Travel Guide: All You Need to Know for a Magnificent Barbados Break

Barbados is a British Caribbean island known for a rich history, spectacular beaches and exotic flora and fauna. Explore small villages and large sugar plantations for a deep dive into the Caribbean life.

Relax and sunbathe along sandy white beaches during the day and forget your worries at the pulsing nightlife in Barbados. It is also the birthplace of rum, so don’t miss the rum tour for a complete experience.

Where to Stay in Barbados

You can find everything from luxury resorts to budget B&Bs to aparthotels and town-houses on the island. Usually, the west coast or Platinum coast houses the more expensive resorts while simpler guesthouses are found along the southern coast. For a truly memorable experience find historic accommodation at Georgian or Victorian-era houses on the eastern shores of Bathsheba or the historic Holetown.

Get Around Barbados

Bus system provides cheap and fast public transportation. Blue Barbados Transport Board Buses and privately operated yellow buses and white mini-vans all provide excellent coverage. Hop into cabs anywhere on the island but remember to negotiate the prices before you get in. Rent a car if you want to but remember to drive on the left and with extra caution on steep, bumpy roads. Take the colorful BajanBus for fun, historical tours.

Places to Visit in Barbados

• Visit St. Nicholas Abbey, a Jacobean plantation house with rich history and a rum distillery.
• Brush up your local history at the National Heroes Gallery and Museum of Parliament.
• Have a remarkable underwater voyage in the Atlantis III Submarine.
• Explore flora and fauna in the Andromeda Botanic Gardens and Hunte’s Gardens.
• Swim in the Animal Flower Cave which is home to sea anemones or sea worms.
• Travel on a tram through Harrison’s Cave and watch the underground formations of stalactites, stalagmites, small waterfalls and pools.
• Bask on the baby pink sands of Crane Beach and discover shipwrecks in Carlisle Bay.
• Take a rum tour and taste the world’s oldest rum in Mount Gay Rum Distillery.
• Explore Barbados Wildlife Reserve and observe green monkeys, raccoons, pelicans, otters, peacocks, flamingoes and a lot more in their natural habitat.

Seek Thrill

Barbados is an adventure lover’s paradise.

• Try a variety of water sports like windsurfing, jet skiing, parasailing and water skiing.
• Surfers must head to Soup Bowl, South Point or Rockeley Beach for a world-class surfing experience.
• Go scuba diving to explore marine life and coral reefs as well as hidden caves and sunken ships.
• Go snorkeling and swimming with sea turtles to realize your childhood dreams.
• Zip-line over a tropical forest to feel like Tarzan.

Eat & Drink

For an authentic Bajan experience taste Flying fish and Cou-Cou. Lightly fried Flying fish served with a yellow sauce and it’s accompanied by Cou-Cou which is steamed cornmeal with okra.

A pork stew called Pepperpot is also a must. Other popular dishes include Fishcakes, Saltbread, Cutters and Devilled sea urchin. Fishes including kingfish, swordfish, red snapper and tuna form the highlight of Bajan cuisine.

Rum and rum drink found at every bar. And there are over 100 rum shops scattered across the small island.