Barbados - Things to do, see etc.

Saulc23

Hi, I'm lucky enough to be heading off to Barbados on Friday for a 10 night stay with the girlfriend.

I've done the usual had a look on Tripadvisor for the "top 10 things" to do and some of them look good but I thought I'd turn to the fountain of knowledge that is this forum to see if anyone knew of some other places/restaurants that perhaps aren't as well touted.

I'm staying on the west side of the Island, not exactly sure where (long story) but we will have transport to get around.

Any tips are much appreciated.

Cheers
Saul.

Shag

West side is the best , The Cliff restaurant is the nuts . Enjoy

northstandsteve

not sur eif horse racing is on this time off the year but we went to the Garrison Savannah course which was good, St Lawrence Gap is a good night out.

JohnnyH2

Oystens especially on a Friday night
St Lawrence Gap for the nightlife
Garrison Savangh for Horse Racing
Bridgetown for history and shopping
Take at least 1 day on a catermeran

Basically the most chilled out and relaxing place I have ever been to

alan dugdale

Definitely Oystens on a Friday.

Pedro45

Jolly Roger was always a pissed up day. Horse racing was always fun at Garrison Savannah. There are caves somewhere (I never went to them though), and the east coast with Atlantic breakers will give you a different perspective than the west coast calmness. I spent most of my times there at the Kensington Oval, so maybe see if a game is on?

Fanny Fanackapan

alan dugdale said:

Definitely Oystens on a Friday.

He said Barbados NOT Blackpool !

Covered End

Oystens fish market. You buy fresh fish & eat it at tables/stalls, similar to the Shoreditch set up.
Helicopter trip.
Submarine.
Rum punch cocktails, delish, but lethal.
Jolly Roger party boat.
A zoo with giant tortoises and monkeys that are uncaged and try to nick things from you.
Be wary of going off the beaten track in a jeep. The muggings were on the increase last time we went & we probably escaped one just in time.
West side is Carribean Sea and like a mill pond. East side is Atlantic Ocean and the waves crash in about 10 plus feet high and will knock you over and remove your partners' bikini on the beach at Sam Lord's Castle.
Avoid lying on the beach, unless you enjoy the "sellers".
Try and get into The Sandy Lane Hotel for a gander. Gold taps in the bathrooms. (It's where the celebs go).
(from memory 15 years ago).

carly burn

Steer well clear of the 'mothers milk' at Almond beach!

Darty Valiant

I know the place really well. Been loads of times on self-catering hols, hiring a car and 'going local' as much as possible... Only a quick reply off the top of my head...

Hire a car
Catamaran trip - really recommend, includes snorkelling with turtles, music, loads of food.... flyin fish, chicken, rice n peas, macaroni pie etc..
Submarine
Oistins for Fish Fry
Harrisons Cave
Flower Forest/Orchid World/ Andromeda gardens for exotic, tropical plants etc..
Mountgay / Four Square rum distilleries
One Love bar, Holetown for a rum shop / cheap drinking
Cave Shepherd department store for duty free stuff - a few on the island - Holetown, St. James on West Coast
Banks Beer is good, if you like lager. I tend to drink loads of this, plus Bajan rum.
Use local buses, especially the mainly yellow with blue.... atmosphere, loud reggae music etc. The mainly blue with yellow are government owned buses and more sedate.
Barbados wildlife reserve - full of humping tortoises.
Tropical Spectacular Show in Christ Church - if you want the touristy food, fire eating, stilt walking, Soca band party evening experience.... I like to 'go local' but this is still fun.
Make sure you drive the island and explore beaches off the beaten track... Go to Old Harrys Rock, pass Sam Lord's Castle, Foul Bay (great secluded beach where you could be one of only a few there) etc.. Drive round the south coast, through St John, up the East Coast past Cattlewash all way up to St Lucy and back down to West Coast beaches. Although loads of tourists go to Barbados, there are still loads of unspoilt places if you know your way around.

Beautiful Island, great people, great weather, great rum... enjoy.

Saulc23

Cheers everyone!

Algarveaddick

Agree with Covered End, we were there 17 years ago and did most of the same things. If the club called The Boatyard is still open, that's a great place, one price all drinks included, live music and DJs ( mostly reggae, salsa, ska etc ).

*EDIT* Scrub that, just looked it up, it's a happy clappy tourist trap now, sorry.

masicat

Spend a day at the best beach in the island, Miami ( Enterprise ) Beach. You can walk through to Oistins for the fish fry from here.
The Lonestar restaurant on the West Coast for Sunday lunch is pricey, but great fun.
The Surfside beach bar in Holetown for live PL football.

masicat

If you want to do a Catamaran call Captain Ron on 12462623792 and he will collect you from your hotel. He isn't overly expensive.

1se7

Depends what you are looking for but ..... THE BOATYARD is worth a look -- pay to get in(50 BB$ pp) , its on a fantastic stretch of Beach (Carlisle Bay) -- you get a bar credit for food and drink , free trip out to see the turtles (book that as you enter) , sun bed and free use of trampoline and iceberg in the Sea -- plus theres a rope swing and diving platform -- def worth a look if that floats your boat -- We went in August , staying fairly close and although we were all inc we went there twice during 2 wks -- good fun. We were told to avoid Wednesday as that is when cruise ships dock and they rush there -- on the other hand if you want something lively I guess a Weds is the day --- there's changing rooms there too.

