.<BR>If you are intending to stay on Tortola, then the ride from the airport to the furthest point on the island will run you about $35, which I would not consider to be much. If you intend to stay on Virgin Gorda, however, then you would need to ferry there, unless your resort provides water transportation.<BR>Regarding the idea of taking the ferry from St. Thomas to Tortola, we have always felt that after the long flight from the U.S., we didn't want to mess around with the USVI-BVI ferry although we have taken the same ferry many times and can vouch that it is on time and is reliable transportation. <BR>Regarding your question about whether the BVI is luxurious. The attraction of the BVI is that it features small, very nice resorts that tend to be proper, simple, and very friendly. They are not glitzy, so if luxury to you equates to words like sumptuous or regal, then may not enjoy the simple beauty of a BVI resort. If you want gold-plated faucets, marble tile, and highrise buildings with attendents on the beach and liveried staff, then you want someplace else. <BR>If you want tropical splendor, a resort that is very nicely situated into the natural environment and doesn't ruin it (not legal to build a structure taller than a palm tree in the BVI), and if you would like to be on a first name basis with the staff just because you like them as people and they like you, then the BVI is your spot.<BR>My wife and I visit the BVI fairly often. We've lived overseas, and have visited many countries, but have only found one other country as friendly as the BVI. The locals are more dependent on their banking industry than they are on tourism. Therefore, you will not find beggars. The poor of the BVI have considerably more pride than do their American counterparts and they are far friendly on first contact. In short, the BVI is full of genuine people, whereas quite a few islands that have come to rely mainly on tourism, offer only natives who are imitating what they think Americans expect them to look/act like. <BR>My suggestion, if the BVI appeals to you is to consider these resorts (and please note that I am an engineer, not a tourist agent):<BR>$$$: Biras Creek<BR>$$: Frenchman's Cay, Ft. Recovery, Sugar Mill<BR>You can access them all at the BVI Tourist Bureau's website, bviwelcomel.com.<BR> <BR>

Sandy

one of the better sites for the feel of the bvi and its resorts is www.scubamom.com

pamr

I agree with all of the above. It is safe ( we camped there at Brewers Bay & no one disturbed us), The standard of living is fairly good - we saw no poverty or beggars. The people are very proper, but friendly - its a reserved friendliness, but they will go out of their way to help you. There are no glamorous or ritzy resorts. I don't think any 5-star resorts in the Caribbean are what we would consider them to be at home, but if thats what you want you might just want to stay here. The island of Tortola is laid back & relatively undeveloped. The snorkeling is very good and it has some nice beaches. Try to get a ferry over to Virgin Gorda & snorkel the Baths. There is another beach near The baths with excellent snorkelling, but doesn't get as crowded (can't think of the name). On Tortola try a snorkel trip with Captain Roy - i think its called High Seas Adventures (its been a few years). He takes out very small groups and is fantastic! he does a very nice day trip to Anegada which has great snorkeling. I would definitely go back, but I would opt for a resort or villa next trip!

mjulius1

We are big fans of the BVI -- nice beaches, friendly people,very safe with low crime, great snorkeling, some excellent restaurants. You will find none of the beggars or peddlers that you do on some other islands. A great resort with relatively modest prices is Long Bay Beach Resort on Tortola. The beachfront deluxe rooms are very, very nice.