With a name meaning ‘bearded one’, Barbados is an independent island situated in the western Atlantic Ocean just east of the Caribbean Sea. It was formerly a British colony until it established its independence in 1966. Today, it is a popular visitor destination offering a solid tourist infrastructure and a variety of attractions and interesting sights as well as a rich and vibrant culture.

There are a number of activities for children of all ages to participate in. For animal lovers, there is an aquarium, zoo and wildlife reserve where as lovers of outdoors will love Harrison’s cave. For the older children, Bubble Adventures offers them the chance to learn to scuba dive in safe circumstances and the myriad of beaches offer the chance to sit and relax, play in the sand and sea and expel some cooped-up energy.

New Year
Is traditionally a time to take out the old and bring in the new. Houses are cleaned, resolutions are made and hopes are pinned on the next year’s offerings. New Years day is traditionally a day for families with big dinners and many people travelling to see relatives. Recently however it has become a time to recover from the celebrations from the night before.

Barbados is made up of 11 districts or parishes, as they are officially known, within which there are many small villages and towns. Visitors with their own transportation will find a variety of interesting sights tucked away which range from interesting landmarks and monuments to picturesque tropical gardens. Bridgetown, as the island’s capital city is perhaps the place at which most visitors being their sightseeing tours.

Air
Barbados-Grantley Adams International Airport is situated in Christ Church, 16kms to the southeast of Bridgetown, the island’s capital. It is a small airport by international standards, operating a single terminal which dispatches and receives flights to and from US, UK and European destinations with American Airlines, Continental Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, handling the bulk of the traffic.

The currency in Barbados is the Barbados dollar (BD$) which is tied to US dollar, so as to have the same value. Notes are in denominations of B$100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 2 while coins comes in BD$1, and 25, 10, 5 and 1 cents.