Where to stay: Treasure Beach Hotel. Paynes Bay, 00-1-246-4321346, www.treasurebeachhotel.com. Its all-in Treasure Chest deal with meals - including divine afternoon tea and Bajan tapas introduced by new chef Paul Raeves - is particularly worth looking at.
A seven-night accommodation-only stay starts at £1,179 (€1,290) per person sharing, including return BA flights from London Gatwick. Reservations with BA Holidays on 00-44-844-4930758, www.ba.com/holidays.
Where to eat
The Tides Restaurant. Holetown, 00-1-246-4328356, www.tidesbarbados.com. Elegance is the key here. On the edge of the ocean, floodlit at night. Forget fearsome preconceptions and go for chef Guy Beasley's fried barracuda, Bajan flying fish or roast mahimahi - that's dolphin fish, not part of the mammal dolphin family, so you needn't feel you're eating Funghi.
The Fish Pot. Little Good Harbour, Shermans, 00-1-246-4392604, www.littlegoodharbour barbados.com. It's irresistible not to eat exotic fish on a tropical island. Plenty of it here.
Where to go
George Washington House. Bush Hill, The Garrison, St Michael, www.george washingtonbarbados.org. In 1751, aged 19, George Washington made his first and only visit outside North America - to Barbados. The 18th-century plantation house he stayed in has been made into a museum.
Kensington Oval.Kensington Oval, Fontabelle, St Michael, 00-1-246-4262018, www.windiescricket.com. If you're one of those who followed Ireland's meteoric performance at the 2007 Cricket World Cup, in the West Indies, why not visit the shrine of Barbadian cricket, home ground of Garfield Sobers and Frank Worrell, particularly if there's a match on?
Garrison Savannah. Bridgetown, 00-1-246- 4263980, www.barbados turfclub.com. One of the top events on the Barbados racing calendar is the Sandy Lane Gold Cup, run on the first Saturday in March. Even if you're not a punter it's worth walking this gracious, colonial-style course, similar to the Phoenix Park in its heyday.
Animal Flower Cave. This spot at the northern tip of the island is the Cliffs of Moher of Barbados, wild and spectacular. Buy a little brightly coloured chattel house for 45 Barbadian dollars (€16) from local artists who have stalls here.
Tall Ships. The Shallow Draught, Bridgetown, 00-1-246-4300900, www.tallshipscruises.com. Take a catamaran trip and swim with turtles. Barbados has everything for the water-sports fanatic.
Where to shop
Broad Street in Bridgetown has emporiums of imported items such as cameras and jewellery - there's even a Tiffany Co. A duty-free discount of as much as 33 per cent is available in many shops on presentation of your airline ticket and passport. The street is thronged with people, many Americans from the huge cruise ships. You're better off buying Bajan handcrafts from stalls throughout the island.
What to read
Insight Guides: Barbados(APA Publications, £16.99). This guidebook even gives a flavour of Caribbean fiction by including a short story by the late Barbadian writer Timothy Callender and an essay on contemporary writers such as George Lamming, author of In the Castle of My Skin.
Omerosby Derek Walcott (Faber, £15.99). Though the Nobel-laureate poet was born on nearby St Lucia, anything by him will instruct and enrich on West Indian history.
Getting around
Taxis are easy to find. Just ask the fare (and agree it) before you start. The only problem is traffic. With a population of 265,000, Barbados is densely populated, and jams are common, particularly in the south.
Travelling by bus is the best fun. The fare is only 1.50 Barbadian dollars (55c) to go anywhere on the island. Sit alongside immaculately dressed girls, in crisp white blouses, going to school in the early morning and you begin to wonder is there an army of laundresses working away somewhere to make sure they're all neat as a pin.
Currency
The Barbadian dollar and US dollar are widely used, but if you pay in US dollars you'll often get local dollars in change. One Barbadian dollar is worth about 35c.