Holidays in the British Virgin Islands 2022/2023

• Lush forested interior
• Unspoiled sparkling sands
• Sapphire-blue waters teeming with tropical marine life
• Legendary shipwrecks

It’s no wonder the British Virgin Islands are said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, Treasure Island, and a few of its 60-plus isles (most of which are uninhabited) are named after Caribbean pirates. While you might not find any buried treasure on a British Virgin Island holiday, the views are pure gold.

There’s no limit to how you can enjoy a luxury holiday in this exotic idyll, from snorkelling among green turtles and eagle rays to mixing primeval jungle walks with five-star relaxation on pearl-white beaches. British Virgin Island holidays are chock-full of ‘wow moments’, including diving Horseshoe Reef, one of the largest barrier reefs in the Caribbean and an underwater world where sunken ships and vibrant coral jostle for space. Elsewhere, The Baths National Park is a land where gargantuan granite boulders reign supreme, while the legendary Soggy Dollar Bar is a rum shack you typically reach by swimming to it – where else can you do that?

With its past as a pirate’s pit stop, it’s no surprise the British Virgin Islands are one of the globe’s premier sailing spots. Its calm ripples and well-equipped marinas make a week on the water a thoroughly relaxing way to island-hop around its best bits, soaking up every inch of these gorgeous emerald drops – arguably the finest in the Seven Seas.

The British Virgin Islands may have inspired Treasure Island but each of its islands are like individual gems of brilliant beauty. Luxury places to stay are scattered across the archipelago, from the tropical isle of Virgin Gorda to the low-lying Anegada and emerald mountains of Guana Island.

Blessed with a tropical climate, the British Virgin Islands are soaked in sun year-round and temperatures rarely deviate too far from an average of 28°C.

December to April is the archipelago’s dry season, when sunny weather is most reliable. Tropical showers are still a possibility, especially at the beginning (December) and end of the dry season (March & April) but still infrequent. It’s the best time for sailing holidays as well, with waters as still as a mill-pond. May is only slightly wetter and offers another great month in which to visit the British Virgin Islands.

June to November coincides with the Caribbean’s official hurricane season. June, July and August are excellent months to travel and although they bring higher rainfall, sunshine is still aplenty and lush vegetation and tropical flowers carpet the islands. There’s far fewer crowds, too. The rains hit their peak in September and October, where the chance of tropical storms and hurricanes are at their highest. These two months are not ideal for sailing, when waters can often be choppy, although the conditions during the remainder of hurricane season are very pleasant.