Voted Second Place: “Top Snorkelling”
Scuba Diving Magazine, 2006
Voted Second Place: “Snorkelling and Beginner Diving”
Scuba Diving Magazine, 2005
Voted “One of the Best Snorkelling Destinations”
Caribbean Travel & Life, 2003
By Jim Scheiner
For most visitors, their first impression of the BVI - whether peering out the window of their airplane or zooming up the Sir Francis Drake Channel on one of our many ferryboats - is water, the gorgeous many-hued sea that surrounds our verdant islands. From the majestic cobalt blue of the outer depths to the glowing azure of the sun-blessed shallows, the colours of the sea tell an enticing story that is as much fun to read as to re-tell.
While there is much pleasure to be had on the water - sailing, power boating, kayaking, windsurfing - it's when you put on a diver's facemask and peer through the veil of the sea's reflective surface that the fun really begins. Stand waist deep off any beach on a calm day; don your mask, look down and a magical world will be revealed. You'll find a vanguard of previously unseen silvery minnows dancing about your toes and perhaps a few flared-fin palometa patrolling the sun-kissed shallows.
Snorkelling and scuba diving are your passports to this whole new world. It's easy enough to snorkel; all you need is a mask, snorkel and fins. The secret, especially for beginners (but also for many who consider themselves "advanced"), is to take your time. The slower you go, the more you see. A lot of scuba divers swear that diving is easier than snorkelling, and it is. Although it does require a bit of instruction to keep you out of trouble, there are professional and personable dive shops on all the islands that offer a wide variety of services.
While you can see something off virtually any beach, we recommend the offshore "sister" islands that line the Sir Francis Drake Channel all the way from West End, Tortola to North Sound, Virgin Gorda. There, the water is clear and the marine life abundant.
The Indians, near Norman Island, are a perennial favourite among both divers and snorkellers. Easily spotted from a distance, four rocky spires tower 50 feet above the surrounding calm waters. The barren sun-baked look of these peaks is in direct contrast with the richness of the abundant marine life that lies beneath the surface. The sheer cliff-like slopes of the rock formations are covered with sea fans and graceful gorgonians that sway back and forth in time with the ocean's gentle undulations. Schools of yellowtail snapper and French grunts zoom along on their own mysterious errands. In mid-water, dense streaming schools of purple and violet Creole wrasse appear out of nowhere, envelop a lucky pair of divers and then just as suddenly dash off.
Snorkelling at the Indians offers a unique opportunity for even beginners to get a close-up view of marine life. Because the formation's rock faces are so steep and come right up to the surface it is very easy to drift along right beside the coral encrusted slopes, with all the action just a few feet from your face mask. No need to dive down - it's all right there. Just be careful not to bump into anything or grab hold, as it is easy to damage the delicate marine life and human skin is sensitive to the stinging defences of corals and their kin.
From your close-up vantage point, you'll be able to see and hear the parrotfish feed on the corals. These brightly coloured and easily identified fish use specialised beaks of fused teeth to graze on the living corals, audibly scraping off the outermost living layer of the coral.
Contrary to appearances, virtually nothing of what you see on the reef is a plant; they're all animals - well, sort of. Fish are obviously animals, but what about the hard and soft corals, the rock-like brain and star corals or the branching plant-like gorgonians and sea fans? Remember that childhood guessing game that started off with the famous "is it animal, vegetable or mineral" question? Well, corals are all three. The tiny anemone-like coral polyp secretes a calcium carbonate (limestone) skeleton to protect its delicate form; that's the mineral. Embedded in the flesh of the polyp are symbiotic zooxanthellea algae - the "vegetable" - that work in conjunction with the corals to build the reefs we love. And the wide-mouthed, tentacle-laden, flesh-eating coral polyp is an animal.
Other snorkelling destinations include the Caves, The Baths, the Dogs and Eustacia reef, but as you're likely to be venturing forth aboard a day-sail boat, trust the captain to show you one of his or her "secret" sites. For divers, the list is even longer. The National Parks Trust maintains dive site moorings at close to 100 sites, and the treasure trove of "secret" sites is even bigger. Several stand out as "must-sees."
The wreck of the RMS Rhone is a world-famous shipwreck lying off Salt Island. Having dived this site more than 2,000 times, I can testify that it deserves its reputation. The Rhone was a 310-foot-long, iron-hulled steam-sailor that was hurled against a rocky promontory and broken in half by the furious strength of the Great Hurricane of 1867. Nearly 140 years later, it has been transformed into a celebration of life. Schools of fish live within its cavernous bow section, which is safely explored by scores of divers almost every day. The stern section, with its massive propeller lying inert, lies in shallow enough water to be clearly visible to snorkellers.
Just around the corner, off the west side of Cooper Island is "wreck alley," where the local dive operators in conjunction with government agencies have sunk several more modern ships. We also have the airplane wreck off Great Dog and the much more remote Chikuzen halfway to Anegada, which itself is home to more than 300 documented shipwrecks, but most of those have long been reduced to rubble.
Strewn throughout the waters and fringing the dozens of islands and islets of the BVI are thriving coral reefs, populated by a cast of characters whose biodiversity is rivalled only by that of the Amazon rainforest. For those fortunate to be exploring the archipelago by yacht, these wonderlands are often as close as simply slipping over the side for a before-breakfast snorkel. For land-based visitors, there are literally dozens of day sail operators eager to show you a great time. Whether you're an experienced pro, or this is your first visit to a tropical destination, now you know what lies beneath the waves. Get out there and discover it all for yourself.
What would make your BVI vacation complete? Whether its boating, biking, hiking, team sports, horseback, surfing, snorkeling, diving, windsurfing, kayaking, kite boarding, sailing, fishing — get the 411 on who to contact right here.
Learn more about each island of the BVI and its beautiful pristine beaches, here.
Read unbiased opinions about BVI activities at TripAdvisor.
Voted “Top 10 Dive Destinations”
While there is much pleasure to be had on the water - sailing, power boating, kayaking, windsurfing - it's when you put on a diver's facemask and peer through the veil of the sea's reflective surface that the fun really begins. Stand waist deep off any beach on a calm day; don your mask, look down and a magical world will be revealed. You'll find a vanguard of previously unseen silvery minnows dancing about your toes and perhaps a few flared-fin palometa patrolling the sun-kissed shallows. 
Contrary to appearances, virtually nothing of what you see on the reef is a plant; they're all animals - well, sort of. Fish are obviously animals, but what about the hard and soft corals, the rock-like brain and star corals or the branching plant-like gorgonians and sea fans? Remember that childhood guessing game that started off with the famous "is it animal, vegetable or mineral" question? Well, corals are all three. The tiny anemone-like coral polyp secretes a calcium carbonate (limestone) skeleton to protect its delicate form; that's the mineral. Embedded in the flesh of the polyp are symbiotic zooxanthellea algae - the "vegetable" - that work in conjunction with the corals to build the reefs we love. And the wide-mouthed, tentacle-laden, flesh-eating coral polyp is an animal.