Barbados. The shortest flight from Europe, then on to the west coast or the Grenadines.

Barbados sits out on its own to windward of the rest of the Lesser Antilles, a hundred miles east of St Vincent. That geography does two useful things. It makes the transatlantic flight from Europe the shortest of any island in the eastern Caribbean, which matters when you are weighing a nonstop against a fuel stop. And it makes Barbados the natural first landfall, which is why so much of the region's connecting traffic funnels through it.

Grantley Adams is a full international airport with a long runway, customs and immigration and business aviation handling on the field. Ultra long range types fly London to Barbados nonstop and heavy jets usually can, depending on load and wind; smaller aircraft plan a stop. See private jet charter, ultra long range jets, heavy jets and choosing a jet category.

The airport is on the south east coast and almost every private arrival is going to the west coast, so the transfer crosses the bottom of the island and turns up Highway 1. It is not a long drive in miles, but it takes longer than the map suggests: the ABC Highway carries most of the island's traffic, Bridgetown funnels it, and Highway 1 through Holetown is a village street with parked cars, pedestrians and no way round.

Allow around 30 to 45 minutes to Holetown and the Sandy Lane area on a quiet afternoon, and 40 to 55 up to Speightstown and Port St Charles. Add a good deal in the late afternoon, on a cruise ship day and during the Christmas fortnight. The south coast, by contrast, is fifteen to twenty five minutes and the east coast about forty.

A great many arrivals at Barbados are not staying on Barbados. It is the usual jumping-off point for Mustique, Bequia, Canouan, Union Island and the rest of the Grenadines, all of which are served by light aircraft flying from here. That connection is the reason to care about your landing time: the Grenadine strips are daylight only and the last aircraft of the day goes well before sunset, so an inbound long-haul leg that slips by ninety minutes can cost you a night.

If that is your itinerary, plan it backwards from the strip rather than forwards from London. Land at Barbados by early afternoon, allow an hour or two on the ground for clearance and the transfer across the field, and agree in advance what happens if the timing goes. See Mustique, turboprops and the Caribbean.

Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. From home, the departure is the part we control directly: an early collection, luggage loaded properly for a nine-hour flight, and a chauffeur who goes to the private terminal gate rather than the passenger drop-off. See private jet transfers, airport transfers and flying private with children.

On Barbados, cars and boats are arranged through operators we know, with one person at Odyssey watching the inbound leg. If the aircraft moves, the driver, the connection and the villa hear about it from us rather than from you.