t Relaxing on Cruz Bay beach;
t Relaxing on Cruz Bay beach;
Experience Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands is an archipelago of mostly hilly green isles, many of which are uninhabited, ringed with gorgeous sandy beaches and turquoise waters. Following catastrophic damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma in September 2017, the affected islands are gradually returning to their status as a getaway paradise.
On the western side of the archipelago lie the U.S. Virgin Islands, an unincorporated U.S. territory. The main islands of St Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix were colonized by Denmark from the late 1600s and developed as slave-trading ports and plantations. The Danish legacy is still very much in evidence in the buildings and street names of Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, and in Frederiksted and Christiansted on St. Croix. Fearing they might be used by Germany as submarine bases, the United States purchased the islands in 1917 for U.S.$25 million.
The 60 or so islands that make up the British Virgin Islands have been under some form of British jurisdiction for some 350 years, and are an internally self-governing British overseas territory. Tourism, especially sailing, is key, but as a tax haven, financial services are important too. Of the four main islands, Tortola is the largest, liveliest and most developed, while Virgin Gorda is slower paced. Jost Van Dyke island, named after a Dutch pirate, is known for its beach bars, while low-lying, reef-fringed Anegada is a snorkeler’s dream. The islands’ most famous resident is Richard Branson, who lives on the private Necker Island.