• Visit date: February 04 2025
• The visited post office: General Post Office Bridgetown
• Cost of sending mail: North America 1,80 BBD (0,9 USD), UK, Europe 2,2 BBD (1,1 USD) Caribbean Islands 1,5 BBD (0,75 USD).
• Postcard availability: Post Office, Gift shop in the beach, Cruise terminal
• Postcard Delivery Times: fastest: 16 days to UK

Barbados is a charming island nation in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike many other Caribbean islands, Barbados has no land borders, as it is entirely surrounded by water. Located at approximately 13°N latitude and 59°W longitude, the island offers visitors a tropical climate and stunning beaches.

The first Europeans to arrive were likely the Spanish or Portuguese around the year 1500. The English landed in 1624 and permanently settled the island in 1627. From then on, Barbados remained a British colony until November 30, 1966, when it gained independence. Interestingly, on November 30, 2021, Barbados transitioned from a constitutional monarchy to a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth.

The Basics Behind Barbados Postal History

Barbados has a rich postal history dating back to the 17th century. The British Post Office established a packet agency in Bridgetown in 1663, initially using passing ships to transport mail. The first postal markings appeared on Barbadian letters in the 1760s, with the island’s name often written as “Barbadoes.” In 1851, the Barbadian legislature took control of the island’s internal postal system, while Britain continued handling overseas mail until 1858. Unlike many other British colonies, Barbados never used British stamps but issued its own unique postage.

The first Barbadian stamps, known as the “Britannia” series, were released in 1852. These stamps featured Britannia, a symbol of the British Empire, and were issued in various denominations over the years. Over time, Barbados’ stamps have reflected the island’s history, cultural heritage, landscapes a.s.o. Today, the postal system is managed by the Barbados Postal Service (BPS), and it is focused on connecting Barbados with the rest of the world. 

Sources: Wikipedia, Barbados

Our Visit to BPS

We arrived in Bridgetown on the morning of Tuesday, February 4th. This wasn’t our first time here. Our previous visit was in 2016. Back then, I had an even bigger mission than visiting the post office. My daughter, who was 17 at the time, was a huge Rihanna fan. Upon hearing that I was heading to Barbados, she hoped I might somehow run into Rihanna—who, for some reason, would be visiting her home country—or at the very least, that the island would be overflowing with Rihanna-themed souvenirs and music. But there was no sign of Rihanna, nor any memorabilia with her face. Instead was many Bob Marley and Che Guevara souvenirs everywhere.

This time, however, we headed straight to the General Post Office—a large complex of buildings with many doors. In the main hall, at the philatelic counter, we confirmed that the stamp prices matched what we had seen online.

Utopia Café, located in the city center, turned out to be the perfect spot for writing postcards. Finding the postcards themselves, however, was much more challenging. It seems the country assumes visitors come mainly for the beaches and nature. Eventually, we found a small selection in a beach shop, priced at one dollar each.

After finishing our postcards and walking Historic Bridgetown—a UNESCO site—for a while, we made our way back to the post office. The lady at the philatelic counter had told us she would be there until 5 PM, so arriving at 3 PM seemed like a safe buffer.

But the counter was closed.

A security guard informed us that, due to an emergency, she had to leave, but he would take us to another philatelic office. Slightly skeptical, we followed him to a different building within the same complex, registered at the security desk, and took the elevator to the fourth floor.

The room was spacious, with work desks alongside displays of stamps and large posters detailing the postal history of Barbados—a perfect place for us! It was Philatelic Bureau, the place we didn’t know that exists. A table was immediately set aside for stamping our postcards, and a date stamp was provided. The stamp selection was so beautiful and extensive that we decided to send a few more postcards than originally planned.

The manager of Philatelic Bureau, Ms Angela, catching on to our enthusiasm, became curious about Postcrossing and listened to our stories about both the system and our experiences with post offices in different countries. Meanwhile, we admired their stamp collection. Although Barbados has not been a member of the Commonwealth since November 30, 2021, there was still a vast selection of stamps commemorating British royal events including the large collection of stamps featuring Meghan and Harry (my addiction).

Then came the familiar surprise—when she looked at our postcards, she informed us that Barbados does not send mail to Estonia. “But there’s nothing about that on your website!” we protested. She made a call to confirm, and sure enough, any mail to Estonia would simply be stored indefinitely, with no clear timeline for when it might be sent. So, we did what we had done before—wrote “via Germany” on the postcards that had an Estonian address, as per UPU regulations, and off they went.

With all the postcards handed over at the post office, we couldn’t leave without one last Rihanna-related moment. Sometime between our two visits, the street where she was born had been renamed Rihanna Drive, complete with an informational plaque. Although my daughter isn’t such a big fan anymore, we decided to visit the spot. For us, this island will always be tied in our memories to both our newly discovered Philatelic Bureau and the birthplace of a global superstar.

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