Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
56.6km²
Area
75km
Coastline
523m
Highest point
Mount Sage
23,908
People
29°C
Warmest sea
September
851km
To the mainland
When to go to Tortola
Best for the beach from December to April.
The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in British Virgin Islands
Tortola is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Lesser Antilles. It covers 56.6 km², with 75 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Sage, rises to 523 m. About 23,908 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 851 km away.
Getting there
- Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 5 km in a straight lineCar hire at STX airport (Christiansted)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesRoad Town, Tortola - Red Hook, Saint Thomas, Road Town, Tortola - Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, West End, Tortola - Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke, Road Town, Tortola - Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda
- 851 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From December to Aprilbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Tortola.
- 12beachesSmuggler's Cove Beach, Long Beach, Brandywine Bay Beach and 9 more
- 5viewpointsSwim with Dolphins, JR O'Neal Trail, Half Moon Point and 2 more
- 2ferry terminalsWest End Ferry Terminal, Road Town Ferry Terminal
- 13marinasVillage Cay Marina, Prospect Reef Marina, The Moorings Marina, Tortola and 10 more
- 1named peaksMount Sage
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesSt. Philip's Anglican Church
- 43hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 56restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Tortola in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Tortola, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
7mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
523m
Mount Sage
according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.9°C
Hell Hole
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Hell Holecove28.9°C
- Sea Cow Baycove28.9°C
- Rogues Baycove28.9°C
- Fish Baycove28.9°C
7 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Mount Sage523m
- Todman Peak357m
- Windy Hill
- Slaney Hill
- Kingstown Hill
- Luck Hill
- Mount Healthy
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 140 m above the sea. 71 % of it is below 200 m.
- 29 %0–50 m
- 42 %50–200 m
- 29 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Road Town8,449 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 23 | 14 | 20 | 28 | 63 | 46 | 57 | 72 | 91 | 104 | 87 | 40 |
| Wet days | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 9 |
| Sun h/day | 8.1 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 25 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +1.0 | +1.2 |
| 2025 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Saint John
United States50 km²121 m20 km away
Virgin Gorda
United Kingdom22 km²117 m20 km away
Saint ThomasUnited States72 km²473 m36 km away
Jost Van DykeUnited Kingdom8.5 km²321 m16 km away
AnegadaUnited Kingdom40 km²9 m44 km away
Peter Island
British Virgin Islands4.3 km²83 m8 km away
Saint CroixUnited States218 km²354 m78 km away
CulebraUnited States27 km²3 m75 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q827604) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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