Barbados Travel Guide

West Coast Beaches

Barbados' beaches are known around the world as vacation hotspots, and the west coast is known as the 'Platinum Coast'. Running north from the capital Bridgetown, are numerous luxury beach resorts resting along the shore of the clear warm Caribbean waters that lap gently onto golden sands. Some of the most popular beaches for swimming and sunbathing are Batts Rock and Paynes Bay in the St James parish, or Mullins Bay and Heywoods in St Peter. Hotels here bear exotic names like Treasure Beach, Smugglers Cove, Mango Bay and Discovery Bay. Treasure Beach at Paynes Bay, St James, for example is a tranquil luxury hideaway famous for its Bajan cuisine and freshwater swimming pool surrounded by tropical gardens beside the turquoise sea.

Graeme Hall Swamp

Not far from Bridgetown, in the parish of Christ Church, is the largest expanse of inland water on Barbados. The expansive Graeme Hall Swamp, with red and white mangrove trees, is a natural habitat for more than 40 species of birds. Government plans to develop much of the area have unfortunately forced the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary to close most of the park to visitors, but the Lakeside Lawns is still open and a pleasant place for a picnic.

Barbados Garrison

Barbados' colonial military history is well represented at the Barbados Garrison, the 18th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward Islands Command. This elegant Georgian building, dating from 1802, is the headquarters of the Garrison Committee who are unearthing the numerous old cannons scattered around the island; about 400 have so far been found in gardens, cellars, beaches or buried beneath fortifications. The most important pieces from this collection are mounted in front of the Main Guard House and make a fine photographic display for visitors. The Garrison complex also features the Barbados Museum, which is housed in the old military detention barracks - the display galleries were once prison cells. The museum houses exhibits chronicling the natural history and arts and crafts of Barbados. The Garrison Historic Area is also home to a racetrack that hosts the Barbados Derby, and other prestigious events on the Barbados horseracing calendar.

Gardens

Barbados offers the tranquility of several beautifully landscaped tropical gardens. Just outside Bridgetown, in the parish of St Michael, is the Lazaretto Garden with its magnificent waterfall cascading over a rock face. A little further inland are the Ayshford Ratite Gardens, with their breathtaking selection of tropical plants and fine restaurants attended by international executive chefs. The gardens are illuminated every night and are open from 9am to midnight for meals. Exotic birds, ostriches, pheasants and fancy pigeons roam the gardens to the delight of visitors. In the heart of the countryside, surrounded by sugar plantations is a six-acre former chicken and pig farm that has been transformed into the Orchid World, a floral paradise where more than 20,000 orchids are grown and displayed. Visitors can take self-guided tours past a waterfall, through a coral grotto and onto five orchid houses.

Further towards the East Coast, in the Scotland District of Barbados, is the magnificent Flower Forest. The variety of plants and species here is awesome, with the brilliant colors of flowers like begonias and heliconia reflected against the lush jungle greenery. The Flower Forest is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and admission is US$7 per person. In the parish of St Joseph is yet another spectacular garden, the Andromeda Botanical Garden. The garden covers six acres and contains several varieties of orchids, palms, ferns, hibiscus, bougainvillea and other exotic flowers and trees.

Turners Hall Woods span 50 acres in the Parish of St Andrew. The woods survive as one of the last remnants of the indigenous tropical forest that covered Barbados before the first settlement in 1627. It contains examples of indigenous trees like the Sand Box, Silk Cotton, Cabbage Palm, Trumpet Tree and Macaw Palm. In the Parish of St Thomas is a long gully, known as Welshman Hall Gully after its original owner. It contains some impressive tropical trees. Here also is the world's largest pillar that has been formed by the joining of a stalactite and stalagmite.

