THIS SUMMER IS SWEETER IN BARBADOS WITH LIVELY FESTIVALS AND RESORT DEALS 

Bridgetown, Barbados (April 2022) – Rolling out the red carpet for travelers, Barbados announced a new summer campaign dishing up savings of up to 55 percent on accommodations, attractions, car rentals, and restaurants. Visitors can take advantage of diverse accommodations from luxury hotels on the beach, to charming bed-and-breakfast spots, or private villas nestled in lush gardens. Adventure lovers can explore all of the experiences and uncover the secrets that make Barbados stand apart from the rest of the Caribbean. Whether it’s biking solo through hidden trails on the East coast; or enjoying a fresh fish cutter at an inviting beach bar with the whole family, Barbados offers a memorable holiday experience for every kind of traveler to immerse themselves in Barbadian culture and way of life.  This summer there are also lots in store for foodies in the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean. Visitors can try any of the island’s many new restaurants including QP Bistro, Blush Café, Cosmo Club, Cala Roca, Local and Co., and Seashed, and share all of their experiences on social media under the hashtags #barbadosmoments #barbadosmemories and #barbadossecrets.

To enjoy all of these Barbados experiences and more, visitors can book their savings directly at www.BarbadosSummerSavings.com through August 31, 2022, for travel between April 21 and October 31, 2022. The destination is proud to announce that they have partnered with a new local online travel agent, Book Barbados, to facilitate bookings for the summer campaign. This innovative move comes as the destination more purposefully collaborates with homegrown businesses and local private sector partners.

Also, on the cards, this summer after a two-year hiatus is the island’s largest annual festival. The Crop Over Festival is Barbados’ most popular, most colorful and most anticipated event. This unique summer festival attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe who come to enjoy Barbadian heritage, culture, music, food, and dance, every May through August. One of the Caribbean’s most culturally significant festivals, the 300-year-old tradition of Crop Over marks the end of the sugar cane growing season.   Crop Over culminates with Grand Kadooment, held the first Monday in August.

Costumed revelers can be seen parading through the streets from morning until evening, and if lucky, may even catch a glimpse of one of the many celebrities known to frequent the island during this time, including Sir Lewis Hamilton, Jordan Dunn, and Barbados’ very own Rihanna.  Prime Minister the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, announced that Barbados will have a modified Crop Over for 2022, for the first time in two years. Visitors and Barbadians alike will enjoy the festival this year in a safe way as the Prime Minister outlined that the staging of Grand Kadooment and ForeDay Morning will be done in a new and innovative way without sacrificing enjoyment and safety.  “We are happy for this because we know that after two years of no Crop Over and no release, people are more than waiting for this opportunity,” Mottley said.

Rapid test and fly

To sweeten the deal, getting to Barbados this summer just got a lot easier as Rapid Antigen Tests for entry into the country are now accepted. Plus, there’s no quarantine period for fully vaccinated travelers with valid negative tests.   The widely popular Rapid tests are readily available in Barbados’ primary source markets, and results are typically returned within one hour. Rapid Antigen Tests to enter Barbados must be administered by a healthcare provider no more than one day prior to arrival in Barbados.  Along with Rapid Antigen Tests, COVID PCR tests taken no more than three days prior to arrival in Barbados are also on the list of approved tests for entry into the country.

 For more on Barbados’ entry protocols, visit www.BarbadosTravelProtocols.com.

About Barbados

The island of Barbados offers a unique Caribbean experience steeped in rich history and colorful culture and rooted in remarkable landscapes. Barbados is the home of two of the three remaining Jacobean Mansions left in the Western hemisphere, as well as fully functional rum distilleries. In fact, this island is known as the birthplace of rum, commercially producing and bottling the spirit since the 1700s. Each year, Barbados hosts several world-class events including the annual Barbados Food and Rum Festival; the annual Barbados Reggae Festival; and the annual Crop Over Festival, where celebrities such as Lewis Hamilton and its very own Rihanna are often spotted. Accommodations are wide and varied, ranging from picturesque plantation houses and villas to quaint bed and breakfast gems; prestigious international chains; and award-winning five-diamond resorts. In 2018, Barbados’ accommodation sector captured 13 awards in the Top Hotels Overall, Luxury, All-Inclusive, Small, Best Service, Bargain, and Romance categories of the ‘Traveler’s Choice Awards. And getting to paradise is a breeze: the Grantley Adams International Airport offers plenty of non-stop and direct services from a growing number of U.S., U.K., Canadian, Caribbean, European, and Latin American gateways, making Barbados the true gateway to the Eastern Caribbean. Visit Barbados and experience why for two years in a row it won the prestigious Star Winter Sun Destination Award at the ‘Travel Bulletin Star Awards’ in 2017 and 2018. For more information on travel to Barbados, visit www.visitbarbados.org, follow on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VisitBarbados, and via Twitter @Barbados.