British Virgin Islands

WHEN TO GO

The climate is pretty ideal year-round, with constant trade winds cooling temperatures that range between 70 and 90 degrees—summer being the hottest, most humid time. Most rain comes in short tropical showers during the late-June-to-mid-November hurricane season. Crucial information for divers: Visibility drops in the summer months to around 60 feet, but in winter and spring it can reach a whopping 200 feet. As always in the islands, hotel rates also drop precipitously in the summer.

HOW TO GET THERE

There are no direct flights from the United States to the Terrence B. Lettsome Airport on Beef Island (linked to Tortola by bridge), so you need to connect through San Juan or St. Thomas. If you fly to St. Thomas, it's easier to take the ferry to Tortola—otherwise you'll have to charter a flight, which could take you straight to the small airstrips on Virgin Gorda or Anegada as well as Tortola, but obviously is far pricier. Ferries from Red Hook or Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas, to West End Tortola stop at dusk—the last one leaves around 5 p.m., so you may need to schedule an overnight stay in St. Thomas. Once on Tortola, there are many interisland ferry services and also air-charter companies (try Fly B.V.I., 284-495-1747; www.fly-bvi.com).