Barbados Travel Guide

Introduction and basics
Pulling in Caribbean first-timers and experienced travellers in equal measure, Barbados is justifiably one of the most popular islands in the region. Certain pleasures are quite obvious – the delightful climate, the big blue sea and brilliant white sandy beaches – but an engaging blend of cultures and a balanced approach to development help set it apart from neighbouring sun-drenched destinations. And while many visitors rarely stray from their hotels and guesthouses, those who make an effort find a proud island scattered with an impressive range of colonial sites and, away from the mostly gently rolling landscape, dramatic scenery in hidden caves, cliffs and gullies.

A British colony for over three centuries, Barbados retains something of a British feel: the place names, the cricket, horse-racing and polo, Anglican parish churches and even a hilly district known as Scotland. But despite the Britishness, this is a distinctly West Indian country, covered by a patchwork of sugar cane fields and dotted with rum shops, where calypso is the music of choice and flying fish the favoured food.

The people of Barbados, known as Bajans, take great pride in their tiny island of 430 square kilometres and 250,000 people, which has produced writers like George Lamming, calypsonians like the Mighty Gabby and cricket players including the great Sir Gary Sobers, who have for decades held an influence way out of proportion to the size of their home country.

While tourism plays a major part in the country's economy, revenues have been put to good use. The infrastructure and public transport are first-rate and there is no sign of the poverty that continues to bedevil some Caribbean islands. Development has mostly been pretty discreet, and many of the facilities are Bajan-owned; there are no private beaches and no sign of fast-food franchises.
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