One Day in Tortola, BVI: Cane Garden Bay & Norman Island

Tortola was one of the islands I was most excited to explore on our Caribbean cruise, there is truly so much to do here and on the many nearby islands, which are just a short boat ride away.

The hardest part was figuring exactly what to do (and sadly, not do) with only one day in Tortola! So, in this article I’m sharing our one day Tortola itinerary as adventure-seeking cruise ship passengers (who also love a good beach day), plus all the other things to do in Tortola that I considered and why!

Spoiler alert: We ended up splitting our day into two parts, a catamaran snorkeling adventure around the island that inspired Treasure Island, and spending a few hours relaxing on one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful beaches with white sand, turquoise water and lush, rolling green hills! It was perfection!

Woman standing on catamaran boat beside the Caves at Norman Island, a day trip while spending a day in Tortola, BVI

Cane Garden Bay Beach, a great spot to spend a day in Tortola, British Virgin Islands

☀️🌺🌿 Article Outline (Jump Ahead)

How to Spend a Day in Road Town, Tortola

Tortola is the largest of the 60+ islands that make up the British Virgin Islands, and many of those smaller islands are just a short boat ride away. So, island hopping is quite popular here, but Tortola itself is also absolutely stunning with some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean!

One of the most popular things to do here is to take a catamaran over to Jost Van Dyke, a dreamy little island home to the iconic Soggy Dollar Bar where the fruity and coconuty Painkiller Cocktail was invented. You have to take jump in the water ashore to the beach bar—hence the name, ‘soggy dollar’. On this Jost Van Dyke catamaran day trip from Road Town you also get to visit Sandy Spit, a tiny little island off the coast, and Bubbly Pool, a natural ‘hot tub’ on the island. Of course, you get lunch and rum punch on the catamaran, plus snorkel gear and even paddle boards. Sounds like a dream of a day!

Another popular day trip we considered was to the Baths at Virgin Gorda. Located along a white sandy beach on nearby Virgin Gorda island, the Baths are home to a collection of giant granite boulders that create a submerged maze, with some excellent snorkeling and spots to relax on the beach. To get here, you can either take the public ferry to Virgin Gorda followed by a bus or taxi to the Baths, or take a private boat and swim ashore.

Another option was to go on a snorkeling tour to Norman Island, which has some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean and is just a 20-minute boat ride from Road Town, Tortola. The island itself is said to have inspired Treasure Island, and its still uninhabited to this day, but is a favorite spot for boaters to anchor and snorkel for the day. This catamaran snorkeling tour includes lunch and rum punch, and gets you back to the port in the early afternoon, leaving time to go to the beach on Tortola!

On Tortola itself, spending a day at the beach is an exceptional option. We went to Cane Garden Bay Beach, which is still to this day one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to, with calm turquoise water, soft white sand, and lush rolling hills surrounding the bay.

A lesser known but excellent way to spend a day in Tortola is to go kayaking through the mangroves at Beef Island Lagoon… which is actually part of Tortola, despite the name! Since this lagoon is undisturbed, you can spot tons of wildlife like sea turtles, stingrays, pelicans, barracuda and more. And since its a small group guided kayak tour, you get to learn about the history of the British Virgin Islands, too!

How We Spent our Day in Tortola (& Why)

I honestly wish we could have done it all, but given our limited time, we decided to choose two activities that we could fit into one day—so we could see as much of the British Virgin Island as possible!

So, we spent half our day snorkeling around Norman Island and the other half relaxing on Cane Bay Garden Beach on Tortola. It was the perfect combination of relaxation and adventure, and made us want to come back to Tortola someday!

Here’s exactly how we did it:

Sailboat near Norman Island, one of the best places to visit with a day in Tortola as a cruise ship passenger

Morning: Norman Island Snorkeling

Start off your day in Tortola by, well, leaving Tortola… on a catamaran boat bound for legendary Norman Island, just a 30 minute boat ride away!

Said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Norman Island is a delightful uninhabited island that’s considered one of the best snorkeling spots in the Caribbean!

Between the island’s sea caves, dramatic cliffs, and glimmer of yachts anchored offshore, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, where I enjoyed a similar snorkeling trip a few months earlier.

Here’s what to expect on this exceptional Norman Island catamaran tour:

Departs from Village Cay Marina, a 5 minute walk away from the cruise terminal
Easy 30 minute boat ride to the island, it was smooth and gave our guides time to distribute snorkel gear!
Start by snorkeling in and around two stunning sea caves, where we saw a variety of tropical fish and got to venture into the caves a little!
Then snorkel beside The Indians, a cluster of rock formations—there were even more fish here, and a few underwater tunnels you could swim through!
Buffet lunch (with veggie options) is included onboard, plus some caramely local rum and rum punch for the ride back!

Book Norman Island Snorkeling

Woman in the water at Cane Garden Bay in the British Virgin Islands

Afternoon: Relax at Cane Garden Bay Beach

When you Google ‘Tortola,’ you’ll see some gorgeous white sand beaches surrounded by lush rolling hills. After seeing these photos, I knew I needed to visit one of those postcard-worthy beaches!

The beach in many of those photos is Cane Garden Bay Beach, which is about a 20-minute drive from the port in Road Town. And it’s super easy to catch a taxi over—with a guaranteed return ride, too!

So, after getting back to the port, find a taxi and ask for a ride to Cane Garden Bay. You can get a seat in a shared taxi for $12-15 per person, or $25ish per person for a private taxi. Then they’ll ask you to prepay for the return ride and agree on a time and place to meet.

Since the official currency of the British Virgin Islands is actually the US dollar (shocking, right?!?) it’s easy to pay in US cash.

And the taxi ride itself felt more like a little island tour than a taxi—we learned a bit about the island and our driver somehow got our mini van full of strangers to sing together. Apparently he does that to distract you from dramatic cliffs and narrow road as you drive up and down the hills that divide the island.

Cane Garden Bay itself was absolutely stunning, with soft white sandy and shallow blue water, and of course, those picturequse rolling hills surrounding the bay!

The beach wasn’t as busy as I would expect it to be, and there were a variety of beach bars with lounge chairs you could rent by the day or hour. If you’re hungry for lunch, there are plenty of options from Caribbean curries to burgers and fries.

We absolutely loved this beach and wish we could have stayed longer. If you’re not big into snorkeling, you could easily skip Norman Island and spend the whole day here!