Thanks to its charming hotels, coral sand beaches and good humoured people, Barbados has been the island of choice for the well-heeled and well-connected since the sixties. Even with themore recent emergence of ritzy resorts, fashionable restaurants and designer golf courses, the island has never been allowed to take itself too seriously and somehow manages to hold on to its relaxed West Indian identity.

The finest hotels still carefully maintain their classic island style, knowing it is this that keeps people coming back for more. Most of them also continue to be low-rise and privately-owned, the best ones situated along the island’s fabled west coast and handy not only for the championship golf courses at Sandy Lane and Royal Westmoreland, but also for the gourmet eateries that now proliferate - flexible dining plans mean foodies can usually take full advantage of these.

But few visitors to Barbados could ever consider themselves hotel-bound, the public beaches, friendly attitudes and easy access to bars and restaurants ensuring everyone returns home with fond memories of both the island and its people. And whilst days are still generally spent on the sublime beaches, the option of underground caves, submarine trips, ‘pirate’ ships and day trips to the dramatic east coast ensure plenty of variety. Of course, after dark there’s anything from rustic beach bars and open-air nightclubs to Bajan floorshows keeping everyone suitably entertained.

THE FREQUENCY OF FLIGHTS TO BARBADOS REFLECTS THE ISLAND’S UNWAVERING POPULARITY. BRITISH AIRWAYS AND VIRGIN ATLANTIC FLY DAILY FROM GATWICK AND THERE ARE ALSO DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM MANCHESTER AVAILABLE WITH BMI AND VIRGIN ATLANTIC. THE NON-STOP FLYING TIME IS ABOUT 8 HOURS 45 MINUTES, THE OPTION OFUPGRADINGTOTHE PREMIUMCABINS, INCLUDING FIRST, MAKING THE JOURNEY ALMOST (BUT NOT QUITE!) AS PLEASURABLE AS THE STAY.