Covered End

Algarveaddick said:

Agree with Covered End, we were there 17 years ago and did most of the same things. If the club called The Boatyard is still open, that's a great place, one price all drinks included, live music and DJs ( mostly reggae, salsa, ska etc ).

*EDIT* Scrub that, just looked it up, it's a happy clappy tourist trap now, sorry.

Ha. We were actually there 17 years ago as well, in October 1999. It was our 10th anniversary. I said 15 because it sounded a bit too precise.

MrOneLung

Harbour Lights was a good night out. Again one price all in. Get a bbq , singer and band, stilt walkers who were amazing and then dj till late.

Algarveaddick

Covered End said:

Algarveaddick said:

Agree with Covered End, we were there 17 years ago and did most of the same things. If the club called The Boatyard is still open, that's a great place, one price all drinks included, live music and DJs ( mostly reggae, salsa, ska etc ).

*EDIT* Scrub that, just looked it up, it's a happy clappy tourist trap now, sorry.

Ha. We were actually there 17 years ago as well, in October 1999. It was our 10th anniversary. I said 15 because it sounded a bit too precise.

May 99 for us CE, got married there. Love to go back one day.

HardyAddick

Try Mullins Beach Bar for a nice long lazy lunch.

Small island so you can drive round it easily but be a little bit careful in very quiet spots in the north of the island as a couple of locals tried to get in my car to show me round!!

Covered End

HardyAddick said:

Try Mullins Beach Bar for a nice long lazy lunch.

Small island so you can drive round it easily but be a little bit careful in very quiet spots in the north of the island as a couple of locals tried to get in my car to show me round!!

Yeah, we got flagged down by a group of about 10 blokes. I said to the driver, stick it in reverse and get out of here.

They may have been friendly, but I wasn't going to wait to find out.

HardyAddick

Same here Covered. They may have been friendly but my guess was not!

Also round a quiet bit of the capital, had some guys offering me hard drugs - must be the way I look....

HarryHutchens

I've been twice. Same as others have said. The little mini buses that go up and down the main road are good fun (and cheap) once you get past the fact that you may be the only non-local, but they all make room for you even when it looks like the bus is full.

Never had a single problem with any locals. All polite and friendly. Even the drug dealer I encountered in 'The Gap' was polite and didn't hassle me when I declined.

The submarine is good, but if you do the catamaran trip or anything else that involves seeing the turtles/snorkling, you may find that you don't need the sub too, so maybe a chance to save some cash.

LoOkOuT

HardyAddick said:

Same here Covered. They may have been friendly but my guess was not!

Also round a quiet bit of the capital, had some guys offering me hard drugs - must be the way I look....

What kind of prices? Any good deals?

TelMc32

Darty Valiant said:

I know the place really well. Been loads of times on self-catering hols, hiring a car and 'going local' as much as possible... Only a quick reply off the top of my head...

Hire a car
Catamaran trip - really recommend, includes snorkelling with turtles, music, loads of food.... flyin fish, chicken, rice n peas, macaroni pie etc..
Submarine
Oistins for Fish Fry
Harrisons Cave
Flower Forest/Orchid World/ Andromeda gardens for exotic, tropical plants etc..
Mountgay / Four Square rum distilleries
One Love bar, Holetown for a rum shop / cheap drinking
Cave Shepherd department store for duty free stuff - a few on the island - Holetown, St. James on West Coast
Banks Beer is good, if you like lager. I tend to drink loads of this, plus Bajan rum.
Use local buses, especially the mainly yellow with blue.... atmosphere, loud reggae music etc. The mainly blue with yellow are government owned buses and more sedate.
Barbados wildlife reserve - full of humping tortoises.
Tropical Spectacular Show in Christ Church - if you want the touristy food, fire eating, stilt walking, Soca band party evening experience.... I like to 'go local' but this is still fun.
Make sure you drive the island and explore beaches off the beaten track... Go to Old Harrys Rock, pass Sam Lord's Castle, Foul Bay (great secluded beach where you could be one of only a few there) etc.. Drive round the south coast, through St John, up the East Coast past Cattlewash all way up to St Lucy and back down to West Coast beaches. Although loads of tourists go to Barbados, there are still loads of unspoilt places if you know your way around.

Beautiful Island, great people, great weather, great rum... enjoy.

Some great memories here.

The Animal Flower Cave at the top of the island gave us some brilliant photos, with the contrast of the black cave and the deep blues of the sky/sea. There was a great rum shack just outside too.

Atlantis - the submarine trip. Be careful if you take the last trip of the day. We'd had a few beers beforehand and the 45 minute trip turned into 90 minutes as we were last out. Broke our necks needing the loo and were first ones up and out, sprinting along the pier to the nearest bar/toilet!

Have photos of the humping tortoises too!! Although humping may be stretching the description slightly!

Stayed in Holetown. Great place, with plenty of good bars and beaches.

The Jolly Roger pirate ship...pretty boisterous, loud music & plenty of alcohol. Great fun.

Some great beaches around Holetown. Loads of little inlets give you plenty of private little spaces. Did have locals wandering up and down, who would always stop for a chat. All really friendly, would chat about London and, as they went to walk away, would always ask if you wanted any drugs. All just matter of fact and always apologised when we said no (I am bad enough on alcohol thanks).

Used a mini moke to get round, which was great fun. As others have said though, take care. We had a couple of encounters, which were fine, but could have turned. That said, the locals were brilliant, friendly and made everything so easy for us.

Been too long. Would love to go back!