About the Smaller Islands

One of the best things about living in the British Virgin Islands is access to the smaller, less populated islands that dot the Sir Francis Drake Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. You might spend your morning sipping a coffee while looking at an island where you will later be sipping rum.

The main islands that border the Sir Francis Drake Channel to the south are, from west to east, Norman, Peter, Salt, Cooper, and Ginger.

Norman Island is the largest of the uninhabited islands of the British Virgin Islands at two and a half miles long. It’s a popular snorkeling site with a set of caves on the northwest tip of the island. There are also rumors of a treasure found in those caves by a local fisherman, and popular legend claims that the island provided inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. After exploring the caves or hiking the goat paths on the island, two restaurants serve lunch, dinner, and drinks in The Bight, or if you’re looking for a slightly rowdier time, head to the William Thornton, a floating barge that serves food and alcohol.

Peter Island is the largest private island in the BVI and the fifth largest island overall. It is owned by the Van Andel family, co-owners of Amway, and houses the Peter Island Resort & Spa which is currently closed after Hurricane Irma and the coronavirus pandemic.

Salt Island is named for its most famous export. Once a year, in the days of Queen Victoria, the residents of Salt Island would gather salt from the salt pond and send one pound of it as tribute to the Monarch on her birthday. Though the tradition discontinued during most of the twentieth century, BVI Governor John Duncan decided to renew the tradition in 2015 and presented the salt to Queen Elizabeth II and reestablished the tradition. Salt Island is also known for the wreck of the Royal Mail Steamship Rhone on October 29, 1867 during a terrible storm. The wreck is now a world-famous diving and snorkeling site.

Cooper Island is a privately owned island in the Channel and home to Cooper Island Beach Club, a boutique eco-resort with 12 hotel rooms, a restaurant, rum bar, coffee shop, solar-powered brewery, and boutique. A popular destination for sailors and day-trippers, the resort can only be reached by boat. The island has 30 mooring balls in Manchineel Bay that accommodate vessels up to 60 feet.

Owned by the Aggie Sailing Team, Ginger Island’s 258 acres are completely uninhabited and unspoiled. The lush, green ridge that runs down the island’s spine descends to white beaches, turquoise bays, and reefs teeming with fish.

On the Atlantic Side of the British Virgin Islands, and off the northern coast of Beef Island, you’ll spy Guana Island, Scrub Island, and Great Camanoe.

Guana Island, visible from most of Tortola’s northeast shore, is privately owned by Henry and Gloria Jarecki. Mostly a nature preserve, the 850-acre Guana Island also has a small resort and an honesty bar in White Bay.

Scrub Island, 1.6 miles long and a fifteen-minute ferry ride from Trellis Bay, contains a few private villas as well as Marriott Scrub Island Resort Marina and Spa which has 52 guest rooms,a 55-slip marina, restaurants, bars, a pool, shops, and a spa.

Just north of Beef Island, Great Camanoe is an exclusive residential island with some of the most private properties in the British Virgin Islands. The island can only be accessed by private boat. Most residents live within two communities, Indigo Plantation and The Privateers, on the southern half of the island. Cam Bay, a noted snorkeling site, is part of the BVI National Parks system.