Barbados has had a trusty following of wealthy visitors over the last 50 years and is one of the Caribbean’s most popular destinations. The island combines a strong sense of history and culture with a laid-back outlook and crystal waters, superb beaches, great music and delicious food. Barbados’s British heritage, stronger than on any other Caribbean island, earned it the nickname, “Little England.” The colonial legacy is now softly fading since independence in 1966 but, it retains an old fashioned charm in some of the buildings, the manners and even the language, not forgetting the fact that the locals are still cricket mad! There is a dramatic difference between the east and west coasts, with the Atlantic east coast being less developed and sculpted by the huge breakers that crash over the surfing beaches. The gentle waves of the Caribbean lap against the beaches on the west coast and luxury hotels and villas provide a backdrop to the fine golden sands.