Little England of the Caribbean
Barbados, the easternmost of the West Indies, is sometimes called "Little England" for its resolutely British character. Here you can read the cricket headlines over a breakfast of bangers, enjoy afternoon tea at your hotel, even don a jacket for dinner. But those traditions sometimes take on a Bajan twist. Breakfast can also feature fried flying fish, the rum shops function as local versions of British pubs, and the island "tuk bands" feature both drums and pennywhistles.

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ISLANDS editor Eddy Patricelli recently visited Barbados to trace the meaning of its world famous rum, talking with people from rum shop regulars to church pastors to Mount Gay tour guides. To find out more about his article from the April/May issue of ISLANDS magazine, click here.

Fly on American Airlines, which offers nonstop daily flights from most major hubs to Barbados airport (BGI). aa.com

Stay at the elegant Bougainvillea Beach Resort, where the sea- side restaurants and charismatic rum bars of St. Lawrence Gap are only a short walk away. bougainvillearesort.com. Go to Little Good Harbour in the quiet fishing community of Shermans on the northwest coast of Barbados. The family-run oceanfront villas offer residential-style units, some that occupy a restored 17th-century fort. Far from the traffic of Bridgetown, the resort is most famous for its restaurant, The Fish Pot. Try not to stare at British "royalty" like the Blairs and Beckhams enjoying the seaside seating and fresh seafood. littlegoodharbourbarbados.com

Eat at Bougainvillea's Lanterns by the Sea restaurant. Find fruity drinks and Thursday-night limbo. Also try the coconut-shrimp-and-chili-sauce appetizer at Champers Wine Bar and Restaurant, perched over Accra Beach on the south coast. Ask for waterside seating, and savor Parmesan-crusted barracuda as waves surge below. champersbarbados.com

Explore Harrison's Cave, which has spelunkers riding an electric tram past ancient mineral formations on a mile-plus guided tour. harrisonscave.com

Enjoy the beaches -- fine white-coral-sand strands extending for miles -- and some of the region's best windsurfing (experts favor Silver Sands, at the southern tip, for wave jumping). While the diving is not spectacular by Caribbean standards, wreck-divers can chalk up a lot of bottom time at Carlisle Bay or at the Folkestone Marine Park, where a Greek freighter was deliberately sunk to form a now-burgeoning artificial reef.

Surf here. Primo surfing waves are rare in the Caribbean, but Barbados has been a standout since the early days of longboard- ing. The best-known spot is Soup Bowl, on the eastern shore. It's a classic reef break that's rideable almost every day of the year, with solid surf most of the time and waves can reach 15 feet during winter.

See more than 1,200 miles of hedgerow-lined paved roads that await exploration, so get an early start and head north out of Bridgetown and up the west coast. Stop at Holetown, the earliest British settlement here, to see a 19th-century church that could have come straight out of the English countryside. At Speights- town, cross over to the eastern shore; there, along the Bath- sheba coast, you'll pass the lush Andromeda Gardens, picturesque seaside villages, and places to stop & watch the waves. Then step into the island's past at one of the fine old "great houses," such as the elegant Georgian-style Sunbury Plantation House. Another sightseeing stop is St. Nicholas Abbey in St. Andrews Parish. The working sugar plantation includes a preserved Jacobean mansion that was built back in 1658. Watch a video that showcases life on the plantation. Chase it with a taste of St. Nicholas Abbey's latest batch of rum. stnicholasabbey.com

Learn more at visitbarbados.org.