About the British Virgin Islands

General Facts and Statistics
BVI Geographical Information
Ways & Customs of the British Virgin Islanders - The People

General Facts

		The Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal has been a dedicated civil servant and member of government in various capacities since 19??. As Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. O'Neal stepped in as head of government following the death of H. Lavity Stoutt, in May, 1995 and was reelected Chief Minister in 1999. Mr. O'Neal is a fervent supporter of programmes which assist the children of the BVI to achieve their goals, broaden their horizons and become active members of the BVI community. As Chief Minister, family man, businessman and Rotarian, Mr. O'Neal is constantly on the move ... but when he is able to grab a little time for himself, he really enjoys watching a good cricket match!
Chief Minister Ralph T. O'Neal, OBE

Back to Index

BVI Geographic Information

The British Virgin Islands are located in the Caribbean Sea, bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. These islands are part of the West Indies in the Leeward Islands archipelago.

The capital, Road Town is located on the largest of the islands, Tortola at (approx.) Latitude 18.8 degrees North and Longitude 64.2 degrees West or about 80 km. (50 miles) east of Puerto Rico, and adjacent to the US Virgin Islands. There are 46 islands and cays in the BVI, 19 of which are inhabited. The main (inhabited) islands are Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke. Several privately owned islands such as Peter, Cooper, Necker, Prickly Pear, Saba Rock and Guana island all provide vacation resorts.

The topography of most of the British Virgin Islands consist largely of rolling green hills and white sandy beaches. Tortola rises to its peak of 1,780 feet above sea level at Sage Mountain. Anegada is very different from all the other islands in that it is a coral atoll with its highest point being only 28 feet above sea level. The large majority of Anegada is beach type land and salt ponds.

Back to Index

Ways & Customs of British Virgin Islanders

Many visitors to the BVI often comment on the customs of the British Virgin Islanders. Most are charmed by their shyness and others mistakenly interpret small cultural differences as rudeness. When traveling abroad, it is recommended that people respect the ways and culture of the local residents. Here are some tips which may provide some helpful insight into the BVI ways.

Please ask permission to take photos of people. Some British Virgin Islanders are very shy and consider the taking of photos (without permission) to be presumptuous and may become upset or even angry.

Should you wish to ask anyone a question, it is polite to greet first and ask questions later. A simple "Good morning sir or ma'am" accompanied by a smile, will generally bring a polite and helpful response to your inquiry. The custom of approaching somebody and saying "Excuse me, could you please tell me where the grocery store is?" ... may be perfectly acceptable elsewhere, but is considered rude by some BV Islanders. Greet first, then ask your question.

BV Islanders will enter a store or other public place and say, "good afternoon, "good evening", etc. ... to no one in particular. It is just considered good manners. A reply is always appreciated but is not necessary.

Quite often, you may expect to here a "please", "thank you" or "your welcome" from a British Virgin Islander. However, these words are not necessarily ingrained in the everyday language and are often considered superfluous. It is NOT rudeness but simply a cultural difference, so please don't take offense.

You may be surprised to hear "PSSSST" in public places which is considered terribly rude in some countries. British Virgin Islanders (generally) speak very softly and in fact often mumble. Loud voices are almost always offensive to BV Islanders in public places. As a result and rather than call a name in a loud voice, they will employ the old attention getter ... "PSSSST". This is not considered rude in the BVI, and is much preferred to yelling out a name in public.

When asking a BV Islander his name, do not presume to ask his first name if his reply is simply, "Nibbs", "Smith","Deadman" or "Fat boy". Many people go by their last name or nick name "only" ... outside of their family circle and friends. Just accept whatever name they give you, as that is the name they are known by.

Nude and topless sunbathing is illegal in the British Virgin Islands. Please respect the sensibilities of the Islanders and their laws when visiting the BVI. In addition, please cover up when visiting Road Town or any place of business. Beach attire, bare midriffs, men without shirts or shoeless tourists are frowned upon anywhere outside of a beach environment.

Please exercise great caution when driving in the British Virgin Islands. People may step out into the street without first checking to see if there are any oncoming vehicles. Please be aware of this and stay alert at all times when driving in the BVI. (Remember also that we drive on the left!)

Visitors are reminded that our roads were intended for vehicular traffic rather than pedestrians. It is best to walk along the side of the road (single file) or on a sidewalk where provided. Strolling three or four abreast down the street is not safe and could very well result in personal injury.

When drivers blow their horns:

98% of the time, drivers are not asking you to move or get out of the way as they do in other countries. In the BVI, the horn is mainly used to greet or acknowledge friends. If you are on a stretch of road (where it would be safe to assume they are not hailing a friend), they are letting you know that they are behind you and intend to pass so as not to take you by surprise. Oftentimes people will honk when approaching a switch back or blind corner and are letting oncoming traffic know that they are about to turn the corner ... just in case anyone was planning to make a wide turn. Of course, 2% of the time ... you may actually be in the way, so take a look around to make sure!

Back to Index

If there are any topics not already addressed in this tourist guide ... or should you have information to add, please feel free to send us your suggestions at: bvivacations@surfbvi.com

Member

This travel guide is offered as a free service by All-In-One BVI Vacations. To submit or update your URL or BVI company listing, go to: Submissions British Virgin Island registered companies only please!