Wildlife

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. In the far north of the island is the Animal Flower Cave (in the parish of St Lucy) where sea anemones abound in cave pools deep enough to swim in. Scuba divers flock to the Folkestone Marine Park, which has an artificial reef created by the deliberate sinking of the ship Stavronikita in 1976. Less adventurous snorkelers enjoy swimming in the Recreational Zone of the park on a reef that is home to numerous fish and marine species, corals and sponges. The Park also has a museum and an aquarium. It is situated in St James, near Holetown. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is mainly a monkey sanctuary set in a natural mahogany wood in the parish of St Peter. Green monkeys provide entertainment for visitors as they play in a natural environment. There are also ducks, turtles, tortoises, birds, peacocks, otters, raccoons and deer roaming the woods.

Harrison's Cave

This huge underground cavern is one of the most popular attractions on the island with its amazing gallery of stalactites and stalagmites, streams of crystal clear water, breathtaking waterfalls and deep emerald pools. Tour guides conduct visitors from the attractive Visitor's Center on a drive in electrically operated trams down through an extensive system of caves. At the bottom level of the cave visitors alight to gasp at a spectacular waterfall.

Bathsheba

This little fishing village on the east coast is a favorite spot for photographers because of its picturesque rocky terrain. It also boasts one of the island's most spectacular beaches, Bath Beach. It is situated about 14 miles (23km) from Bridgetown in the St Joseph parish, and is known locally as 'the Soup Bowl' because of its foaming surf. Bathsheba is a favorite surfing spot and the venue of Barbados' annual surfing contest.

Jacobean Mansions

St Nicholas' Abbey in St Peter and Drax Hall in St George are two of the oldest buildings in Barbados. Both are world-renowned examples of Jacobean architecture that features curved Dutch gables and coral-stone finials, each furnished with antiques. Both buildings were constructed in the 1650s. Drax Hall was one of the earliest and largest sugar plantations in Barbados, built by James and William Drax. They were a wealthy family like many other plantation owners who prospered by growing sugarcane and established considerable influence at home and abroad. Visitors to the Jacobean sugar mansions can enjoy a film about life on the sugar plantations. Another relic from the plantation days is the Morgan Lewis Mill at St Andrew, one of only two restored sugar mills in the Caribbean. It is maintained by the Barbados National Trust and provides an insight into how sugar was produced through windpower.

Surfing the Soup Bowl

Being a coral island, a coral reef stretches all around Barbados' coastline, providing for unlimited surfing conditions all over and is guaranteed to have surf somewhere along it's shores at almost any given day of the year. The east coast boasts the most powerful and biggest waves and the foaming surf of the 'Soup Bowl' is a favorite spot that is internationally recognized and the venue for the annual surfing contest. Surfboard lessons and rentals are available, as well as surf tours for the more experienced.

Carlisle Bay Diving

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. Barrier reefs, situated about 1.5-2 miles (2.5 to 3km) from shore, are home to numerous schools of tropical fish, corals, turtles, rays and barracudas, while fringe reefs are found closer to shore with smaller coral formations and more plant life. These are home to marine life such as seahorses and eels. Barbados is also good for wreck diving; historic Carlisle Bay has numerous wrecks and is a popular dive location, as is Folkestone Marine Park, where the artificial reef was formed by the deliberate sinking of the Greek freighter Stavronikita in 1976.

Ocean Park

Families traveling in Barbados will absolutely love Ocean Park, where over 26 displays of Caribbean marine life can be enjoyed, including touch pools, tropical aquarium and even a walk-through underwater tunnel. There is not much shade, so remember the sunscreen.

The Concorde Experience

Small kids love nothing more than the sheer size of airplanes and seeing a real-life world-famous Concorde will be no different. British Airways Concorde G-BOAE or Alpha Echo for short, which used to fly between London and Barbados, is now housed in this museum dedicated to everything about the Concorde. Visitors can even get a chance to hear what the engines sounded like. A must for all aviation enthusiasts!

Andromeda Botanic Gardens

Located on a cliff overlooking the town of Bathsheba, the Andromeda Botanic Gardens make a great day out for the whole family. With plenty of space to run around for the kids, adults will also be very impressed with the wonderful flowers here, such as orchids, hibiscus and heliconia. The magnificent palm trees are also something to marvel at, as well as the bird life that frequents the gardens.

Flower Forest

This wonderful attraction is a fantastic place for families to take the kids for the day. The beautifully-colored tropical plants are spectacular and flowers such as hibiscus, heliconia, roses and begonias can be enjoyed while the children run around discovering more of this beautiful garden.

