Fly Nonstop from Boston to Barbados
relaxation is available five hours from Logan’s Terminal C, where one of JetBlue’s newest nonstop flights
can whisk you away to the tropical playground that is Barbados in about the time it takes to ride the
Amtrak to Manhattan. When warm, ultramarine waves are lapping your bare feet as you sip rum punch
from a beading glass, it’s impossible not to melt into a carefree puddle of contentment.
After celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence from British rule, spirits on Barbados are high—
and plentiful. For proof, just visit any of the island’s hundreds of rum shops, no-frills neighborhood
watering holes offering DIY drinks, good company, and such Bajan staples as macaroni pie and jug jug, a
West Indian take on haggis. Or go straight to the source with a tour of the Mount Gay Rum distillery, which proudly takes credit for being the first to barrel this essential daiquiri ingredient, starting in 1703.
The great thing about a 166-square-mile island is that life’s a beach—more than 50 of them. Over in
Carlisle Bay, just outside the capital city of Bridgetown, the tourist-friendly Boatyard boasts calm
waters—and Jet Ski rentals, if calm’s not your thing. Those with an appetite for both surf and serious
Bajan cuisine should head to Enterprise Beach in Oistins, which draws crowds for its Friday-night fish
fry. Island dining doesn’t get much more authentic than a platter of fresh-caught flying fish (the national
delicacy) grilled on one of Oistins’s open-air barbecues.
A land of cheerful contradictions—home to a rum empire founded by a man named John Sober, where
fish fly and there’s a church next to nearly every bar—Barbados also gives visitors the chance to
experience quaint bursts of British affectation worlds away from the gray, drizzly continental rock from
which they were spawned. That includes polo matches on Holders Field in the St. James parish (a high
roller haven where the likes of Rihanna and Simon Cowell frolic). Don’t know the rules? All you need to
know is this one: Like any worthwhile pursuit on the island, it’s best enjoyed with a cold drink in hand.
