Beautiful Barbados

Barbados - a beautiful, tiny independent island with beguiling charm made distinctive by its gentle people, marked Britishness and unrivalled hospitality.

Barbados is one of the most popular islands in the world and certainly the region - and for good reason. Barbados offers more than the world-renowned friendliness of Barbadians (better known as Bajans, pronounced Bay-jan or Bay-juhns depending on who you ask); the high-end villas, hotels and resorts; the ability of the Hollywood heavyweights, heads of state and the upper echelons of society to holiday unbothered; and a safe island boasting low crime rates. Barbados is not an isle where tourists are forced, for motives of safety, to stay in their resorts or travel in large groups. On the contrary, visitors discover a friendly, safe atmosphere and explore the island in hire cars, by foot and even in the famous Yellow public buses (this is amust try, at least once – regardless of status!). Its climate is delightful, its beaches exquisite. Beaches are covered in white and pinks sands, some so fine they could easily be mistaken with powder. Its sea so blue it is difficult to know where sea and sky meet. There are spectacular secret caves, gullies, forest and rolling landscapes and sugar cane-covered hills.

Barbados is a place that affords the opportunity for people to choose “to be seen” or to merely disappear to unwind, out of sight. Holiday goers haven’t simply been visiting Barbados for years, but for generations.

In 2008, the Traveller's Choice Destination Awards (TCDA), voted Barbados as the eighth-best holiday destination in the world.The hotel are not to bad either, with the Sandy LaneHotel being voted the Best Hotel in the Caribbean for a second consecutive year by readers of Ultratravel, published by London's The Daily Telegraph newspaper. The Crane hotel has a 4 diamond rating (out ot 5) from The AAA Diamond Rating Process is North America’s premier hotel rating program.

Little England in the Caribbean

Barbados is otherwise known as “Little England” or “Bimshire”.

While Barbados is fiercely West Indian, it is also tremendously English. This is perhaps explained by Barbados being the only English-speaking Caribbean country to not changed hands during its three-century British colonial history . Even today Barbados maintains strong ties with Britain, shares its interests and maintains its interesting British heritage and traditions. Bajans still prize Anglo-Saxon civility, making it a delightful combination with their generally laid-back style and open friendliness. While place names in Barbados sound peculiarly familiar to any Englishman (Highgate, Clapham, Worthing, Hastings, …), there are also Anglican parish churches and for the Scots, a quaint hilly little district called Scotland.

Horse-racing, polo, golf and cricket are to be found in no small measure all over the island. While cricket is doubtlessly the sport closest to the heart of any Bajan, Barbados is world-renowned for providing world-class sporting facilities for all the above activities and more. Accordingly, the island is an exceedingly popular sports tourism destination. Barbados must have more polo fields per square metre than anywhere else in the world. Other legacies of the British include the imposing colonial architecture that remains throughout Barbados, left-had driving, British-style high tea served in the afternoons and even Yorkshire puddings.

Barbados is located in the Atlantic Ocean, in the southern Caribbean and is the most easterly of the islands. It is pear-shaped or if you prefer, looks like the continent of Africa upside-down and inverted! Barbados is just 21 miles long and 14 miles wide, with a total landmass of about 166 square miles (430 square kilometres). But make no mistake; while Barbadians may inhabit a small island, they have great gumption. In fact, Barbados was the first British colony to declare war against Germany in 1939 and fired off a telegram to London cheering the Brits, telling them not to fear and reading as follows "Don't worry. Little England is with you".

Considering, it’s small, but perfect size, Barbados is particularly well known throughout the world.

For more information on interesting places to explore while in Barbados visit VisitBarbados.