LOVE Virgin Islanders are passionate about their politics and food. These two loves combine in a big way every two and four years when senators and the governor are elected. Fish fry’s are the meet and greet, see and be seen, informal stage where ordinary orators have their say while forking into fried fish and johnnycakes. What really gets the party started is when calypsonians grab the mic to share their own special rhythm of island satire. Look for fish fries after dark in the Fort Christian parking lot.

LIME Beaches beckon as the natural party spot on this 32-square-mile island where sand and sea are never more than a 10-minute drive away. Magens Bay’s half-mile heart-shaped arc of palm-fringed beach is the most popular with locals and visitors alike. Here you’ll find everything from ready-made pizza to picnic tables and paddleboats for rent. Surfers head to Hull Bay Beach when the winter swell of the Atlantic gets pumping. Scuba divers and snorkellers take the plunge at Coki Beach, where there’s equipment for rent and shops offering lessons as well as fish food (aka dog food) for sale. Secret Harbour boasts a fish-filled reef just offshore, as does Brewer’s Bay. Boardsailors will always find wind at Sapphire Beach, while paddleboats, kayaks, sailboats, and jet skis are available to rent from the water sports concession at Morningstar Beach.

LIVE They called it trading back when schooners came to port in the 1600s, and plundering when the pirates soon followed. Today, Charlotte Amalie’s Main Street bustles with duty-free deals. Best buys include gold and diamonds, hip fashions, hi-tech electronics and the Virgin Islands’ own Cruzan Rum. Tillett Gardens is the place for local arts and crafts. Check out the overlook above town for cool T-shirts. Go west the last Sunday of each month for organic produce at the Bordeaux Farmer’s Market.

LEARN Think marlin and mega-yachts. Fishing and yachting are two age-old vocations that today are among the island’s top recreations. ‘Four grander’ or 1000-pound-plus blue marlin have been caught some 20 to 30 miles offshore. The hotspot is the North Drop, a 5½-mile deep chasm filled with cool water from the Atlantic Ocean and abundant schools of baitfish. Walk the docks at American Yacht Harbour around sunset and talk with the captains about a half-day or full-day charter. Boats come equipped with everything you need; you bring the luck. Meanwhile, Oracle Corporation’s Larry Ellison was among the first to pull his 452-foot megayacht, Rising Sun, into the new Yacht Haven Grande marina. A small armada of megayachts has docked here ever since. Don’t own a yacht? No worries? Go for a day sail to St John aboard a sleek sailing sloop; or a sunset cruise around Charlotte Amalie Harbour sipping champagne as you go; or jump aboard OnDeck Ocean Racing’s high performance Farr 65-foot yachts built for the Millennium Round The World Race and sail between buoys just outside Charlotte Amalie. Winners and losers alike return to shore for a rum punch.