| Size | 169 square miles (439 square kilometers) |
| Population | 300,000 (90.4% African, 4.1% multiracial, 3.7% European, 1.7% other) |
| Status | Independent country, part of the British Commonwealth |
| Official language(s) | English |
| GDP per capita (2024) | 23.6 thousand USD as per IMF (2024) |
| Currency | Barbados Dollar |
| Driving | On the left side. |
Barbados island
Barbados Island is considered a unique part of the Caribbean in many ways since this island is located in the eastward of the Caribbean and theoretically is not a part of the Caribbean Sea. It is located completely in the Atlantic Ocean.
As usual, Barbados was also a part of the British colony in the past and got its independence in the year 1966. Barbados is lucky because it’s not usually hit by big hurricanes that arise in the Atlantic Ocean. This is why it hasn’t faced any big problems from hurricanes in recent years.
Another feature that makes this island unique from the others is that its land is made of coral and limestone, while most other Caribbean islands in that region are formed from volcanic eruptions.
It simply means that the land of this island is more fertile than the others in the region, and hence this island is a good producer of sugarcane and agricultural products. This is the region for the slavery of Barbados, and can easily be felt by anyone while exploring the island.
And finally, you may feel that why Barbados is unique from its neighboring island because of its past colonial history. In Barbados only the Britisher rule for a long period from 1627 to until it became independent in 1966.
This island has not faced any conflict from any other colonial power in the past. This is the cause that Barbados looks like one of the most British places outside of the Britten and most Britishers also live here.
How long is the flight to Barbados island ?
You can find several airlines from the East Coast of the United States. These flights fly directly to Barbados. It includes Delta (from Atlanta), American Airlines (from Miami) and JetBlue (from Boston, New York JFK and Fort Lauderdale).
You can also fly directly from the London Heathrow airport as well as Toronto airport and most of the flights from the other parts of Europe take a stoppage in Lendon while going to Barbados.
One thing you must remember is that Barbados’s Brantley Adams International Airport is a starting point for other Caribbean destinations like Martinique and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
These flights hardly take 30-45 minutes to visit different places in Barbados since they travel many times back and forth every day. So, while visiting Barbados you may also visit many neighboring islands.
Getting around In Barbados island
Barbados has a reliable and inexpensive bus service into its capital Bridgetown, that takes you all around its main cities. If you are a traveler who is more money conscious then the bus services are perfect for you.
Here bus fare is fixed and is Bds 2$, and you must keep the local currency with you while travelling. As usual you can find public as well as privet buses (usually more expensive).
Public buses can be recognized by their color – blue with a yellow stripe while privet buses are yellow with a blue stripe. And just like buses, taxis also use fixed fair, so you can easily know your cost.
One thing to keep in mind is that the regular taxi can only carry three passengers at once, so if you are travelling with a big family or more than three people group then you have to order a large cab/van.
If you want to rent a car then there are a lot of options to do so throughout the island, one of the best places is near the airport. If you have an American driving license then you have to take a temporary local driving permit, which can easily be obtained from a rental company for Bds $10.
In Barbados there is a left driving and children less than 5 years old must sit in the child seat. One thing you must keep in mind is that Bridgetown is a proper city having a lot of traffic so travelling during business hours must be frustrating for you and finding parking is often difficult.
It is easier for you to drive outside the capital because outside the capital has less traffic and the roads are in good condition.
Things to explore in Barbados
Barbados is one of the best destinations for tourists who are planning to visit the Caribbean because Barbados has a huge diversity of unique things for every age group and due to this Barbados has a great selling point.
This island has varied landscapes, while travelling through the island you may feel that you have not changed the country but the whole continent. Now if you travel to the sought and sought west which includes Bridgetown and the airport you may find a large landscape of urban city and a busy town.
And, if you are planning to travel in the west and north-west you may find the island’s luxury hotels and private estates these are located on the bank of pristine cove beaches and hotels have exclusive golf courses.
And if you are travelling towards the north and northeast, you may find cliffs and grassy hills like those in Great Britain. Finally, in central Barbados, you may find vast forested rolling hills, this region is the home of picturesque villages and they grow sugarcane here.
So, these are all the geographic breakdowns of Barbados, it is necessary to present here because a lot of activities and attractions are widely spread all across the island.
If you are planning to visit the island, it’s worth knowing all the things so that you can plan your trip accordingly, keeping in mind that, which parts of the island you want to explore in your limited planned period.
If you want to explore Bridgetown, which is after all on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, then you may start with the parliament building. This building was constructed in the time of Victoria and faces the National Hero Square.
This site of Nelson’s monument was constructed in 1813. There is also a beautiful fountain celebrating the advent of running water, it is constructed in the second half of the 19th century.
