Practical Information for visiting Barbados

The currency is the Barbadian dollar (BBD), pegged to the US dollar at exactly two to one, which makes mental arithmetic simple.

US dollars are accepted everywhere and change is usually given in Barbadian dollars at the pegged rate, so there is little disadvantage to using either.

Cards are accepted at hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and larger shops. Cash is needed for buses, rum shops, roadside vendors and the fish fry.

ATMs are widespread in Bridgetown, along the south coast and in Holetown and Speightstown.

Tipping: a ten per cent service charge is frequently added to restaurant bills — check before adding more. Otherwise ten to fifteen per cent, and a few dollars for taxi drivers and porters.

Coverage for mobile networks is good across the whole island from Flow and Digicel, with 4G and some 5G. There are essentially no dead spots on an island this size.

Roaming from North America and Europe is usually expensive; a local prepaid SIM or eSIM is cheap and sold at the airport and in Bridgetown.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and cafes, and there is free public Wi-Fi in parts of Bridgetown and at some beaches. Speeds are good.

Barbados also offers a twelve-month remote working visa, which has brought a small resident community of people working from the island and improved the co-working and connectivity infrastructure accordingly.

Barbados is one of the safer Caribbean islands and most visits are entirely trouble-free. Crime against tourists is usually opportunistic.

• Petty theft from beaches, hire cars and unlocked accommodation is the main issue. Leave nothing on the sand and use the safe.
• 
  
• Some areas of Bridgetown are best avoided on foot after dark, as is walking on unlit beaches at night.
• 
  
• The Atlantic coast is not for swimming. The currents at Bathsheba and along the east are strong and there are no lifeguards. Even experienced swimmers get into trouble, and most drownings here happen on that side.
• 
  
• Driving takes adjusting to: narrow roads, poor signposting inland, and ZR vans that stop without warning.
• 
  
• The manchineel tree grows on some beaches; its sap blisters and its fruit is poisonous. Trees are usually marked with red paint — do not shelter under one in rain.
• 
  
• Drug offences carry serious penalties.

Medical standards are good by regional measures. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown is the main public facility and there are private clinics including Bayview and Sandy Crest; anything highly specialised is referred to Miami or Trinidad, so insurance with evacuation cover is sensible.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid. Yellow fever proof is required only if arriving from a country with risk.

Mosquito-borne illness — dengue, chikungunya and Zika are all present and there is no prophylaxis. The mosquito bites during the day, so use repellent from morning onward. There is no malaria.

Sun. The UV index is extreme, and the trade winds disguise how much sun you are getting — visitors burn badly on their first day precisely because they feel cool. High-factor reef-safe sunscreen and shade in the middle of the day.

Sea urchins on rocky entries; reef shoes solve it.

Tap water comes from underground aquifers, is well regarded and is safe to drink throughout the island.

Camouflage clothing is illegal for civilians, including on children and including a small print on a bag. It is confiscated at the airport and this catches visitors out every year.

Cover up away from the beach. Swimwear is for the sand; wearing it in shops, restaurants or on a bus is genuinely frowned on. Nudity and toplessness are illegal.

Greet first. A good morning before any request is expected everywhere — shops, buses, offices — and its absence is noticed more here than in most places.

Dress smartly for church, for restaurants in the evening and for any formal occasion. Barbadians dress well and notice.

Beaches are public by law up to the high water mark, including in front of private hotels, so walking the shoreline is always permitted.

Drug penalties are serious, and taking coral, shells or sand is prohibited.

Emergency numbers: 211 for police, 511 for ambulance and 311 for fire. 911 also connects. Operators speak English and response in the built-up south and west is prompt.

Medical. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown has the island’s only accident and emergency department and its recompression chamber, which matters to divers. Private clinics on the west and south coasts handle routine problems faster.

Sea rescue is coordinated by the Barbados Coast Guard; beaches are mostly unpatrolled, so tell someone where you are swimming.

Hurricanes. The season runs June to November. The meteorological service issues warnings and hotels have plans; follow them.

Keep an offline copy of your passport and insurance policy. Several countries maintain high commissions or embassies in Bridgetown, which also serve the wider eastern Caribbean.