Barbados

The official language in Barbados is English. Locals also speak an English dialect reminiscent of the Scottish highland dialect.....which is referred to as Bajan. There are a few African words interspersed with the dialect. Communication will not be a problem for any English speaker as Barbados has one of the highest literacy rates in the Western Hemisphere of around 99.9 percent.

(Individual listings can be found in the Barbados#Districts articles.) Do flying fish fly? Yes and no. Flying fish can break through the surface of the water and fly distances of up to 100 yards at about 30 miles per hour, but they do not actually fly the same way as birds, because birds vibrate their wings during flight. Instead, the flying fish gets its power and speed from its tail fin, which it moves from side to side with powerful strokes.

• Flying fish -- the icon of the islands is found on coins, bills, and menus. Flying fish is usually served lightly breaded and fried, with a yellow sauce. Be warned: this yellow sauce consists of VERY hot Scotch Bonnet peppers with onions in a mustard sauce.
• Pepperpot -- a dish of long tradition and great pride among the Bajans, it is a pork stew in a spicy dark brown sauce. Don't miss this.
• Try "cutters," a local sandwich. Varieties include flying fish cutters, ham cutters and the popular "bread and two."
• Visitors seeking fast food will probably be disappointed; the titanic burger chains of the US failed miserably upon introduction to Barbados (Bajans eat nearly no beef). However, chicken and fish sandwiches are wildly popular, so KFC and Chefette are ubiquitous.
• Bajan cuisine is a strange mix of spicy, flavorful treats along with bland traditional English fayre. So be prepared for meals where fiery stews sit side-by-side with beans on toast.
• Every Friday night the place to be is the town of Oistins (on the south coast) for the "fish fry". This is a market where you can buy fresh fish cooked according to local recipes. Locals stay there late and dance until the early hours of the morning. This is now the second most popular tourist attraction on the island, after Harrison's Cave.
• There are many fine restaurants on the island with the top two being The Cliff (on the west coast) and The Restaurant at South Sea (on the south coast). Both are quite expensive, but serve beautiful food and a wonderful dining experience, overlooking the sea. Still, you can find many hidden gems if you look hard enough. Waterfront Cafe[2] on the Careenage is an excellent place to sample Bajan Cuisine while sipping the local Banks Beer or a spicy Rum Punch.
• Fish cakes, BBQ pig tails, fresh coconut, and roasted peanuts are offered by the many street vendors.
• Weekend shut down! Everything shuts down on the weekend so plan ahead especially if you are self-catering. Most stores are open till noon on Saturday and then nothing opens till Monday morning. On holiday weekends (Good Friday, national holidays, etc.) that fall on or close to a weekend stores may be closed for three or four days at a stretch. Convenience stores attached to gas stations may stay open but don't assume they will be.

Barbados has some of the purest water in the world that can be drunk straight from the tap. Cruise ship employees are often seen stocking up on their water supplies while docked at the island. Rum and rum drinks are featured at every bar. Perhaps the most famous domestic brand offered is Mount Gay Rum, which is very delicious. Modest cost tours of the Mount Gay Rum distillery are available, and they offer samples of all their rums...also sold at attractive prices. Beer and wine is easy to find as well. Banks beer is Barbados' own beer and very good. Tours of the Banks brewery are also available. While the tour itself is very hot and only moderately interesting an unlimited amount of beer is provided to those waiting for the tour to begin. Try to show up a few hours early and take advantage of a very good deal.

The local currency is the Bajan dollar, but US dollars are accepted just about everywhere in shops and restaurants. The exchange rate is fixed at 1.98 Bajan dollars to the US Dollar but almost everyone uses US$1 = BD$2. Keep in mind that exchangers in hotels may insist on taking an additional percentage of the exchange (typically 5%). Many duty free shops in Bridgetown cater to visitors, e.g., from cruise ships. The small mall at the harbor also offers decent prices and selection, though goods produced in Barbados may be more expensive there than elsewhere on the island, e.g., rum. At least one department store in Bridgetown (Cave Shephard) offers a wide range of mercantile. Barbados has a great variety of street vendors. Haggle aggressively. Don't stop until you're at about a third of the original price.