Not to miss

Jost Van Dyke

This sleepy settlement by day turns into Party Central by night, attracting hoards of nightcrawlers from nearby Tortola. Life in Jost Van Dyke is basically one long island-style happy hour, with pig roasts and beach bars attracting more yachties than a sale on sunblock.

Jost Van Dyke has a scant population of only a few hundred people and lies 6km (4mi) northwest of Tortola and 6km (4mi) north of the US Virgin Island of St John. Ferries run from Tortola's West End to Great Harbour, but it's much more fun to rent a motor boat and putt over independently.

Anegada

Anegada is a place for people who enjoy the feeling of nothing but sea and reef for miles around. Unique to the Virgin Islands, it is a flat coral and limestone island with its highest point only 8m (28ft) above sea level, and miles of isolated white beaches lining the northern and western shores.

Anegada has an airstrip, a smattering of hotels and campgrounds, and only 200 people on the island. Horseshoe Reef, the third largest reef in the world, extends 18km (11mi) to the southeast of Anegada and hosts hundreds of shipwrecks for divers to investigate.

Copper Mine National Park

Near Virgin Gorda's southwest tip, these impressive ruins (which include a chimney, boiler house, cistern and mine shaft house) are now a national park and protected area. Cornish miners worked the mine between 1838 and 1867. The rugged hillside and coastline on this part of the island make an excellent place for a picnic.

Loblolly Bay

At least two-thirds of Anegada's shoreline is pristine beach and the crystal waters offer unbelievable snorkeling and swimming. Amongst the best beaches is Loblolly Bay, a beautiful stretch of sand with a few beach bars where doing nothing much at all can take days.

Jost Van Dyke

Just 4 sq miles (10 sq km), this small island just a few miles northwest of Tortola, is a favourite for sailors who come looking to kick back, enjoy cold beers, sandy beaches and some of the friendliest people in the islands.

Named for a Dutch pirate, Jost (pronounced 'Yoast') became a refuge for Quakers trying to escape religious tyranny in England. Today, it has a collection of funky guesthouses, comfortable camping at White Bay and some of the islands' best beach bars, where live music concerts and pig roasts are everyday occurrences.