The best strategy for exploring the islands is to see one island per day, instead of rushing through all of them in a couple of days.

What Tortola doesn't have in the way of historical sights it makes up for in natural beauty. Although you could explore the island's 10 square mi (26 square km) in a few hours, opting for such a whirlwind tour would be a mistake. Explore a bit of the island at a time. For example, you might try Road Town (the island's main town) one morning and a drive to Cane Garden Bay and West End (a little town on the island's west end) the next afternoon.

Virgin Gorda, or "Fat Virgin," received its name from Christopher Columbus, who envisioned the island as a pregnant women in a languid recline. There are few roads, and most byways don't follow the scalloped shoreline. The main route sticks resolutely to the center of the island, linking The Baths at the tip of the southern extremity with Gun Creek and Leverick Bay at North Sound and providing exhilarating views. The craggy coast, scissored with grottoes and fringed by palms and boulders, has a primitive beauty.

Named after an early Dutch settler, Jost Van Dyke is a small island northwest of Tortola, and is truly a place to get away from it all. Mountainous and lush, the 4-mi-long (6½-km-long) island -- with fewer than 200 full-time residents -- has one tiny resort, some rental houses, a campground, a handful of cars, and a single road.

Anegada lies low on the horizon about 14 mi (22½ km) north of Virgin Gorda. Unlike the hilly volcanic islands in the chain, this is a flat coral and limestone atoll. Nine miles (14 km) long and 2 mi (3 km) wide, the island rises no more than 28 ft above sea level. In fact, by the time you're able to see it, you may have run your boat onto a reef. Although the reefs are a sailor's nightmare, they (and the shipwrecks they've caused) are a scuba diver's dream. Snorkeling, especially in the waters around Loblolly Bay on the north shore, is a transcendent experience.

Driving in BVI is on the left side of the road. Main roads are well paved, but there are exceptionally steep hills and sharp curves. You'll need a temporary BVI license, available at the rental car company with a valid license from another country. Bus, airplane, and ferry services are available, as well as taxis. You can also usually find a taxi at the ferry dock at Soper's Hole, West End, where ferries arrive from St. Thomas