Things To Know Before And During Your Stay In Barbados, continued...Bridgetown is the capital and major city of Barbados in the Parish ofSaint Michael. Bridgetown is where you will find the House of Assemblyof the Government. The administrative parishes are: St. Lucy, St. Peter, St. Andrew, St.James, St. Joseph, St. Thomas, St. Michael, St. George, St. John,Christ Church and St. Philip. Telecommunications: Direct dial telephone service, internet and email connections are available. The telephone area code on the island is 246. Language: English is the official language. There is the 'Bajan' dialect that can be heard all around the island. Electricity: North American 110/115 volts. Most hotels provide converters when needed. Water: Safe to drink directly from your tap. National Holidays - 2010 New Year's Day - Friday, January 1st Errol Barrow Day - Thursday, January 21st Good Friday - Friday, April 2nd Easter Monday - Monday, April 5th National Heroes Day - Friday, April 28th Labour Day - Saturday, May 1st Whit Monday - Monday, May 24th Kadooment Day - Monday, August 2th Emancipation Day - Tuesday, August 3rd <>Independence Day - Tuesday, November 30thChristmas Day - Saturday, December 25th Boxing Day - Monday, December 27th Dress Code: Beach wear is only for the beach. Casual summer clothing for days and casual elegant dress for other times. Accommodation: High, Christmas and Low Seasons: The high season begins December and ends April. The Christmas season is also high season so expect to pay a higher price than in high season or there could be a minimum stay policy. The low season begins in April and ends in December when holiday rentals are a bargain. Driving: On this very British Isle, driving is on the left side of the road, unlike in North America where driving is on the right side. Weather: Fluctuates between 29 °C / 84.2 °F and a low of 23 °C / 73.4 °F. These are only approximations. The temperature rarely gets above 32 °C / 90 °F as there's the constant trade winds to cool you off! -Quick rain showers in the wet season from June to November. Some areas do become flooded and mud slides have been reported. - Hurricanes: Season is also from June to November. Barbados was last brushed by hurricane Ivan in 2004 and prior to that by tropical storm Lili in 2002 and hurricane Allen in 1980. - Volcanoes and tsunamis have not occurred in Barbados. - Earthquakes: The last mild earthquake that was felt in Barbados was November 2007. Time: 4hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the winter and 5 hours in thesummer. 1 hour ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in the winterand the same during U.S. Daylight Savings Time. Banks operating in Barbados: RBTT Bank Barbados Ltd., 431-2500 First Caribbean International Bank, 431-5493 Bank of Butterfield, 431-4500 Bank of Nova Scotia, 426-7000 Currency: Barbadian Dollar. Click for currency assistant. Newspapers: The Barbados Advocate, 467-2000 The Nation, 430-5400 Churches: Predominately Anglican, however other religions denominations include Methodism, Judaism, Catholicism and possibly 100 more. St. George Parish Church, St. George, 436-8794 St. James Parish Church, St. James, 422-4117 St. John Parish Church, St. John, 433-5599 The [Catholic] Bishop's Office, 426-3510 Sharon Moravian Church, St. Thomas, 425-4011 Radio: CBC 900 AM, 434-1900 Gospel 790 AM, 467-7355 Q 100.7 FM, 434-1007 LOVE 104.1, 434-5683 The ONE 98.1 FM, 434-1981 MIX 96.9 FM, 436-4936, Fax 228-3550 VOB 92.9 FM, 434-1790, 434-1791, 434-1770, 434-1771 HOTT 95.3 FM, 430-7300 Television: Caribbean Broadcasting Corp., 467-5400. Carib Vision, 467-1000 or 866-542-8958.
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