Folkestone Marine Park

Combining a museum and an aquarium, the Folkestone Marine Park and Visitor Center features an artificial reef around a purposely-sunken ship where some of the most incredible tropical marine life lives. The marine park is fantastic for snorkeling and has equipment available for hire. The museum features a visitor interpretation center for public education as well as an aquarium displaying some fantastic and rare marine life. A great day out for the whole family.

West Coast Beaches

Barbados' beaches are known around the world as vacation hotspots, and the west coast is known as the 'Platinum Coast'. Running north from the capital Bridgetown, are numerous luxury beach resorts resting along the shore of the clear warm Caribbean waters that lap gently onto golden sands. Some of the most popular beaches for swimming and sunbathing are Batts Rock and Paynes Bay in the St James parish, or Mullins Bay and Heywoods in St Peter. Hotels here bear exotic names like Treasure Beach, Smugglers Cove, Mango Bay and Discovery Bay. Treasure Beach at Paynes Bay, St James, for example is a tranquil luxury hideaway famous for its Bajan cuisine and freshwater swimming pool surrounded by tropical gardens beside the turquoise sea.

Graeme Hall Swamp

Not far from Bridgetown, in the parish of Christ Church, is the largest expanse of inland water on Barbados. The expansive Graeme Hall Swamp, with red and white mangrove trees, is a natural habitat for more than 40 species of birds. Government plans to develop much of the area have unfortunately forced the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary to close most of the park to visitors, but the Lakeside Lawns is still open and a pleasant place for a picnic.

Barbados Garrison

Barbados' colonial military history is well represented at the Barbados Garrison, the 18th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward Islands Command. This elegant Georgian building, dating from 1802, is the headquarters of the Garrison Committee who are unearthing the numerous old cannons scattered around the island; about 400 have so far been found in gardens, cellars, beaches or buried beneath fortifications. The most important pieces from this collection are mounted in front of the Main Guard House and make a fine photographic display for visitors. The Garrison complex also features the Barbados Museum, which is housed in the old military detention barracks - the display galleries were once prison cells. The museum houses exhibits chronicling the natural history and arts and crafts of Barbados. The Garrison Historic Area is also home to a racetrack that hosts the Barbados Derby, and other prestigious events on the Barbados horseracing calendar.

Gardens

Barbados offers the tranquility of several beautifully landscaped tropical gardens. Just outside Bridgetown, in the parish of St Michael, is the Lazaretto Garden with its magnificent waterfall cascading over a rock face. A little further inland are the Ayshford Ratite Gardens, with their breathtaking selection of tropical plants and fine restaurants attended by international executive chefs. The gardens are illuminated every night and are open from 9am to midnight for meals. Exotic birds, ostriches, pheasants and fancy pigeons roam the gardens to the delight of visitors. In the heart of the countryside, surrounded by sugar plantations is a six-acre former chicken and pig farm that has been transformed into the Orchid World, a floral paradise where more than 20,000 orchids are grown and displayed. Visitors can take self-guided tours past a waterfall, through a coral grotto and onto five orchid houses.

Further towards the East Coast, in the Scotland District of Barbados, is the magnificent Flower Forest. The variety of plants and species here is awesome, with the brilliant colors of flowers like begonias and heliconia reflected against the lush jungle greenery. The Flower Forest is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and admission is US$7 per person. In the parish of St Joseph is yet another spectacular garden, the Andromeda Botanical Garden. The garden covers six acres and contains several varieties of orchids, palms, ferns, hibiscus, bougainvillea and other exotic flowers and trees.

Turners Hall Woods span 50 acres in the Parish of St Andrew. The woods survive as one of the last remnants of the indigenous tropical forest that covered Barbados before the first settlement in 1627. It contains examples of indigenous trees like the Sand Box, Silk Cotton, Cabbage Palm, Trumpet Tree and Macaw Palm. In the Parish of St Thomas is a long gully, known as Welshman Hall Gully after its original owner. It contains some impressive tropical trees. Here also is the world's largest pillar that has been formed by the joining of a stalactite and stalagmite.

