{"id":1312,"date":"2018-10-03T06:51:12","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T06:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2020-05-07T07:51:07","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T07:51:07","slug":"reisebericht-barbados","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/en\/travel-report-barbados\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel report BARBADOS - More than just Rihanna and rum in the easternmost Caribbean state"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Barbados visa and entry requirements:<\/strong>
\nPassport required
\nNo visa is required<\/p>\n

Information from the Foreign Office about your trip to Barbados:<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.auswaertiges-amt.de\/de\/barbadossicherheit\/226424<\/a><\/p>\n

Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean country with around 290,000 inhabitants. The island is part of the Lesser Antilles and is geographically located around 180 kilometers east of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines archipelago, the shortest connection to the nearest landmass. It is also located at a slightly greater distance northeast of Grenada and southeast of St. Lucia and Martinique.<\/p>\n

In addition to the main island, the territory of Barbados also includes the tiny Culpepper Island, located directly off the east coast.<\/p>\n

The official language in Barbados is English and the local currency is the Barbados dollar, with 1 euro equaling around 2.20 BBD. The national flower \u201cRed Pride of Barbados\u201d is included in the country\u2019s coat of arms.<\/p>\n

The island's largest cities include Bridgetown, Speightstown, Holetown, Oistins, Bathsheba - the tourist center of the east coast - and Six Cross Roads.<\/p>\n

In contrast to most neighboring Caribbean islands, Barbados is not of volcanic origin and is therefore predominantly flat. The highest point on the island is the 336 meter high Mount Hillaby.<\/p>\n

Due to the tropical climate all year round, with almost constant temperatures, the island state is exposed to the increased risk of tropical cyclones, especially in the summer months.<\/p>\n

Until the 1990s, the sugar industry dominated Barbados' economy, which meant that almost the entire island's tropical rainforest had to give way to huge sugar cane plantations.<\/p>\n

Tourism, finance, oil production and rum production are now the most important sources of income in the Barbados economy. Due to a large number of offshore banks, the Caribbean island was considered a tax haven until a few years ago.<\/p>\n

The majority of foreign visitors arrive on the island on huge cruise ships, which are part of every Eastern Caribbean tour. Particularly popular with short-term tourists are the surrounding long white sandy beaches, some former plantation houses with the associated historic sugar mills or the visit to various distilleries for producing rum.<\/p>\n

The capital and largest city of Barbados is Bridgetown with around 120,000 inhabitants. This means that almost half of the island's entire population now lives in the greater capital area.<\/p>\n

Bridgetown is at the same time the political and, thanks to its large main port, also the economic center of the easternmost Caribbean island.<\/p>\n

The most important sights in Bridgetown include the National Heroes Square - the central square of the city, the Nelson Monument, the Chamberlain Bridge, the Parliament House, Broad Street - the main commercial street in Bridgetown, St. Michael's Cathedral, Harrison College, the Old Bridgetown, St. Anne's Garrison, the Israeli Synagogue, the Botanical Gardens and Kensington Oval, the largest stadium in Barbados.<\/p>\n

In July 2015 I visited Barbados for the only time so far. I took off from the island of St. Lucia in the morning with the Caribbean airline LIAT. I spent the night there privately with the super nice Brenda, who I had previously met via the Internet portal \u201cCouchsurfing\u201d.<\/p>\n

Immediately after arriving, the island of Barbados seemed somehow huge to me. The reasons were not just the perceived long distances or the rainy weather in the morning, but perhaps the forest cover that had been reclaimed in many places.<\/p>\n

In any case, the colonial town of Bridgetown was quite cozy and it was great fun to walk around among the important buildings of British colonial architecture. In my opinion, the entire old town of Bridgetown has rightly been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, after just one day, I had to leave the island of Barbados very suddenly early due to an acute illness in my family. Practically overnight I made the decision to fly to Germany via Miami for a lot of money in order to be very close to one of the most important people in my life during a damn difficult time. At that moment I realized that there really are more important things in life than traveling to every country in the world.<\/p>\n

The big island tour planned for the following day naturally had to be cancelled.<\/p>\n

I hope to return to Barbados one day to see for myself the supposedly fascinating beauty of the Caribbean island.<\/p>\n\n