ROAD TOWN |
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Road
Town, the Capital of the British Virgin Islands, surrounds
the Harbour like an amphitheater, its buildings stretching up into the hillsides
in search of scarce land. The spacious, beautiful harbour at Road Town is a busy center of island life and marine activity in this tropical archipelago. |
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All
roads lead to Road Town, as government, businesses, cruise ships,
charter boats, hotels, shops--all
are here in Road Town. See map
and another. Beneath its placid tropical exterior, Road Town is very much an international city, at the crossroads of a continuing Caribbean maritime culture of upscale tourism and offshore finance. |
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Road Town's
most important area comprises the Ferry Dock, important portal, as well
as the Main Street area, whose focus is an attractive area of shops, and Wickham's
Cay, the location of the cruise ship dock and many activities. Two other areas of note are Wickham's Cay II and Port Purcell, further around to the back of the harbour, and Road Reef with Ft. Burt and Prospect Reef near the harbour's port entrance. |
Wickham's Cay Area
Administration Building. Further inland from the cruise ship pier is the large white BVI Government's Administration Building, with many offices including the Attorney General's Office and the Registrar's Office for weddings. |
Wickham's
Cay and Main Street area near the ferry dock
is the center of an authentic Caribbean town with an attractive
area of shops (some old West Indian style with red tin roofs)
and restaurants amid various other establishments in the
Main Street area, which hugs the harbour-side mountains.
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D'Zandra's (Wickham's Cay 284/494-8330) specializes in black coral jewelry.
Violet's (Wickham's Cay 284/494-6398) sells elegant lingerie as well as luggage, if you happen to have lost yours on the flight.
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Touring A nice stroll here is on the marina docks as well as along the sidewalk on the Inner Harbour seawall. Continuing on leads to a large flat space that comprises the off-loading area for the cruise ships, with an area for vendors as well. These magnificent, sometimes gleaming white ships dominate their immediate area, but appear as mere toys sitting in Road Town's vast "amphitheatre." The way these small mountains surround this huge harbour creates an almost circular panorama. It is exhilerating to experience this incredible landscape from the center of this open expanse at ground level. Perhaps it's the way the cruise ship, so overpowering in size itself, is in turn so overwhelmed by nature's majestic work. Further over is the Sea Urchin in an colorful old mill. Up near the round-a-bout is Bolo's variety store and Zodiac's restaurant. A short walk down the interior mall takes you back to Wickham's Cay near the Lime telephone company, now further down and across the street. Continue this tour by going to the Main Street Shops. Simply head to Waterfront Drive and turn left, taking the first right after the ferry. |
Captin's Table. Also, further around on the point, overlooking the harbour on a open-air shaded balcony, the Captin's Table (284/ 494-3885) restaurant has an extensive menu and wine list. Its excellent food has a French flavor including seafood and Herbed Rack of Lamb. Cafesito (284/494-7412), with a romantic atrium, has excellent food and Spainish tapas.
At the intown round-a-about, or traffic circle, Bolo's (284/494-2867) is a popular variety store. The Farmers' Market (located just above Wickham's Cay at the round-a-bout), is open on Saturdays with locally grown farm products.
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Wickham's Cay II and Port Purcell
Touring Wickham's Cay II
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The
Moorings Marina. Further around to the starboard (right) back side of the Road Town Harbour is the Moorings Marina with The Moorings, the famous chartering company, its subsidiary Footloose Charters, Sail Caribbean Divers, Last Stop Sports (watersports), and various stores.
Dining. Charlie's dockside restaurant at The Moorings has an eclectic Italian and Caribbean menu. DeliFrance, actually a French bakery, has great breads, deli meats, cheeses, sandwiches and pastries. Yum! |
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Touring. Port Purcell occupies the Road Town harbour shore across from Wickham Cay II, away from the Inner Harbour. Coming into Road Town by Waterfront Drive from the airport, Port Purcell is on the left on the harbour after Baugher's Bay. Here is BVI Yacht Charters, Ltd. (at Yoma Marina) and the "real" Port Purcell, the BVI's main port for large cargo ships. Groceries and
Provisions. Caribbean Cellars, also at Port Purcell, has liquor, beer, and wine. BVI Fishing Complex (284-494-3491), nearby at Baugher's Bay, has fresh local seafood. |
Dining. The "Bat Cave" has re-opened at nearby Baugher's Bay as the famous party place of old as well as a similar restaurant to the old Spaghetti Junction. |
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Road Reef, Ft. Burt and Prospect Reef
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Touring |
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Further on near the curve in Waterfront Drive is Arawak
Interiors at the Road Reef Plaza on the right. |
Shops. | Arawak Interiors, showroom at Road Reef Plaza (see review), features quality Indonesian furniture, including custom teak beds as well as decorative items like bamboo bowls. Arawak Interiors Bali furniture made from old Balinese fishing boats was used to renovate the Copper Island Beach Club a few years ago. | |
Lodging |
The largest selection of hotels, inns and resorts for every budget are available in Road Town. Most are close to the harbour. See Hotels, Inns and Resorts at Road Town for more information. |
For the adventurous, there is a taxi drive trip into the clouds above Road Town to visit Skyworld. For romantics, Brandywine Bay is an elegant restaurant in a great setting. |
Dining near Road Town | Skyworld. Many
travelers, especially first timers, like to visit SkyWorld (284/494-3567) on the
mountain above Road Town. See a review of Skyworld at Life on Ridge Road. Brandywine Bay. A lovely romantic hillside country inn, Brandywine Bay (for dinner only) offers an acclaimed Florentine cuisine by chef Davide Pugliese at Brandywine Bay, a taxi ride toward the East End Airport. |
Charter Boats at or near Road Town | Most BVI boat chartering companies are here in Road Harbour and nearby locations on the inland (Sir Francis Drake Channel) side of Tortola. For the location of charter boats, see Charter in the BVIs for more information. | |
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Guide | BVI Map | Island Central |
Useful Info |
Honeymoons | Transport |
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