For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
Get lost in the middle of the island and you’ll be set back on the right track by friendly residents before you can say ‘SatNav’. Drive around for an hour or two and you’ll pass cricket matches with players turned out in full whites, locals chilling outside wooden shops and bars with painted Banks beer slogans and, on Sundays, churchgoers walking to prayer in their Sunday best, babies in finest bib and tucker. The south and west sides boast the usual gorgeous tropical-beach scenes; the east is an unexpected surfer’s paradise – wild and untouched, with white sand and natural rock formations.
Head down to 2nd Street in Holetown on a Sunday night and follow the crowds to hear some Bajan beats. You might catch some local karaoke performers in action; they’ll love it if you sing them a song in return. There are always festivals and live bands to discover; keep your ear to the ground and let the locals guide you.
A bottle of Mount Gay Reserve.
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Barbados
In a region of sprawling beach resorts, this four-suite boutique hotel really stands out – a blue-and-white restaurant with rooms that never forgets Lone Star Restaurant & Hotel's quirky 1950s petrol-station heritage.
A scattering of whitewashed cottages on Barbados’ northwest coast, Little Good Harbour is a stylish but down-to-earth boutique hotel where the welcome’s as warm as the weather.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
January Barbados Jazz Festival (www.barbadosjazzfestival.com), attracting national and international artists. February Holetown Festival, with street processions, music concerts and antique fair. March Holders Season (www.holders.net), an elegant international performing arts festival. April The cricket/polo season starts. May Reggae on the Hill, a hugely popular annual party in Farley Hill National Park. July/August Historically the time for celebrating the sugar-cane harvest, and now a highlight of the festival season, Crop-Over lasts for three weeks, with lots of carnivalesque fun on the streets. September The polo season comes to a close.
Terrific patisserie and sandwiches are the mainstay of this favourite breakfast/lunch spot. They also do a full English, and open for dinner Monday to Friday.
1st, Street Holetown, St. James
This fashionable little place does Asian and Mediterranean dishes, as well as the obvious great seafood. You can slip into intimate verandas and alcoves, and there’s a cocktail scene that spills onto the street later on. Dinner only, closed Sunday.
2nd Street, Holetown, St James
A long-established 2nd Street hang-out with a Caribbean/Mediterranean menu, a leafy courtyard, and a first-floor veranda that’s quite perfect for watching parades go back during festival season, and lovely for drinks any time.
2nd Street, Holetown, St James
Not only does this top-class restaurant have seemingly endless lovely places to sit, including tables at the water’s edge and its own courtyard art gallery, but it’s also among the best places for a vegetarian gastronomic experience on the island.
Balmore House, Holetown, St. James
Among the world’s most romantic dining experiences. Book ahead, arrive early (there are steps up from the sea if you arrive by yacht) and have an aperitif in the upstairs cocktail bar, then saunter down the steps overlooking a flame-lit cove on the water’s edge to eat Asian and Caribbean food. Every table has a sea view.
Derricks, St James
This celebrated restaurant with rooms is another Bajan highlight, with tables on a wooden deck next to the waves. It’s sexily lit, and the fantastic food is all about fresh fish, seafood and a surprisingly terrific shepherd’s pie.
Mount Standfast, St James
One of our favourite lunch places on the island, set away from the more touristy spots near the local fish market. Ask for a table on the water, and get stuck into their fish of the day and fantastic wine list.
Little Good Harbour, St Peter
With a Miami Beach feel and a sophisticated clientele, this is among the most stylish restaurant/bars in Barbados, open for lunch as well as low-lit dinner. It’s right next to the Boatyard if you fancy listening to some live bands once you’ve worked your way through the French/international menu.
Bay Street, Bridgetown, St Michael
A minimally stylish gem in the south, right on the water, where a Swedish-Bajan duo serve up the best fish and seafood.
Hastings Main Road, Christ Church
This place puts on a very fun drag shows on Sundays, and the locals get very excited by the karaoke. This is not Torremolinos-type going out – here, it’s more part of the local culture. It gets quite lively with dancing and lots of Banks-glugging in the streets. Bar food, great rum punch.
1st Street, Holetown
A beach club by day, and popular Bridgetown party place by night, the Boatyard is half eaterie – the South Deck Grill, for burgers or grilled fish – and half Sharkey’s Bar, with indoor and outdoor spaces, DJs and freshwater showers.
Bay Street, St Michael, Bridgetown
Another open-air beach club, perhaps not done out in the most refined style, but who cares, when it’s this much fun. If you go on a Monday you’ll find yourself in the middle of a beach party; Friday nights are recommended, too.
Marina Villa, Bay Street, St Michael, Bridgetown
©2009 Mr & Mrs Smith
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