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The British Virgin Islands

Location

The British Virgin Islands is located in the North West Caribbean Sea between Puerto Rico and St. Martin.

Our base is conveniently located in Road Town, the capital of Tortola - the main island in the BVI. Our base is very close to the downtown ferry dock, about a 5 minute taxi ride. If you come into the West End ferry dock, then the taxi ride is around 30 minutes. The airport is located at the Eastern end of the island and the taxi ride is around 40 minutes to our base. There are nearby grocery stores and restaurants.

Travelling to the BVI

Air travel is through San Juan Puerto Rico (SJU) or St. Thomas (STT) to the West or St. Martin (SXM) or Antigua (ANU) to the East with the final leg to Beef Island Airport on Tortola (EIS). You can also arrive by ferry from St. Thomas, it takes about an hour and you can arrive in West End or Road Town on Tortola.

Air Travel

From the USA and Canada: St. Thomas, USVI (STT) has become the main routing of choice. You will then take a ferry from St. Thomas to Tortola. If flying through San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) your final destination will need to be Beef Island (EIS). A taxi can be organised to collect you from the airport. Since 2023, American Airlines has reintroduced a daily flight from Miami.

If you choose to fly into St. Thomas (STT) you will be taking a ferry from St. Thomas to the BVI, which is approximately a 50-minute ride. We recommend choosing a flight that arrives no later than 3pm, which will give you time to catch the last ferry of the day which departs downtown St. Thomas (Charlotte Amalie) at 4:15pm, arriving into Road Harbour, BVI at 5:05pm.

The alternative route is through San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU). Most choose the St. Thomas route due to a larger choice of airlines, and flight costs tend to be less expensive than routing through San Juan to Tortola. To fly directly from San Juan to Terrance B. Lettsome International airport, Beef Island, Tortola (EIS) you can choose InterCaribbean, Silver Airways or Cape Air.

From Europe: Antigua (ANU), Barbados (BGI) and St. Martin (SXM) are the main airport routes. From any of these destinations you can choose to fly with Inter-Caribbean, Winn Air, Caribbean Airlines, VI Airlink or LIAT into Beef Island, Tortola (EIS). You could also look at flying through the US, utilizing the new (as fo 2023) Miami > EIS American Airlines route.

Ferries

If you are coming through St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands then below is a list of the ferry schedules to help you plan your arrival. You can catch the ferry from downtown Charlotte Amalie or the Eastern end of St. Thomas at Red Hook.

If you are arriving through St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands you can catch the ferry from downtown St. Thomas (Charlotte Amalie) or the Eastern end of St. Thomas (Red Hook). Departure tax from St. Thomas is $10 pp (usually included in the ticket price) and from Tortola $20 pp.

From Charlotte Amalie: Ferry schedules do vary slightly, so be sure check the links below to view the departure/arrival schedules for each ferry service (Road Town Fast Ferry, Native Son & Smith's Ferry). Currently, the last ferry leaves Charlotte Amalie at 5:30pm directly to Road Town, arriving approximately an hour later. The taxi time from the airport to downtown Charlotte Amalie is approximately 10 minutes.

From Red Hook: Aquatic Rentals depart from Red Hook at 9:15am, 2:30pm and 5:00pm to West End, Tortola, arriving approximately half and hour later. The 5:00pm service then carries on to Road Town, arriving 20 minutes later. The taxi time from the airport to Red Hook approximately half an hour.

Please follow this link to BVI PORT AUTHORITY for all the most recent ferry schedules and information.

Water Taxi from STT

TMM have partnered with many water taxi operations to bring you VIP, no-waiting, door-to-door service from the STT airport directly to Road Reef Marina. This is a time-saving water taxi alternative to the public ferry system. Please follow the links below if you are interested.

USVI flag
USVI-Based partners
USVI flag
BVI-Based partners

Travel Tips

for the British Virgin Islands

Insurance

We highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance through Travel Insured International, particularly if you are travelling during hurricane season or departing during the winter months from the Northern United States or Canada. You will need to purchase your insurance within 21 days of confirming your charter. When contacting Travel Insured please give them the TMM Vendor #45540. Travel Insured can only offer insurance to people residing in the United States or Canada.

Travel Insured International will cover your trip for weather related to hurricanes if your flight is cancelled within 48 hours of your scheduled departure date and time if your trip destination is under a hurricane warning issued by the NOAA National Hurricane Center, provided the cancellation of your trip occurs more than 14 days following your effective date of coverage for the Trip Cancellation Benefits.

Please refer to the Travel Insured link below for more specific plan details or call them toll free at 1-800-243-3174 to discuss your particular insurance needs. Please be sure to provide the TMM Vendor #45540.

Taxi fares - Additional information

Once you let us know your arrival information by completing our Crew Manifest/Travel form we will arrange for a taxi to meet you and bring you to the base or your hotel. The rates are as follows from the airport to Road Town, or West End to Road Town (one-way fare):

  • 1 passenger $30.00
  • 2 passengers or more $15.00 per person

Taxi fare from the Road Town ferry is $5.00 per person (one-way), plus $1 per bag of luggage.

If you are going to a hotel there may be an increase in this price depending on the location of the hotel. Pick-ups between 11pm and 7am are subject to a 30% surcharge.

Climate/clothing

The climate in the British Virgin Islands stays relatively constant year round with temperatures ranging from 75-85 °F.

Dress in the islands is very casual. In most establishments sundresses, shorts and T-shirts are the normal attire.

The best bags to bring are soft sided duffels that can be stored onboard your yacht. Please note that TMM does NOT have room to store empty luggage.

The weather year-round in the BVI is very close to perfect, but brief showers do occur and thunderstorms are quite rare. The sun of course shines all year round! For swimming, snorkeling and diving, the sea is warm throughout the year. From December to April the sea temperature is around 78 °F and 84 °F from May to November.

Transportation throughout our islands is frequently provided by small aircraft and ferries. The aircrafts have limited luggage capacity, therefore, you should only pack what is necessary. Do not forget your camera, swimsuit, walking shoes, sandals, T-shirts, a light rain jacket, hat, a small backpack, sunglasses and sunscreen.

Crew manifest and travel form

Prior to your start date you will be asked to submit your crew manifest and travel form to the USA office. This form does double-duty as your taxi pick-up form. Standard island taxi fares will apply as per the above rates.

For those of you arriving the day before your charter starts we can assist with hotel reservations or you can opt for a prior night sleep-aboard on your yacht subject to availability. The sleep-aboard must be booked in advance and the cost is 50% of the daily charter rate of your yacht.

Inmigration

Everyone travelling to and from the Caribbean will require a current passport so please ensure that yours has not expired.

Environmental & tourism levy

Effective September 1, an environmental and tourism levy of $10 will be collected on arrival at the port of entry to all visitors to the British Virgin Islands. The fund will be used to facilitate environmental protection and improvement, climate change, and the maintenance and development of tourist sites and other tourism related activities.

Currency

US Dollar