About Virgin Gorda

Virgin Gorda is a 59 sq. mile volcanic island in the Caribbean Sea about 90 miles east of Puerto Rico in the British Virgin Islands. The climate is subtropical, so expect balmy temperatures, warm ocean water, scattered rain showers, and occasional 10-20 knot winds. The main town on the island is Spanish Town. This is where all the ferries from Tortola arrive. The island is also equipped with a small airport. See BVI facts and figures for more details. Guavaberry Springs (see map) is where the wedding will be taking place.


The US and British Virgin Islands

Map of the Caribbean

Getting There

There are no direct flights from the US or Europe to the British Virgin Islands. All flights must go through another Caribbean airport such as San Juan, St. Thomas, or St. Maarten before reaching Tortola or Virgin Gorda. There are a few direct flights to San Juan and St. Thomas from major US cities such as New York and Miami.

  • To fly directly to Virgin Gorda you can connect through San Juan (Puerto Rico) or St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) and then choose between a variety of local airlines (Air St. Thomas, Air Sunshine, American Eagle, Cape Air, and others) to take you directly to the small terminal on Virgin Gorda.
  • It might be cheaper to fly to nearby Tortola (Beef Island airport, code EIS) or to St. Thomas (airport code STT) and then take a ferry from either island to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda.

We highly recommend that you choose a travel agent to book your flight to the Virgin Islands (for those of you in California you can try Alamo Travel, 415.892.6938), especially if you are looking for cheaper fares. If you'd rather find your own tickets, here is some useful information:

Local information
BVI Tourist Board
Virgin Island Government
www.britishvirginislands.com

Cheap fares online

 

From the US
Cheap Tickets
Orbitz
Hotwire
Cheap Fare

From Italy
Yahoo Viaggi
Travel Online
Volare Low Cost
Travel Price

If you have limited time to spend in the BVI, you should try to get there on September 30th (Thursday) and stay until October 3rd or 4th, as there will probably be some festivities on the night of October 1st.

Ferries

North Sound Express (Tel 284.495.2138) operates between Beef Island (Tortola airport) and Virgin Gorda. The last ferry from Beef Island to Virgin Gorda is at 7:30 PM. North Sound Express requires at least a 24 hour notice on reservations, so make sure you call them ahead of time.

Speedy's and Smith's Ferry operate between Road Town, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda and between Tortola and St. Thomas. If you are coming from St. Thomas you'll have to take a ferry to Tortola first. Note that ferries from St. Thomas stop at 4:30 PM, so you should plan to arrive early enough to catch the last boat. Ferries from Tortola to Virgin Gorda run until 6:00-6:45 depending on the weekday.

If you arrive in Tortola too late to catch the 7:30 PM North Sound Express ferry you can either spend the night in Road Town or hire a water taxi to take you to Virgin Gorda. Water taxis cost about $200 one-way. Since there may be other people arriving late on the same night, you can post a message to the itinerary section of our message board to see if anyone else is interested in sharing the costs (we also plan to do a group boat pickup for people arriving late on Thursday 9/30; check the message board for details).

For full ferry schedules and other important information check the ferry company websites provided above or the BVI Welcome and BVI Tourist Board websites.

Getting around Virgin Gorda

Once you are in Spanish Town or at the Virgin Gorda airport you can arrange to rent a car or take a taxi to Guavaberry Spring Bay. If you opt not to rent a car, Guavaberry Springs can easily arrange to pick you up by taxi if you tell them the time of your arrival on the island, and once you are there it's an easy walk to the beach, our house, and to a few nearby restaurants and bars. If you choose to rent a car you will need to purchase a temporary license for $10 at the rental agency.