Norman Island, British Virgin Islands

Last updated: December 17, 2023

While visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) with my mom for our birthdays, we decided to spend a day island hopping to the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

After visiting the beautiful Virgin Gorda Baths, we headed to Norman Island, where we donned snorkel gear and jumped out of the boat to explore The Caves.

While not my favorite out of all the BVI, it is what I consider the most interesting. Norman Island is said to have inspired the classic book, Treasure Island. Additionally, there are so many caves and hidden bays, it was an ideal place for pirates to hide treasure. In fact, there are local rumors that a member of a well-known local family had been fishing near Norman Island and took shelter in one of the caves during a storm. The surge repeatedly banged his small boat against the walls of the cave. When the fortunate fisherman woke the next morning, a large number of rocks had broken off into his small craft, as had a small chest, supposedly filled with gold coins. The story cannot be verified as no legal application for treasure trove was ever made, but it is known that members of this certain family ceased being fisherman and left Tortola shortly afterwards to open some shops in St. Thomas.

This was my least favorite part of the excursion because the snorkeling equipment was horrible. My snorkel was leaking salt water into my mouth, and even though I informed them and they gave me another one, it did the same thing! I was choking on saltwater so much that it made the experience miserable for me, and I just gave up and climbed back into the boat. Bad Kitty, you lose a star for this. Get some quality snorkeling equipment! For the price, I expected better. So, if you decide to use Bad Kitty, take your own snorkel. In contrast, my snorkeling experience on Cas Cay was perfect, with zero snorkel leaks (so I know it can be done!).

I’d estimate we stayed here close to an hour. There were a few others that had issues with their snorkels and some people had brought their own so it was a good time for most people.

I barely made it to the entrance of the caves before I had to turn around because my snorkeling gear was so crappy, but I don’t know how much of a fan I am of going into dark caves looking at sea creatures. I’m definitely not disappointed about missing out on this because the idea of seeing a water snake or an eel in the dark just isn’t something I have on my vacation list.

Given I was in the water and either putting on or removing snorkeling gear, I didn’t really take a lot of photos. This would be a time you really need a way to use your camera in the water as this is where the majority of the time was spent.

Here’s a TikTok overview of Norman’s Island! In case you don’t have an account, you can view the video below:

Once we were all settled back into the boat, we made our way to Jost Van Dyke for some yummy lunch and to enjoy the rest of the day on the pristine White Bay beach.

What’s your thoughts on snorkeling in dark caves? let me know in the comments section found at the very bottom of this page.