Road Town Culture: Scrub Island, BVI Fungi Cuisine, Pusser's Royal Navy Rum, the Bitter End Yacht Club Legacy, BVI Offshore Finance, and the Complete Tortola Day Circuit
The Road Town cultural and culinary circuit covers the private Scrub Island resort, the fungi and saltfish BVI national dish, the Pusser's Rum Royal Navy tradition and Painkiller cocktail, the legendary Bitter End Yacht Club rebuilt after Irma, the offshore finance BVI company registration industry, and the complete one-day Tortola itinerary.
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Scrub Island: The Private BVI
Scrub Island off the northeast Tortola coast, connected to the main island by a 5-minute ferry, is the site of the Scrub Island Resort, a marina community development with the private island beach and the full resort amenities in a setting of rocky volcanic beauty accessible only to resort guests. Scrub Island represents the private island resort model within the BVI sailing circuit that complements the bareboat charter culture.
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BVI Cuisine: Fungi, Roti, and Rum
The British Virgin Islands cuisine reflects the British Caribbean culinary tradition in the fungi cornmeal porridge, the saltfish and fungi national dish, the roti flatbread filled with curried chicken or conch from the Indian Caribbean tradition, and the local fish fry served at the beach bars and the Road Town restaurants. The BVI rum culture, centered on the Pusser's Rum brand established in the BVI in the Royal Navy tradition of the daily tot, is the most internationally marketed BVI product.
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Pusser's Rum: The Royal Navy Tradition
Pussers Rum, produced in the BVI and named for the purser who distributed the daily rum ration to Royal Navy sailors, is the official rum of the British Royal Navy and the most internationally branded spirit produced in the British Caribbean. The Pusser's Rum Company operates the Pusser's Landing restaurant and bar at the Road Town waterfront as the primary retail and hospitality outlet, where the Painkiller cocktail, the official cocktail of the British Virgin Islands, is served in its original formulation.
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Bitter End Yacht Club: The Virgin Gorda Institution
The Bitter End Yacht Club at North Sound on the northeastern corner of Virgin Gorda, accessible only by boat and the most celebrated yacht club in the Caribbean for 50 years before its destruction by Hurricane Irma in 2017, is the most storied single institution in the BVI sailing world. The rebuilt Bitter End, reopened after the Irma reconstruction, continues the tradition of the Caribbean sailing club that has anchored the BVI sailing community for two generations.
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BVI Offshore Finance: The Second Economy
The British Virgin Islands, with the BVI Business Companies Act of 1984 that established the most widely used offshore company registration regime in the world, have registered more than one million offshore companies in the BVI legal framework, making the financial services industry the second-largest economy after tourism. The BVI offshore company, used for the holding of international assets, the structuring of international transactions, and the protection of private wealth, generates significant government revenue from the annual registration fees.
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Road Town to Tortola: The Complete Island Day
The complete Tortola day itinerary from Road Town covers the morning market at Road Town, the Callwood Rum Distillery at Cane Garden Bay for the heritage visit, the Cane Garden Bay beach for the midday swim and the Quito's Gazebo lunch, the Sage Mountain summit hike in the afternoon, and the return to Road Town for the Pusser's Painkiller at the Landing. This circuit covers the essential Tortola experience in a single day from the Road Town base.