Barbados buy · Money and Shopping in Barbados
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Money and Shopping in Barbados
Money and Shopping in Barbados
The local currency is the Bajan dollar, but US dollars are accepted in almost all shops and restaurants. The exchange rate is fixed at 1.98 Bajan dollars to the US dollar but almost everyone uses US$1 = BD$2. Keep in mind that exchangers in hotels may insist on taking an additional percentage of the exchange (typically 5%).
Many "duty free" shops cater to visitors: from cruise ships. Bridgetown's main street hosts numerous jewelers, most frequently Colombian Emeralds and Diamonds International. Cave Shepherd department store offers a wide range of mercantile, while Harrison's offers premium gifts, leathers and cosmetics. Other smaller stores offer virtually everything a visitor or resident might need. A small mall at the harbor also offers decent prices and selection (for rum and UK liquors), but goods produced in Barbados may be slightly more expensive there than elsewhere on the island.
Barbados has a well-deserved reputation for producing excellent rum, e.g., Mount Gay. Rum distilleries are usually open for tours, and typically offer samples and product for sale at prices often equal to the best found anywhere else. (See also "Drink" below)
Barbados has a great variety of street vendors. Haggle aggressively. Don't stop until you are at about a third of the original price.
The fine arts flourish in Barbados and many galleries and studios have shows on all year round which change every few weeks. Details of monthly arts happenings may be viewed.
See also the note about "Weekend Shut Down" at the end of the "Eat" section below.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Barbados
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Barbados - updated Apr 2024
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Barbados Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.