Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Nearby Island: Marina Cay
Marina Cay is a private 2.4-hectare (6-acre) islet near Beef Island. It was the setting
of the 1953 Robb White book
Our Virgin Island,
which was later filmed with Sidney
Poitier and John Cassavetes. For 20 years after White's departure, the island lay
uninhabited, until its hotel (see below) opened. That hotel was recently taken over
by Pusser's, the famous Virgin Islands establishment.
The island is only 5 minutes by launch from Tortola's Trellis Bay, adjacent to Beef
Island International Airport. The ferry running between Beef Island and Marina Cay
is free of charge. There are no cars here. Nonguests are welcome to visit.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
Pusser's Marina Cay Resort
This small cottage hotel attracts the sailing
crowd—the resort can be reached only by boat. Guests stay in simply furnished
double rooms, all of which overlook a reef and the islands of Sir Francis Drake Chan-
nel. Each room has a private balcony. Accommodations are set on a bluff, which
provides privacy and cool breezes. There is no air-conditioning, but ceiling fans help
keep the rooms cool. There's casual dining in the beachside restaurant, with a cuisine
that features Continental and West Indian dishes. Activities include snorkeling,
Hobie Cat sailing, scuba diving (with certification courses taught by a resident dive
master), castaway picnics on secluded beaches, and kayaking.
Marina Cay (P.O. Box 626), Road Town, Tortola, B.V.I. www.pussers.com.
&
284/494-2174.
Fax 284/
494-4775. 6 units. Winter $250 double, $525 villa; off season $185 double, $375 villa. Rates include full
breakfast. AE, MC, V.
Amenities:
Restaurant; 2 bars; watersports equipment/rentals; Wi-Fi (free in
courtyard).
In room:
Ceiling fans, fridge, hair dryer.
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VIRGIN GORDA
The second-largest island in the British cluster, Virgin Gorda is 16km (10 miles) long
and 3.2km (2 miles) wide, with a population of some 1,400 people. It's located 19km
(12 miles) east of Tortola and 41km (25 miles) east of St. Thomas.
In 1493, on his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus named
the island Virgin Gorda, or “Fat Virgin,” because the mountain on the island looked
(in his opinion) like a protruding stomach.
Virgin Gorda was a fairly desolate agricultural community until Laurance Rocke-
feller established the resort of Little Dix here in the early 1960s, following his success
with Caneel Bay on St. John in the 1950s. He envisioned a “wilderness beach,” where
privacy and solitude reigned. Other major hotels followed in the wake of Little Dix,
but seclusion is still highly guarded and respected.
Essentials
GETTING THERE
BY BOAT
Speedy's Fantasy
(
&
284/495-5240;
www.speedysbvi.com) oper-
ates a ferry service between Road Town, on Tortola, and Virgin Gorda. Monday to
Saturday, at least four ferries a day leave from Road Town; three ferries make the trip
on Sunday. The cost is $20 one-way or $30 round-trip. There is also service from St.
Thomas to Virgin Gorda three times a week (on Tues, Thurs, and Sat), costing $40
one-way or $70 round-trip.
You'll also find that the more luxurious resorts have their own boats to take you
from the airport on Beef Island to Virgin Gorda.
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