When heading on holiday, it’s important to always familiarise yourself with local laws; but some tourists don’t realise that there are plenty of destinations where rules can even extend to what you are wearing.
The Caribbean islands are a firm favourite with Brits in search of winter sun, but it turns out that there’s one type of clothing that could land you in hot water with authorities.
The Foreign Office warns British travellers in its Barbados travel advice: « It is illegal for anyone, including children, to wear camouflage clothing. »
The dress code applies to any article of clothing or accessories. Anyone who breaks the rules could face fines as hefty as £3,000, or in some cases even face prison sentences of up to a year. The reason is that the camouflage pattern is specifically for military and police, so wearing items of this nature could be seen as an attempt to impersonate the authorities.
The rule could easily catch British tourists out, given that camouflage outfits aren’t illegal in the UK and often spotted in high street ranges etc. However, if you are planning to head to Barbados then it’s worth leaving those items of clothing back home altogether rather than risking a fine.
In 2024, there were calls for the wearing of camouflage to be decriminalised around the hotspot. Wilfred Abrahams SC, who was Home Affairs Minister at the time, called for the law to be amended or repealed, although made clear at the time that he was voicing his own opinion, and not that of the government. “If ever there was a piece of legislation that needed changing, it was that,” he said at the time.
Barbados isn’t the only Caribbean island to have dress code laws around camouflage clothing. Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago also have a ban on camouflage outfits including t-shirts, trousers and shorts, for the same reason that this pattern is reserved for military personnel.
However, it’s not just further-flung islands that have strict rules on clothes. In Europe, plenty of tourist destinations have brought in dress code rules in response to growing numbers of tourists who head out in swimwear.
That’s because over in Italy, along the Amalfi Coast and specifically Sorrento, tourists and locals are banned from wearing swimwear outside of beaches and pools. Anyone caught breaking this rule could end up having to pay a charge of up to €500 (approximately £432).
The measures are in place for public spaces, and predominantly aimed at tourists who are stepping away from pools and beaches but then wandering around shops and restaurants in their swimwear. The rules aren’t particularly new; in Sorrento, the swimwear ban has been in place since 2022.
Meanwhile Spanish hotspots such as Barcelona and Majorca have also introduced similar rules in recent years, with fines ranging up to £260 in Barcelona and up to £500 in Majorca for those who flout the regulations.
Have you been caught out by a dress code rule abroad? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
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