The roads in Tortola are steep and twisting—not for the faint of heart. The island is fairly small, so driving distances aren’t long. Plan your Road Town travel around rush hours and cruise-ship embarkations: You can easily become ensnared in Road Town traffic during arrival and departure times (around 8am and 4pm), when scores of taxi drivers pick up or drop off cruise-ship passengers around the pier at Wickhams Cay 1.

By Taxi -- We highly recommend Wayne Robinson as both taxi driver and tour guide (tel 284/494-4097 or 284/499-2251 [cell]). For other taxi options in Road Town, dial the BVI Taxi Association at tel 284/494-3942; on Beef Island, call tel 284/495-1982. Your hotel can also call a taxi for you; there is a taxi stand in Road Town, near the ferry dock. A typical fare from Road Town to Cane Garden Bay is $24; from Road Town to Josiah’s Bay on the north coast, it's $25.

By Bus -- Scato’s Bus & Taxi Services (tel 284/494-2365; www.scatosbusntaxi.com) offers airport pickup and dropoff, lodging and ferry transfers, private and group tours, events transportation, and shopping expeditions in modern, air-conditioned buses.

By Rental Car -- Ask your hotel concierge to recommend a local rental-car agency; many resorts have relationships with rental franchises that will deliver cars right to your hotel. Itgo (tel 284/494-2639; www.itgobvi.com) is located at the Mill Mall, Wickham’s Cay I, Road Town. Denzil Clyne (tel 284/495-4900) offers rentals (Jeeps) on Tortola’s West End near the ferry terminal. Avis (tel 800/331-1212 in the U.S., or 284/494-2193 on Tortola; www.avis.com) maintains offices opposite the J.R. Neal Botanical Gardens in Road Town; and Hertz (tel 800/654-3131 in the U.S., or 284/495-4405 on Tortola; www.hertz.com) has locations in Road Town, near the airport, and on the island’s West End, near the ferryboat landing dock. National (tel 284/494-3197; www.nationalcar.com) has locations on Long Bay, West End, Road Town, and near the airport.

Rental companies will usually offer free hotel pickup. All require a valid driver’s license and a temporary B.V.I. driver’s license, which the car-rental agency will issue to you for $10; it’s valid for 1 month. Because of the volume of tourism to Tortola, you should reserve a car in advance, especially in winter.

Remember: Drive on the left! Roads are pretty well paved, but they’re often narrow, winding, and poorly lit, and they have few, if any, lines but plenty of speed bumps. Driving at night can be tricky. It’s a good idea to take a taxi to that difficult-to-find beach, restaurant, or bar. If you’re queasy about maneuvering mountainous corkscrew roads, day or night, take the Sir Francis Drake Highway, which for the most part is flat and runs the length of the island. The other main road, Ridge Road, follows the mountainous spine of the island; this was the old roadway linking the island’s many plantations.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.