Behind the parliament building, you can find a Caribbean Wax Museum. In this museum, you can see some of the dead and alive celebrities. You can also check out the Nidhe Israel Synagogue and cemetery, for more serious sightseeing.
It was built in the 1630s by Jewish settlers from Brazil. And for those who are a nature lover, you may check out the Queen’s Park, just outside of Bridgetown, it features the two big baobab trees. These trees are brought from Guinea over 250 years ago.
Since inside the Bridgetown you may find a lot of attractions but, the least of attractions or things to explore outside of the Bridgetown is much more. We have just focused some of the unique attractions of the island and provided a good feel of it.
Now for those travelers who are interested in historical places, they must visit the following things:
- Barbados Museum in Garrison, in this museum you will see the island history of Barbados all the way to 400 BC.
- George Washington House, this house was built in the Victorian era where George Washington stayed in his youth time.
- Bussa Statue, he is the leader of the slave rebellion in 1816. And finally, you can visit-
- St. Nicholas Abbey which is located on the other side of the island, is a beautiful Jacobean house made in the year 1650, it provides you with a glimpse of the era that how people lived in that time.
After visiting all the historical attractions, you can explore the stunning natural beauty of the region and have a couple of amazing hikes.
Some of the beautiful places we have mentioned here:
- Andromeda Botanic Gardens on the East Coast – This garden is beautifully designed, and has a thousand of plants, flowers and trees from different parts of the world.
- Flower forest: This is not very far away from the Andromeda Botanic Gardens. It is a jungle-like park having a lot of lovely hills and a stunning view of the eastern coast.
- Harrison’s Cave – Just about a 15-minute drive away from the Flower Forest you may visit a stunning impressive limestone cavern with an underground waterfall.
- Barbados Wildlife Reserve – Finally, after exploring all these beautiful places you can also visit this wildlife reserve and Farley Hill National Park, the kids and the family love it very much.
In the wildlife reserve, you can interact with local fauna – turtles, monkeys, and many types of amphibians while when you visit the national park you can see the most beautiful trees and flowers which are found all over the Caribbean.
Barbados is known for its rum. It is the birthplace of this liquor. The first batch of the rum was made in Barbados in the year 1703. If you are interested in its history and its production, you can visit Mount Gay Centre.
Here, you can see the distillery and also try the different samples and you can also buy the fresh end product which is Duty-free. If you are not satisfied with this only and want to have a great rum fun.
Then you may visit the West Indies Distiller in Black Rock, on this place you can have an amazing experience of rum testing while enjoying on the beach. Now, we can divide the Barbados beaches into two types, if you visit the beaches that are located in the west and the sought cost you can feel that these beaches are generally calm with clear blue water and soft, sandy shores.
When you visit the beaches that are located on the north and the east side of the island you can feel that these beaches are a bit rougher, with wavy water, they are small and surrounded by tall cliffs.
Infect it seems like the southern and the western beaches are more appealing, but the northern and the eastern has its own beauty having a lot of cliff, beautiful caves and rock formations.
Theses are very attractive and adventurous. One of the best examples to explore is the Animal Flower Cave on the North Point, in this cave you can swim in solitude inside the natural pools and swim with a special mask and tube to see beautiful underwater plants and animals called corals.
And if you want to have more solitude and privacy, we recommend to you the two beaches, which are generally not mentioned by the tour guides:
- Batts Rock Beach – It is hidden between rocks but easy to reach.
- Hangman’s Bay – It is a bit harder to find, but once you reach here you will absorb that it’s a nice, empty beach near the Arawak Cement Company.
And finally, when you visit the mainstream beaches like Dover, Miami or Pebbles Beach, you may feel that these beaches are a little bit busier and noisier, here you can rent umbrellas and chairs, and these beaches have bathrooms also and you can choose a lot of foods and drink options here.
Accommodations in Barbados
In Barbados, there is a large number of hotels that can cater to all kinds of your needs. If you want to stay in the tourist area, you must check out the hotels in the south of Bridgetown and all along the coastline in the Christ Church area.
And if you don’t have a budget problem and can spend a little bit more and want to have access to a beautiful and private beach then we recommend checking out Sugar Bay Barbados, because its location is very perfect all the attractions are hardly a walking distance from it.
You may feel here, that you are very far away from the busy life and civilization, on its privet beach and beautiful gardens. In this area, you can find a lot of hotels (approx. -50) for all budgets and preferences (which range from 50 $ to 800 $ per night).
And if you want to stay in less busy surroundings but equally great and amazing hotels then you have to go to the north of Bridgetown.
At this place, you will find the most expensive hotel in all the Caribbean called Fairmont Royal Pavilion, The cost of living here a night is 3000$ but for that you will get a hotel in front of the beach, with staff who pay special attention to you, and a lot of alone time.
