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Barbados for beginners By Simon MarshThe Caribbean is famed for sunshine, cricket, calypso music and rum. Barbados had all this and more during my short escape there from the filthy British winter. My friends and I stayed in the attractively-named Holetown on the west coast of the island and we were well placed to enjoy all the island has to offer. Tourism is the major industry in Barbados and all the main towns are on the coast. So, after rolling out of bed on the first morning and stumbling 200 yards or so, we came across idyllic beaches, which line the south and west coasts of the island. The diving and snorkelling off the island are excellent and you can take a day or half-day trip on a catamaran round the coast to snorkel with giant turtles. You also get chance to see some of the amazing marine life which lives around the many wrecks lying off shore. We dived down to one wreck, which was sunk deliberately in World War One by its own crew. Apparently they were having such a good time in the nearby red light district, they didn't want to leave Barbados. With its faultless climate, this part of the world has always been popular and this is reflected in the prices. This also means that there's a strange sense that British and American culture has taken over, and though there are many attractive restaurants, particularly in the capital Bridgetown, the national cuisine is lost amid the clamour for steaks and burgers. This doesn't detract in the slightest, however, from your enjoyment of the quiet and laidback atmosphere of Barbados, nor the friendliness of the local people. And if you venture across to the eastern side of the island there are plenty of cultural and historic places of interest. If it's partying you're looking for, Bridgetown is the place. Every night there's a different offer of free drinks but the place to be seen is a club called 'Harbour Lights'. We duly piled in and began supping the local rum cocktail (thereafter free of charge) which, to be fair, went down like fizzy pop. I mentioned cricket and calypso music at the start and suffice to say Barbados takes both seriously. Their roundabouts (which put British equivalents to shame) are all named after famous cricketing heroes like Sir Garfield Sobers. My only comment about the music is that we were there in December and heard every conceivable Yuletide carol - all Calypso style. Barbados is a great place to take a break in the middle of a travel itinerary and has a huge amount to offer in the way of relaxation, beauty, climate and adventure.  Click here >> for our Barbados information |
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