Many choose a Caribbean destination to relax and reset on a balmy beach, ice cold cocktail in hand. For those who desire to venture beyond the deck chair, we’ve compiled a few essential stops that are well worthy of itinerary inclusion.

1. Sail the Seas

As the yachting capital of the world, it would be remiss for us not to start with sailing. Whether you spend a week aboard a charter yacht hopping from island to island, or sign up for a daylong cruise, seeing the BVI from the water is arguably the most rewarding way to experience the archipelago. There are plenty of options for all types of seafarers – from the seriously seasoned to the relatively reluctant. Chart your own course or hire a captain and crew to take care of all the details.

2. The Baths and Devils Bay

Formed via a series of ancient volcanic eruptions, the Baths are a geological wonder – simply stunning to behold and exhilarating to explore. Giant granite boulders lie strewn along the shore creating a collection of secret sea pools, caverns, and serpentine sun-dappled trails. A highlight is the Cathedral Room, a natural sea pool sheltered by massive monoliths in which you can soak. The Baths trail begins in gorgeous cactus-cloaked semi-desert, finally depositing explorers on Devils Bay – one of the BVI’s, possibly the world’s, most spectacular beaches. Top tip: Investigate the Cruise ship schedule and ensure you visit on a day when none are in port or after they have left for the day.  This spot fast loses some magic when shared with too many!

3. Hike BVI

Life above the BVI waterline is as wonderous as below, and few showcase this better than the team at Hike BVI. Offering a range of varying hikes along some of the BVI’s most treasured trails, each tour integrates the territory’s rich culture and fascinating history. From The Bat Cave to Bamboo Meadow, Pineapple Field to Famous Shark Fin, Hike BVI offers a fantastic range of walks for all ages and stages. They also offer day trips complete with delectable picnics and inspired “silent hikes” where hikers don headphones and end their experience around a bonfire on the beach.

4. Sage Mountain

If you’re up for a self-guided meander through bountiful jungle, head up to Sage Mountain National Park. At 500 metres, Mount Sage is the highest point in the BVI, and a lushly tropical treat for those who like to immerse themselves in the cool green of the rain forest. Twelve different trails (the most popular of which is a four-kilometre, ‘moderate’ trek to the summit) snake through old growth forests of mahogany, lacey nest ferns, giant Golden Pothos, wild orchids and palms. It’s an indulgence for all the senses and will leave you restored and revived, ready for the next adventure.

5. A Painkiller at Soggy Dollar Bar

A Sage Mountain excursion might also leave you ready for a drink. Enter the Painkiller. This iconic BVI cocktail deserves to be enjoyed at least once during your stay, preferably at its birthplace – The Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyk. A delicious concoction of rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream with a dusting of nutmeg on top, this potent pick-me-up tastes especially good when enjoyed with the sun on your face and your feet in the sand.

Top Tip: Rum in the sun is so much fun, but if you plan on remembering the day, line your stomach with some lunch and punctuate your Painkillers with water.

6. Callwood Rum Distillery

For over 200 years, Cane Garden Bay’s Callwood Rum Distillery has used sugar cane grown right on site to produce white and dark rums in what is now one of the oldest continuously operating pot distilleries in the Caribbean. Rum has been a product of the BVI since the 1600s, and in the 18th and 19th centuries there were a total of 106 distilleries operating across the BVI. Run by the 4th generation of Callwoods, theirs is the last that remains up and running. Visit the gorgeous fieldstone building and sample four rums for just a single dollar. If you’re feeling daring (with a side of reckless) add to your sampling selection a shot of the “Panty Dropper”. No elaboration necessary.

7. Meander the North Shore

Tortola’s North Shore is truly picturesque, especially quaint, colourful Carrot and Apple Bays. The road that leads you there drop drops dramatically down from the mountain to amble easily along the coast, passing fishermen in their boats returning home with their hauls, a smattering of fresh fruit and vegetable stands, animated residents assembled for a game of dominoes, and the delightfully eclectic North Shore Shell Museum. Apple Bay is also a renowned surfing spot – fun both in which to partake or simply spectate from the shore. With seaside restaurants and bars aplenty, those who find themselves hungry will be spoilt for choice. End your ramble with a stroll along Long Bay’s stretch of white beach or a dip at secluded Smuggler’s Cove.

8. Dive a Famous Wreck

The waters surrounding the BVI boast several remarkable wrecks that make for excellent underwater exploration. The most famous by far is that of the  RMS Rhone, a UK Royal Mail Ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. Wrecked off the coast of uninhabited Salt Island in 1867 during a terrible hurricane, the vessel collided with Black Rock Point, causing the ship to break into two. When the cold sea water come into contact with the boilers, which had been running at full steam, they exploded with catastrophic effect. A total of 123 souls were lost, including the ship’s captain who was thrown overboard never to be seen again. Now a popular dive site, The Rhone is recommended for the more advanced diver, but can also be snorkelled by those with less dive time under their weight belts.

9. Snorkel The Caves and The Indians

The BVI has no shortage of stunning snorkelling spots for every level of experience, but The Caves at Norman Island and the neighbouring Indians are top of our list. Reputed to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Norman Island is cloaked in legend and lore. It’s water-level caves sit just outside the western edge of The Bight, and if the stories are to be believed, are where Blackbeard himself hid his fortune. Whether you strike gold or (most likely) not, explorers will delight in the thousands of Orange Cup Coral and Red Sponge covering the cave walls, as well as the swaying shoals of iridescent fish hovering in the current. Right next door are The Indians, four craggy pinnacles of rock rising a hundred feet from the ocean floor. Here you’ll see gorgeous corals, sponges, a vast variety of tropical fish, a couple of intriguing caves, crooks and crannies, and a short tunnel that you can swim through. Top Tip: Both sites are incredibly popular and worth getting to early for prime enjoyment.

10. Feast on Fresh Lobster in Anegada

Setting foot on Anegada is akin to stepping back in time. The whole world seems to simplify and slow. You’ll find neither mountain nor rainforest here. With its level limestone and coral topography, it’s all native scrub, soft sand, and the sounds and smell of the sea all around. Visitors travel to this otherworldly island to experience life unhurried – to surf, snorkel, soak, sleep, star-gaze, flamingo-spot… and for the seafood. Lobster to be exact. Anegada lobster is some of the best in the business and definitely an essential BVI experience.