Barbados Two Week Travel Guide
As one of the most popular Caribbean islands to visit, Barbados has many alluring features. White sandy beaches, brilliant turquoise waters, great nightlife and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed Capital. Not to mention it is also a great place for people who love water-sports and surfing, especially on the east coast. We’ve put together a Barbados travel guide with all the things we got up to and would definitely recommend doing whilst on the island!
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We stayed in Barbados for two weeks and based ourselves just outside of Bridgetown. Although when we were booking we found that people recommended staying around Bridgetown, the best place to base yourself is south of Bridgetown. This way you are within walking distance to the beaches and restaurants. We ended up having to get the buses to most places to save ourselves a very long walk each day. On the bright side public transport in Barbados is cheap, frequent and speedy!
South Coast
Along the West coast and towards the South of Barbados is where you’ll find most of the tourist spots. A long stretch of hotels and restaurants run along the coast including the areas of Worthing, Rockley and Hastings. A lot of our favourite beaches and restaurants were in this area. Our absolute favourite being Drill Hall Beach, which is great for surfing as well as being quieter than some of the others along the front. We had some surf lessons with Barry’s surf school which were great. After the lesson is finished you can keep the surfboards for the rest of the day to practice and, if you don’t need lessons, you can also just rent a board from them.
One of our favourite places to eat along the south coast was Mojo’s. Β Situated along the main road you can sit out in the garden area and the food and cocktails were great! Another great area to discover places to eat is St Lawrence Gap. Here you’ll find a long road with hotels, restaurants and bars along it. Check out Castaway right on the sea front and enjoy a range of delicious local food whilst sitting on the veranda with amazing views of the Caribbean Sea.
Also, make sure to check out the famous Friday night party at Oistin’s fish fry. It is a market square with lots of food stalls and places to grab a drink. Locals gather there on a Friday night and it is popular with tourists. They have a band playing on the stage and it is a great vibe! We spent the day at Miami Beach, said to be the one of the best swimming spots on the island, before heading to the market in the evening around the corner.
Worthing is a good area along the South Coast to base yourself for cheaper accommodation. It is still within walking distances to the main beaches as well as being close to nightlife and transportation links to different areas of the island.
Bridgetown
As the bustling capital of Barbados, Bridgetown was named a Unesco World Heritage site in 2012. The historic site boasts a well preserved old town where you can immerse yourself in the local culture. Don’t miss checking out the old buildings including George Washington House, the main guard house and clock tower along with the parliament buildings and the Garrison Savannah race course.
North Coast
If you have enough time, then heading to the North of the Island is definitely worth doing! We started the day by getting the bus to Speightstown along the west coast. It is the second largest town established in Barbados and is known as ‘Little Bristol’ as it was the main port for trade between Barbados and the British town. The beaches in this area of the Island are a lot quieter than down south with Heywood’s beach being he most well known. It is a beautiful stretch of white sand with shallow waters to swim in.
After spending some time at the beach make sure to have a wonder around the town and see the historic buildings. Β Once you are finished hop on a bus or drive up to Animal Flower Cave. Β We definitely couldn’t miss this from our Barbados travel guide. You don’t have to book in advanceΒ and you get a guided tour through the cave where you get to admire the views out to sea and discover the different rock formations. If the conditions are right then you can also swim in the natural rock pool. Be warned they have some deep steps down and it can get very slippery inside the caves as you walk on the rocks due to the waves splashing in! They also have a lovely restaurant where you can enjoy some great food whilst admiring the views.
Price: Adults BBD$25
If you don’t want to go down to the caves, whilst you are at the very top of the Island check out the amazing views from North Point. Walk along the top of the cliff and watch the fierce waves crashing against the cliff face.
Central Barbados
Another great area of Barbados to explore is the centre. We started our day at Welchman Hall Gully, a gorgeous rainforest that was formed when the roof of a limestone cave collapsed. It is one of the last forest areas that remain on Barbados and is home to a variety of tropical plants and trees. There are also green monkeys in the forest which they feed between 10:30-midday. If you miss the feeding you might be lucky enough to see them in the rainforest playing like we did!
Price: Adults BBD$28 (cash only)
A 5 minute drive from Welchman Hall Gully is Harrison’s Eco Cave. It is a limestone cave with tunnels that you can wonder through and flowing streams and pools. We didn’t end up going inside but you can book a variety of different tours which look great if you’ve got the time! Check them out here.
Also in the area is Flower Forest Botanical Garden which was previously a sugar cane plantation. Located up high, you can walk through the pathways and admire the amazing views out over the hills. The gardens boast tropical flowers and lush green trees.
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We just so happened to meet the owner who took over the gardens from locals who could no longer afford to keep it running. He kindly offered to give us a lift to the bus stop and took us to a place calledΒ Earthworks Pottery which he also owns. It is a gorgeous pottery shop with a massive selection so we couldn’t resist buying some bits to remember our trip!
East Coast
A highlight of our Barbados trip and definitely somewhere we would go back to was the East Coast of the island. Much more rugged than the rest of the island’s beaches, the large Atlantic waves are great to watch and you’ll be away from the crowds.Β
Take a stroll along Bathsheba beach and spot the mushroom shaped rocks formed by the waves. If hiking is your thing then there’s a trail along the coast you can follow. The East Coast is also popular with surfers; however, it is definitely not for beginners – the soup bowl is famous for its great waves.
Getting Around
If you’re booking a holiday to Barbados and are planning to explore the island during your stay then most people will likely hire a car or use the taxi services to get around. As we were doing a big trip around the Caribbean we had to cut our costs somewhere! We used the public transport, which is extremely good in Barbados and can get you pretty much anywhere on the island. There are two main bus terminals located in Bridgetown: Princess Alice Terminal, which runs buses to the north and centre of the island; Fairchild Street Terminal, which runs buses to the south and east coast.Β
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It’s important to note that there are three types of buses: blue government-run buses; yellow privately-run buses; and privately-run minivans. The blue government-run buses only accept exact fares and do not give change; whereas, the yellow buses and minivans give change. The blue buses are also much slower than the yellow buses and minivans due to their size. If you want to get somewhere super speedy, look out for a minivan which zoom around the island!
To identify which bus(es) you need to catch to get to your destination, take a look at the bus timetables provided by the government.
