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Caribbean
Aruba -
Bahamas -
Barbados -
British Virgin Islands -
Cayman Islands -
Cuba
Dominican Republic -
Grenada -
Martinique -
Puerto Rico -
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Barbados
Area: 430 sq km (166 sq mi)
Population: 264,000
Capital city: Bridgetown (pop 7500)
Language: English
Barbados is a distorted pear-shaped island lying 2585km (1610mi) southeast of
Miami and 860km (535mi) northeast of Caracas, Venezuela. It's about the size of
a large US city. The western coast has white-sand beaches and calm turquoise
waters, while the cliff-lined Atlantic eastern coast is much more turbulent.
Coral reefs surround most of the island.
Over eons the buildup of coral on sedimentary rocks has created the bulk of the
island. Water permeates its soft coral cap, creating underground streams,
springs and limestone caverns. The most notable of the caverns, Harrison's Cave,
is one of the island's leading tourist attractions.
The best time to go to Barbados is during the cooler, drier months of late
winter and early spring (February to May). Keep in mind that this is also the
peak tourist season when prices are higher and places most crowded.
Bridgetown
The capital of Barbados is a busy commercial city set on Carlisle Bay, the
island's only natural harbor.
It's an architectural hodgepodge of modern and colonial, with side streets
leading off into residential neighborhoods sprinkled with rum shops and chattel
houses. True to the island's British heritage, there are monumental obelisks,
gothic parliament buildings, and a large Anglican cathedral.
Military history buffs should head to the Barbados Garrison, the
17th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward Islands Command. It has a
museum, fortifications, brigs and cannons a-plenty.
Holetown
It's the oldest town in Barbados, but you'd hardly know it from its modern
appearance. Founded in the 1620s, Holetown is now a major cog in the island's
tourism machine. You can absorb some of the town's history at St James
Church, a 19th-century structure that still has traces of its 17th-century
past, including a bell inscribed with the name of King William.
St Lawrence
Along the southwestern coast there's a cluster of small, low-key towns with
excellent beaches that provide much of the island's low to mid-range
accommodations.
St Lawrence, about 15km (9mi) southeast of Bridgetown, is the liveliest,
offering plenty of opportunities to boogie down or fill up on flying fish.
Dover Beach, the town strand, has powdery white sand. A few minutes' walk
west along the beach at low tide brings you to the towns of Worthing and
Hastings, which have interesting local crafts and lovely white-sand
beaches.
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