Once upon a time, locals and tourists alike commuted around the Caribbean island of Barbados on horse-drawn trams that ran on rails. The capital city of Bridgetown, its locus, became the largest, longest running, and most colorful horsecart tram system in the Caribbean with 25 tram cars on 5 lines running 10 miles of track. The system worked for 40 years, until 1925.

Today, transportation on the 14-by-21-mile island offers more, and faster, ways to get around, though personally I’d love the romance of traveling along Barbados’ glorious coastline on a horse-drawn tram.

1. rent a moke. You can of course rent a conventional car, but the little open-sided Mokes are so much more fun to get around. Like all rental cars in Barbados, they are right-hand drive. Mokes, around $75 US per day, have manual transmission and air conditioning courtesy of all exterior. Beware: if it rains, you will get wet!

two. Get in a highway taxi. Called Zed-R trucks because their license plates begin with the letters ZR. At 75 cents a head, Zed-R trucks often carry more than the 15 passengers they’re designed for. There are no regular stops; people point out a Zed-R van wherever they are.

3. flag a cab. There are taxi companies and there are people who are licensed to drive their cars as taxis. The plate of both types begins with the letter Z. They do not have gauges; Always ask the price of the ride to your destination before getting into a taxi in Barbados..
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Four. Take the bus. The Barbados Board of Transport administers the official Barbados bus service. Bus stops are plentiful and are marked by round signs reading “To Town” and “Out of Town.” The city referenced is the capital of Barbados, Bridgetown, where many buses drop you off so you can board another bus going to your specific location. The bus system in Barbados is quite good and the buses are clean and very popular with tourists. The fare is exact change of 75 cents, Barbadian currency (about 37 cents in US currency).

Exploring the island is fun because the geography ranges from white sand beaches to lush “Little Scotland” and bountiful sugarcane fields. However, be prepared to be stopped by a man pushing a cart full of coconuts in front of you. But then who’s in a hurry in Barbados?