BVI Dive Sites Island by Island

Salt Island, Peter Island and Dead Chest

The cluster of small islands south of Tortola holds the best-known BVI dive sites, and the most protected ones. Much of the water here lies inside the Rhone Marine Park, managed by the BVI National Parks Trust, so boats tie up to park moorings and fishing and anchoring are restricted.

RMS Rhone

The wreck of the Royal Mail steamer Rhone lies off Lee Bay on the west end of Salt Island, broken into a shallow stern section and a deeper bow. It is the territory's signature dive and usually done as two dives. Our RMS Rhone wreck dive guide has the full story.

Painted Walls

At the south-east tip of Dead Chest Island, a set of long gullies and canyons cut into the rock, their walls covered in encrusting sponges and coral in red, orange, purple and yellow. Depths range from the surface to around 50 feet. Swell from the south can make the shallow part surgy, so it is best on calm days.

Blonde Rock

A pinnacle in open water between Dead Chest and Salt Island, its top a few feet below the surface and its base at roughly 60 feet. Ledges and overhangs shelter lobster, eels and big schools of fish. Currents can run here, so it is often dived when the tide is slack.

Alice in Wonderland

Off the south side of Ginger Island, this reef is named for its huge, mushroom-shaped coral heads that make divers feel shrunk to the size of a fish. It slopes from about 40 to 80 feet and is a favourite of photographers on a clear day.

Norman Island and Pelican Island

At the south-west end of the chain, Norman Island is famous for pirate legends and for some of the easiest good diving in the BVI. Norman Island diving covers it in detail. The highlights:

• The Indians: four rock pinnacles rising from about 50 feet to above the surface, with coral and fish on every side. Good for divers and snorkelers.
• The Caves: sea caves at Treasure Point, mostly a shallow snorkel, full of glassy sweepers and silversides.
• Angelfish Reef: a sloping reef off Norman's western point, known for angelfish, rays and the occasional turtle.
• Santa Monica Rock: an exposed pinnacle off Norman's south side, deeper and more open to the ocean, where eagle rays and larger fish are more likely.

Cooper Island, Ginger Island and Wreck Alley

Further east along the channel, Cooper Island is home to Wreck Alley, a group of ships sunk on purpose to create artificial reefs. They sit close together on the sand in roughly 80 to 90 feet, so one dive can take in more than one hull. See BVI wreck diving for the wrecks here and elsewhere.

The Dogs and Virgin Gorda

The Dogs are a group of small islands between Tortola and Virgin Gorda. Their sites are rockier and more exposed to the north than the central islands, with granite boulders, arches and swim-throughs. Great Dog's canyon, known as the Chimney, is among the best-known. Around Virgin Gorda, the boulder landscape of the Baths continues underwater, and Mountain Point off the island's north-west tip has rocky ridges and caverns. Northern sites are best when the winter swell is down.

Anegada and Horseshoe Reef

Anegada lies apart from the other islands, flat and fringed by Horseshoe Reef. The reef has wrecked hundreds of ships over the centuries, and the water around it is shallow, clear and remote. Diving here takes more planning than anywhere else in the BVI; read our Anegada diving guide before you go.