The stretch of Barbados coast that lets you holiday like celebs without the cost – and the budget airline flying there

“THERE’S no such thing as too much rum, just too little water,” my waiter told me, handing me the first of what would be many rum punches.

It is the signature drink on this island and the recipe is a simple one to learn: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, and four of weak.

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I was in the tropical paradise of Barbados and, after sinking a couple of rum punches, was already up for a snooze in the sunshine.

Lucky for me, the Sea Breeze Beach House where I was staying not only overlooks a sparkling blue ocean but has a sea of cosy blue beach beds to lay on and an army of waiters offering not just rum punch but dangerously-good frozen strawberry and banana daiquiris too.

And if the 1,000ft of golden sand and sunshine got too much, there was my favourite part of the hotel: The Rum Shack, nestled in the two-and-a-half acre grounds.

I was eased into holiday mode before I’d even arrived having flown on Norse Atlantic’s inaugural flight from the UK, which proved that low bills doesn’t have to mean no frills.

That was clear from the moment I sat back in a giant bucket of a plane seat.

The idea of spending nine hours on a low-fare flight would usually fill me with horror but the rate at which the drinks trolley came around assured me this was not your usual budget airline.

And with the new low fares disruptors like Norse taking on the big hitters, you can do it for almost half the price of some airlines.

We were staying on the South Coast of Barbados which is livelier, cheaper and, most importantly, more authentically Bajan.

We may have already tried the rum punch, but no trip to Barbados would be complete without a full sampling of its famous Mount Gay rums, the oldest of dozens of distilleries on the island.

While the white rum — strong and straight out the still — is best kept in cocktails, the sipping rums are mind-blowing and not just because of their strength.

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The top-of-the range XO Rum has all the complexity of a decent scotch with its higher-end tipples aged in a similar way (the Black Barrel is another must-try).

If you get a taste for the good stuff, a more relaxed afternoon can be spent at the beautiful St Nicholas Abbey plantation where some of the finest rum in the world is produced.

A steam train that once carried sugar cane across the island has been restored, with some seriously high-end rums to taste in the stunning house.

Staff will even blast your name into the side of a personally engraved bottle to take home with you.

While rum is soaked into almost every part of island life, the other thing the Bajan’s are famed for is their grub.

Flying fish sandwiches are a must-try, but rice and peas and fried chicken is also a staple. And obviously so is the epic seafood.

Every whim is catered for at Sea Breeze, from beachside fish at Tipsy on the Beach to à la carte dining at the Cerulean restaurant.

There’s a more relaxed buffet breakfast and lunch at the Mahogany restaurant and unlimited pizza by the beach to sort you out the rest of the day.

But if you fancy a treat, the fine dining at sister hotel the O2 Beach Club, just around the bay, serves up surf-and-turf lobster and steak dishes.

If you haven’t yet indulged in enough rum, dotted around the island are endless rum shacks where you can buy rum by the bottle and spend a joyful afternoon sipping.

Bumpy ride

We hit up The Thirsty Lizard which was about 20 minutes from the hotel.

Giant baskets of squid, flying fish and fried chicken washed down with the island’s famous Banks beer made for the perfect Sunday lunch — and at a fraction of the cost of a similar afternoon back home.

Further afield, foodies must make a homage to The Fish Pot on the north of the Island.

Full of rosé and the catch of the day, the beautiful beachside spot was one of the hardest places I’ve ever had to leave.

While many fly-and-flop holidaymakers stay by the pool, you would be mad not to get out to see more of Barbados with the most exhilarating way to do so on an island Land Cruiser (£80pp, islandsafari.bb).

Strapped into the back of an open-top jeep we hurtled around the plantations, mountains and woodland, off-roading to the less touristy parts of the islands.

Of course, rum punch is served along the way but it’s a bumpy ride taking in monkeys and the breathtaking scenery.

While the calmness of the Caribbean Sea is what has people flocking to the beaches in the west and south, the rougher Atlantic side brings out the surfers.

Famous spots like Harrison’s Caves, tunnelling deep underground to reveal awesome stalactites and stalagmites a million years old, are also easily accessible from Sea Breeze Beach House.

Then there are the boat trips.

A catamaran tour (see coolrunningsbarbados.com), either for a jerk chicken lunch and a swim with the turtles or for a romantic sundowner, is the perfect way to spend a day.

Leaving from the capital Bridgetown, we snorkelled among shipwrecks and sailed around the island, stopping every hour for a dip in the clearest water I’ve ever seen.

And this is the only way you get to see Rihanna’s giant beachside mansion.

I’m sure she’d approve of such a rum-filled trip.

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