By far the easiest and cheapest way to get to Barbados is by air .

The majority of British and Irish visitors travel on some sort of two-week package tour that includes a charter flight to the island. Alternatively a few airlines offer direct scheduled flights from London, while some require stopovers in the US. There are no direct flights from Ireland, but there are connections via London or via New York and Miami. British Airways, Virgin and BWIA all fly from London.

Visitors from the US have a good number of options. BWIA flies non-stop out of New York, Miami and Dallas; American Airlines flies non-stop from NY and Miami, while Air Jamaica flies out of LA, NY, Chicago, Miami and several other major US cities. Vacation packages , including airfare, accommodation and sometimes meals, can be very good value.

BWIA flies to Barbados from Toronto, and Air Canada serves Toronto and Montreal.

There are no direct flights from New Zealand or Australia, and package deals are few and far between. Travellers from these countries will need to fly to one of the major US gateways and pick up onward connections from there.

The occasional cruise ship typically only docks in Barbados for a day or two at most.

Airport departure tax is presently B$25, payable at the airport when you leave, in local currency only.