Monday 1 September 2008

Romance and Your Tortola Yachting Adventure

The boat deck, a wide blue ocean, sunset, a bottle of fine wine, and the person you love - it doesn't get more romantic than that. Tortola and the British Virgin Islands are an ideal place to seek out romance, and the privacy and beauty you'll find in a bareboat yachting trip make your vacation the most romantic you'll ever have in your life.

There are many, many places of romantic beauty on and around Tortola. These are some of the best.

Smuggler's Cove is quite possibly the most private beach on Tortola, outside of the several uninhabited sandy islands with no amenities at all. You'll find one beach bar here, no restaurant, and very few people. Though you may be tempted to strip naked and dive into the water, just don't do it! The people of the Virgin Islands frown on public nudity. Save that for another time. To get here, anchor your yacht nearby and swim or dinghy over; though the yachting companies may tell you not to stop here, many locals do anyway, and it's not a big deal as long as you don't dump waste anywhere nearby.

The Peter Island Resort is a perfect place to base your yachting from. Located on a privately-owned island that is undeveloped outside the resort, Peter Island offers moorings for your yacht, perfect honeymoon accommodations with every resort perk, and nothing to do at night but enjoy one another, the beach, the ripe scent of jasmine, and the brilliant stars overhead. Need a perfect beach on Peter Island? Deadman's Bay, though it has a decidedly unromantic name, is rated one of the top ten romantic beaches of the Caribbean; take a stroll here under the palms and seagrape trees and watch the light of the sunset fade, leaving just the two of you alone here.

Another romantic choice: explore the pirates. The British Virgin Islands, and especially Tortola, were a pirate haven. You can go together to set foot on Dead Chest Island, the original source for the pirate phrase "fifteen men on a dead man's chest." Or sail over to Norman Island, locally known as Treasure Island, where you can explore the places associated with Robert Louis Stevenson's book and have lunch at Pirate Bight Beach Bar and Restaurant. Hike up Spy Glass Hill, and at the top you'll be rewarded with an uninterrupted view of Sir Francis Drake Channel on all sides; this historic spot was used by pirates and privateers to watch for passing treasure ships, and you'll quickly see why. An added bonus: nearby Pelican Island is right next to The Indians and Rainbow Canyon, one of the best snorkeling and diving spots in the world.

Or you can sail from the west end of Tortola along its south coast, passing island after island on the way to Virgin Gorda. The British Virgin Islands were named after St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins because there are so many little islands that dot the area; most are uninhabited. This means that you can stop at any of them for a romantic moonlight dinner, and private dancing on the beach afterward. All your most romantic fantasies can be lived out here on sun-warmed beaches next to deep blue waters.

Barry Monteiro is a world traveler specializing in great tropical destination getaways. He enjoys writing about his favorite subjects Tortola Beaches and Tortola Yacht Charters.

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