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Road Town
Capital and the largest city of the British Virgin Islands

Road Town

Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital and largest town of the British Virgin Islands.

Plan a trip to Road Town→From San Juan

It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018.

Get in

Getting to Road Town

Air travel is the usual way to access the BVI, however, long-distance direct flights are not available, and you must transit one of the four Caribbean gateways; San Juan (SJU IATA), St. Thomas (STT IATA), Antigua (ANU IATA) and Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin (SXM IATA). Connections are readily available through commuter airline operations on the lower end, if your schedule allows.

See

Worth seeing

Often overlooked are some of the island's interesting historical ruins, including "The Dungeon" (originally named Dojon, a Spanish fort dating from the 1700s) and the "African Church" (officially, St Phillips, a church for African slaves freed by the Royal Navy and dumped on Tortola, and reportedly the first free black church in the Americas).

Do

Things to do

Tortola has many of the things you would expect from one of the Virgin Islands like scuba diving, boating and fishing: BVI Scuba Co, Inner Harbour (across from the cruise ship terminal),. 8AM-6PM. Offering daily scuba diving trips, snorkeling and eco-tours, scuba equipment rentals and dive gear sales.

  1. 01
    The Sage Mountain Park

    It offers lots of hiking and the tallest mountain in the US and British Virgin Islands.

Eat

Where to eat

Crandall's, main road west of Road Town, serving Johnny Cakes and Patties. Very popular with local Tortolans. Open Monday to Friday 05:30 to 17:00 Roti Palace, Main Street in Road Town, offers roti (Indian flat bread) wrapped around various curries from vegetable to goat. Capriccio's, on the Waterfront in Road Town. A proper Italian cafe with pizzas and daily pasta specials.

How locals move

Getting around Road Town the local way

Almost nobody flies straight in: most visitors reach Tortola through St Thomas, Puerto Rico, Antigua or Sint Maarten and finish the trip by ferry or a short hop into Beef Island, then move between islands by ferry, safari bus, taxi or rented car on the left.

  1. 01
    Native Son / Road Town Fast Ferry / Speedy's – international USVI crossingferry

    Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook (St Thomas, USVI) to Road Town or West End (Tortola)

    Where
    Ferry terminals at the Road Town waterfront and at Soper's Hole, West End; several competing companies run the same crossing and post separate schedules
    When
    Multiple daily sailings on most days; most companies stop running after about 17:00
    Fare
    One-way roughly US$25–30 for adults, US$19–25 for children per Wikivoyage; undated, current fares not published on the operator sites checked
    Takes
    About 45–60 minutes
    Season
    Year-round; hurricane season (June–November) can suspend sailings with little notice
    Booking
    Walk up and buy at the dock booth; some operators offer online booking

    Sources: nativesonferry.co (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

  2. 02
    Smith's Ferry – inter-island networkferry

    Road Town (Tortola) to Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Anegada and St Thomas

    Where
    Road Town ferry terminal on the waterfront; check smithsferry.com or the dock booth for the day's departure board, since routes rotate by day of week
    When
    Several sailings a day to Virgin Gorda and St Thomas; fewer to Jost Van Dyke and Anegada
    Fare
    Not published on the operator site as checked; book through fareharbor.com booking widget embedded on smithsferry.com
    Takes
    20–60 minutes depending on destination
    Season
    Year-round; hurricane season sailings can be cancelled
    Booking
    Online via the operator's FareHarbor booking widget, or at the dock

    Sources: smithsferry.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

  3. 03
    Road Town Fast Ferry – Road Town to Anegadaferry

    Road Town, Tortola to Anegada

    Where
    Road Town Ferry Terminal, Waterfront Drive
    When
    Runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday; described by the operator as a seasonal trip
    Fare
    Not published on the operator site as checked (schedule and fare tables were placeholders at time of check)
    Takes
    Not published on the schedule table as checked
    Season
    Seasonal; schedule subject to change without notice
    Booking
    Online or at the terminal; wheelchair-accessible trolley available with 3 hours' notice

    Sources: roadtownfastferry.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

  4. 04
    BVI–USVI immigration crossingborder crossing

    Any ferry crossing between the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands (St Thomas, St John)

    Where
    Immigration and customs booths at the Road Town, West End and St Thomas ferry terminals; process before boarding, not on the boat
    When
    Every crossing
    Fare (2019)
    A $10 entry tariff and $20 exit tariff, per person (Aug 2019, per Wikivoyage); US citizens must carry a passport or face being refused travel
    Takes
    Adds 15–30 minutes either side for immigration processing
    Season
    Year-round; a valid passport is required in both directions regardless of nationality
    Booking
    none

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2019-08) · smithsferry.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

  5. 05
    Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, Beef Islandscheduled flight

    Beef Island (Tortola's east end) via San Juan, St Thomas, Antigua or Sint Maarten – no long-haul direct flights

