Barbados is one of the liveliest places to visit in the Caribbean. The island has excellent hotels and beaches, and the climate is good at all times. The western coast is a playground for millionaires, with some of the finest hotels and restaurants. The southern coast is less expensive, but more lively. However, the island remains crowded with tourists which does not provide much quiet to the privacy-seeking tourist.

There is depth of other sorts too. The gardens in Barbados, hotel gardens included, are probably the best in the Caribbean. There is excellent windsurfing, and then golf for those who prefer something a little more sedate. The music is fabulous! There is excellent calypso music and bands to be heard in the lively clubs. There's even opera in Barbados from time to time. The island has an extraordinary history, much of which is still visible in the plantation houses and the story of rum. There is an active National Trust. And then there are the remote corners, some incredibly pretty coves in the south-east for instance, where life barely seems to have changed in a hundred years.

Accommodations in Barbados

Barbados has an excellent range of accommodations, from small and inexpensive guest houses on the south coast to some of the smartest and best-known hotels and villas in the Caribbean on the West Coast (called Platinum Coast in tourist jargon). There are villas worth tens of millions of dollars on this island. It is famous as the winter home of a crowd of millionaires, media types and horse-racing moguls. Barbados is not cheap, but you can find very reliable and good accommodations.