Barbados packages and Barbados travel deals include complete information about Barbados famous tourist destinations. Barbados is thought to have been originally inhabited by Arawak Indians. By the time Europeans explored the island, however, it was uninhabited. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to set foot on the island, but it was the British who first established a colony there in 1627. Colonists first cultivated tobacco and cotton, but by the 1640s they had switched to sugar, which was enormously profitable. Slaves were brought in from Africa to work sugar plantations, and eventually the population was about 90% black. A slave revolt took place in 1816; slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834.

An island in the Atlantic about 300 mi (483 km) north of Venezuela, Barbados is only 21 mi long (34 km) and 14 mi across (23 km) at its widest point. It is circled by fine beaches and narrow coastal plains. The highest point is Mount Hillaby (1,105 ft; 337 m) in the north-central area.

166 sq mi (430 sq km); total area 166 sq mi (431 sq km)

280,946 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 12.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.6/1000; life expectancy: 73.0; density per sq mi: 1,692

Bridgetown, 98,900

Barbados dollar

English

Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%

97% (1995 est.)

Sugarcane, vegetables, cotton.

Petroleum, fish, natural gas.

Tourist visas are required by all except the following:
(a) 1. nationals of EU countries for stays of up to six months (nationals of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic and Slovenia for stays of up to 28 days).
(b) 2. nationals of Commonwealth countries for stays of up to six months (some nationals may be permitted visa-free for differing amounts - see other visa-exemption regulations below), except nationals of Cameroon, India, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea who do need a visa;
(c) 3. nationals of Brazil, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Mali, Mauritania, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, USA and Zimbabwe for stays of up to six months.
(d) nationals of Turkey for stays of up to three months.
(e) 4. nationals of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Japan, Korea (Rep) and Uruguay for stays of up to 90 days;.
(f) nationals of Costa Rica for stays of up to 30 days;.
(g) nationals of CIS countries for stays of up to 28 days.
(h) nationals of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of), Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Romania, Surinam and Venezuela for stays of up to 28 days.
(i) transit passengers with valid passport and not leaving the airport but leaving by the same aircraft or transit passengers leaving for onward destination within 48 hours, provided holding confirmed tickets and other documents for the next destination.