    Where
    Airport is on Beef Island, joined to Tortola's east end by a bridge/causeway; taxis and some hotel shuttles meet arriving flights
    When
    Not published in the sources checked; Wikivoyage names Island Birds, VI Airlink and Winair as the carriers that connect through the four gateways
    Fare
    Not researched here; fares depend on the connecting international flight
    Takes
    Varies by connection; Wikivoyage describes a 14-minute charter flight from St Thomas
    Season
    Year-round; hurricane season can bring cancellations
    Booking
    Book flights through the airline or a charter operator directly

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

  6. 06
    Safari busesshared pickup

    Airport (Beef Island) to Road Town, and along the island's two ends

    Where
    Wait at the airport arrivals area or main road; flag one down or ask a local where the nearest stand is
    When
    No fixed timetable; runs when there is demand, mainly around flight and ferry arrivals
    Fare
    Not confirmed for current year; described only as cheaper than a private taxi
    Takes
    Varies by destination
    Season
    Year-round
    Booking
    none, flag down or ask at the stand

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence low

  7. 07
    Taxi associations, fixed government ratesprivate hire

    Island-wide, including airport and ferry-dock transfers

    Where
    Taxi stands at the airport, Road Town waterfront and West End ferry dock; BVI Taxi Association and West End Taxi Association both operate
    When
    On demand, plentiful at transport hubs
    Fare
    Fares are fixed by law rather than negotiated; published taxi tariffs are on the BVI Tourist Board site, not independently confirmed here
    Takes
    Varies by destination
    Season
    Year-round
    Booking
    none, hail at a stand or call the association

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

  8. 08
    Car rental, driving on the leftvehicle hire

    Island-wide self-drive

    Where
    Small independent rental companies near the airport and Road Town; some now deliver to and collect from the airport
    When
    on demand
    Fare
    Prices start from around US$50 per day, per Wikivoyage; undated
    Takes
    n/a
    Season
    Year-round; steep, winding roads and unmarked speed bumps make driving harder in the wet season
    Booking
    Book ahead in high season; some companies deliver to the airport

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

  9. 09
    Hitching a ridehitchhiking

    Island-wide

    Where
    Point with an extended index finger in the direction of travel rather than using a raised thumb
    When
    on demand, depends entirely on passing traffic
    Fare
    Free
    Takes
    n/a
    Season
    Daytime only is described as common; not recommended after dark
    Booking
    none

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence low

  10. 10
    Hurricane seasonservice status

    Affects all air, ferry and road travel across the territory

    Where
    Check BVI Ports Authority news and airline status directly before travelling June–November
    When
    Seasonal, June to November, peak risk August–October
    Fare
    n/a
    Takes
    n/a
    Season
    Hurricane Irma (September 2017) is described as the most recent major storm and caused lasting damage to docks and the airport terminal
    Booking
    n/a

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

  11. 11
    Cruise ship daysservice status

    Road Town cruise pier and Cane Garden Bay

    Where
    Check the BVI Ports Authority cruise arrivals page for that week's ship calls before planning a beach or taxi day
    When
    Not published in the sources checked; see the BVI Ports Authority cruise calendar for that week's calls
    Fare
    No cruise-day fare effect could be confirmed, and Wikivoyage says taxi fares are fixed by law rather than set on the day; what the sources do support is crowding, at the Road Town pier and at Cane Garden Bay
    Takes
    n/a
    Season
    Busiest November–April, the main Caribbean cruise season
    Booking
    n/a

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence low

Not yet confirmed: Current one-way and round-trip ferry fares for the St Thomas crossing could not be confirmed on any operator site checked (nativesonferry.co, roadtownfastferry.com, smithsferry.com, speedybvi.com timed out) – ask at the dock booth or bvitourism.com/taxis, which redirected to the homepage and could not be read directly.; Smith's Ferry and Native Son inter-island schedules to Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada were not published in readable form on their sites at time of check; confirm times at the Road Town terminal.; The government-published taxi tariff table (bvitourism.com/taxis) redirected to the site homepage in this session and could not be read; the fixed rates it lists were not independently confirmed.; Current safari-bus fares were not found on any site checked; ask the driver directly, as Wikivoyage only confirms that it is cheaper than a private taxi.; www.bviports.org/api/ and portcontrol.bviports.org, which might carry live ferry or cruise data, returned 403/timeout and could not be checked; www.bviports.org/services/cruise returned a 406 Mod_Security block in this session.; No source checked gives the number of cruise calls a week, or whether taxi and safari waits get worse on a cruise day beyond the crowding Wikivoyage describes at Cane Garden Bay; the BVI Ports Authority cruise page was blocked in this session (see above).; The brief's premise that BVI has 'no public bus network to speak of' matches what was found – safaris are privately run and on-demand, not a scheduled public system – but no scheduled public bus company was ruled in or out beyond this..

The field note on Tortola and the British Virgin Islands reads this entry in full, one option at a time, with every source beside it.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Daniel Lu (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.