Barbados is a wonderful holiday island with a stable economy and political system, idyllic climate, very friendly residents and interesting places to explore.

There is a good bus service on the island, but if you wish to rent a car for a few days to find those out-of-the-way island jewels a wide range of car hire companies is available to choose from. Historic Holetown is a 5-10 minutes' walk away to the south, a small town offering many restaurants (Caribbean, Thai, Indian, pizza, fast food), a mall with large supermarket, banks, post office and sports bar (televised live rugby, cricket and football games).

A 15 minute bus journey will take you to bustling Bridgetown in the south, with its large variety of small, interesting shops, as well as Cave Shepherd (a large department store), duty-free jewellery shops and the parliament buildings. The bus ride to the north passes along many beautiful beaches, including Mullins Bay, on its way to Speightstown, home of the Arlington House interactive museum and an excellent art gallery.

The waters off the west coast are the calmest on the island, but there are many beaches worth a visit on the south coast, and if you like to see the power of the ocean and a rather wilder landscape then a trip to the east coast is a must. We particularly like going to Bathsheba to watch the surfing, and another favourite beach is Bottom Bay. On the whole, swimming is not recommended on the east coast because of the currents and rougher seas. On the south coast the St. Lawrence Gap is a busy nightlife centre, with street parties, bars, restaurants and night clubs.

At the Barbados Wildlife Reserve in the north-east of the island visitors can mingle with free-roaming green monkeys, deer, turtles and agouti or, at a safe distance, see snakes, caimans and exotic bird species. Not far away from the Reserve is St. Nicholas Abbey, one of only three remaining Jacobean plantation houses and well worth a tour. View the interesting artefacts, soak up the atmosphere and imagine how life must have been for those wealthy plantation owners as you gaze out of the windows towards the surrounding grounds.

If you'd rather someone else was in charge of the driving for the day, choose one of the catamaran cruises that combine a tour of the coastline, lunch/drinks and the opportunity to snorkel or swim with the turtles. Or you may prefer a safari tour of the island in a jeep.

A tour of Concorde, rum factory tours, art galleries and craft studios, potteries, bird sanctuaries, botanical gardens, underground caves, museums . . . the list goes on. You'll be coming back year after year to this wonderful spot.