If you want to have a more local, feel and you can stay slightly away from the beach then we suggest that you visit Colleton Guest House or a similar private guest house, their local people run it and it feels like the home rather than the hotel.
In this guesthouse, you have more exposure to the local culture and lifestyle, and you can also experience their Architecture, meals and surroundings.
Food & restaurants in Barbados
You may find some of the hotels in Barbados that serve you the all-inclusive items, this shows that many hungry visitors keep coming and going 24*7 in the local restaurants.
And in reality, you may find that the many Barbados restaurants are of the first class and famous in all of the Caribbean. And one thing you may also notice here is that many restaurants on this island have their own opening & closing hours and reservations.
So, whenever you are planning to visit one of those restaurants for a nice dinner, make sure that you have called them in advance and have booked a table accordingly.
Whenever you will visit any restaurants, you will see seafood in the maximum menus. And flying fish is the national dish of the island, so you don’t face any trouble in finding it, and you should definitely try it fried.
And some other famous seafood of the region that you wouldn’t find easily outside the Barbados is Buljol (marinated cod) and stewed lambi (conch). This island also hosts annual Food, Wine and Rum Festival program in the month of November every year, it attracts some of the best chef in the world.
People who come to this event can taste really delicious foods and also get to drink the finest rums chosen by experts and people who know a lot about them.
Nightlife in Barbados
In Barbados, the nightlife is awesome! The party starts early and goes on late, usually until 4 am you can expect that most places will close down. You can see that local people are out almost every night, you can meet them generally at local rum bars, which are located all over the island.
Usually, you can talk, eat, dance, and drink lots of rum-based drinks and better understand the local culture with them. Many people like to go from bar to bar, which is called bar hopping, and most people enjoy doing it.
One thing to note is that drinking is allowed only if you are 18 or older, and smoking is strictly prohibited inside and outside the bars and restaurants and bars.
And if you love dancing, then you have to must visit the Harbour Lights in Bridgetown, it is an amazing beachfront club, having local bands and DJs. Every night of the week this place has busy and amazing nightlife, and another amazing local bar is also located close to it – The Boatyard.
In this bar, you can have an experience of live music and unique rum cocktails. And if you travel outside the capital on Friday evening, then you can find amazing nightlife parties happening in the Oistins on its Main Road.
At this party, you can see that late-night eating adventure with lots of barbecues going and the whole family enjoying the big meals while singing and dancing together.
This is also where you’ll find Sugar Ultra Lounge, a famous local dance club with DJs from all around the world and fancy cocktails.
Sports & Adventure Activities in Barbados
Since, Barbados had also a former British colony in the past. This is the region where you can see a lot of cricket grounds as well as soccer and rugby fields on the island. This island has also a lot of players in these games.
But if you are not interested in these games there are a lot of other activities for you in the water.
- Water sports – The beautiful coral reefs along the west and south coasts of Barbados are great for snorkeling and diving some of which are Bell Buoy, Dottiness Reef and Silver Bank.
In these waters, you can explore approx. 20 sunken ships, some of these ships are easily accessible by diving beginners.
And if you love surfing activity, you can visit the east and sought coasts which offer great waves and winds all around the year. But November to January is the time when you’ll see a lot of professional surfers coming to the island for competitions.
- Fishing and sea trips – Bridgetown is a good place to start if you want to go fishing. Here, you can easily rent a shared or private boat from The Careenage. A full day on a charter boat will cost you more than $1,000.
Now another special attraction is mini-submarine excursions, families really enjoy mini-submarine trips, where you can explore the depths of the sea without getting wet. Check out Atlantis submarines here.
Or you could consider going on a party cruise. These cruises have special themes with food, drinks, music, and snorkelling. Many of them start from Bridgetown port.
- Golf – On this island, you will see a large number of golf courses of all sizes including large and small. Some of them are only open to the locals or the long-term members only. However, if you walk inside the ground, they will welcome you most probably.
Some of the famous golf courses are:
1. Barbados Golf Club – In this club, they will charge you around $105 to play 18 holes.
2. Country Club at Sandy Lane – In this club also charges are $240 for 18 holes.
3. Royal Westmoreland Golf Club – In this club charges are approx. $250 for a long game.
How much safe Barbados island is ?
Barbados is considered relatively a safe travel destination in the Caribbean region. Although Barbados does not have a large economy, its rank in the GDP per capita is in the middle in the Caribbean region.
Its crime rate is relatively lower as compared to the USA and most of the European countries. Of course, you must be aware of yourself while exploring the island.
And if you are walking around Bridgetown at night, then you must be aware and try to not walk alone.