Story: Hoang Phong

Sailing among the British Virgin Islands is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for adventure, exploration and pure relaxation. With the advent of the Internet, boat owners are able to rent out their vessels when not in use, thus rendering this experience within the reach of a regular person at least once in a lifetime.

BVI boasts about 36 islands dotting the calm, azure Caribbean Sea. Each one has its own particular draw, from stark volcanic cliffs to kaleidoscopic coral reefs to buzzing beach bars on pearly white sand.

Visitors can spend a week aboard a 60-foot catamaran, stylishly appointed yet efficiently organized with enough essential and non-essential supplies for a voyage at sea. As you sit back and enjoy breakfast and morning coffee in the sea breeze, the boat will lift anchor from its nightly haven and bring you to your first destination. After lunch, you can take a nap in the air-conditioned cabin below deck while the boat sails to your next chosen spot.

Located on Virgin Gorda island, The Baths are huge granite boulders, brought to the surface by geological movements and eroded by millions of years of waves to form scenic arches, grottoes and tidal pools. You can spend hours wandering among the rocks, wading into the always-cool pools and discovering secluded mini-beaches filled with powdery sand. The landscape has a surreal vibe, as if constructed eons ago by playful giants.

And be sure not to miss exploring the Caribbean’s underwater world. In addition to vibrant reefs and sea life, BVI is also famous for its enchanting wrecks that attract scuba divers from all around the world. For example, you can explore the RMS Rhone, sunk by a storm in 1867 and now under 12 meters of water. Its mostly intact mast and propeller are sights to behold. The wreck has since become a safe harbor for aquatic life on the sandy sea floor, its wooden structures colonized by seaweed and coral, while fish and crustaceans dwell among the encrusted remnants.