Wildlife

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. In the far north of the island is the Animal Flower Cave (in the parish of St Lucy) where sea anemones abound in cave pools deep enough to swim in. Scuba divers flock to the Folkestone Marine Park, which has an artificial reef created by the deliberate sinking of the ship Stavronikita in 1976. Less adventurous snorkelers enjoy swimming in the Recreational Zone of the park on a reef that is home to numerous fish and marine species, corals and sponges. The Park also has a museum and an aquarium. It is situated in St James, near Holetown. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is mainly a monkey sanctuary set in a natural mahogany wood in the parish of St Peter. Green monkeys provide entertainment for visitors as they play in a natural environment. There are also ducks, turtles, tortoises, birds, peacocks, otters, raccoons and deer roaming the woods.

Harrison's Cave

This huge underground cavern is one of the most popular attractions on the island with its amazing gallery of stalactites and stalagmites, streams of crystal clear water, breathtaking waterfalls and deep emerald pools. Tour guides conduct visitors from the attractive Visitor's Center on a drive in electrically operated trams down through an extensive system of caves. At the bottom level of the cave visitors alight to gasp at a spectacular waterfall.

Bathsheba

This little fishing village on the east coast is a favorite spot for photographers because of its picturesque rocky terrain. It also boasts one of the island's most spectacular beaches, Bath Beach. It is situated about 14 miles (23km) from Bridgetown in the St Joseph parish, and is known locally as 'the Soup Bowl' because of its foaming surf. Bathsheba is a favorite surfing spot and the venue of Barbados' annual surfing contest.

Jacobean Mansions

St Nicholas' Abbey in St Peter and Drax Hall in St George are two of the oldest buildings in Barbados. Both are world-renowned examples of Jacobean architecture that features curved Dutch gables and coral-stone finials, each furnished with antiques. Both buildings were constructed in the 1650s. Drax Hall was one of the earliest and largest sugar plantations in Barbados, built by James and William Drax. They were a wealthy family like many other plantation owners who prospered by growing sugarcane and established considerable influence at home and abroad. Visitors to the Jacobean sugar mansions can enjoy a film about life on the sugar plantations. Another relic from the plantation days is the Morgan Lewis Mill at St Andrew, one of only two restored sugar mills in the Caribbean. It is maintained by the Barbados National Trust and provides an insight into how sugar was produced through windpower.

Surfing the Soup Bowl

Being a coral island, a coral reef stretches all around Barbados' coastline, providing for unlimited surfing conditions all over and is guaranteed to have surf somewhere along it's shores at almost any given day of the year. The east coast boasts the most powerful and biggest waves and the foaming surf of the 'Soup Bowl' is a favorite spot that is internationally recognized and the venue for the annual surfing contest. Surfboard lessons and rentals are available, as well as surf tours for the more experienced.

Carlisle Bay Diving

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. Barrier reefs, situated about 1.5-2 miles (2.5 to 3km) from shore, are home to numerous schools of tropical fish, corals, turtles, rays and barracudas, while fringe reefs are found closer to shore with smaller coral formations and more plant life. These are home to marine life such as seahorses and eels. Barbados is also good for wreck diving; historic Carlisle Bay has numerous wrecks and is a popular dive location, as is Folkestone Marine Park, where the artificial reef was formed by the deliberate sinking of the Greek freighter Stavronikita in 1976.

Ocean Park

Families traveling in Barbados will absolutely love Ocean Park, where over 26 displays of Caribbean marine life can be enjoyed, including touch pools, tropical aquarium and even a walk-through underwater tunnel. There is not much shade, so remember the sunscreen.

The Concorde Experience

Small kids love nothing more than the sheer size of airplanes and seeing a real-life world-famous Concorde will be no different. British Airways Concorde G-BOAE or Alpha Echo for short, which used to fly between London and Barbados, is now housed in this museum dedicated to everything about the Concorde. Visitors can even get a chance to hear what the engines sounded like. A must for all aviation enthusiasts!

Andromeda Botanic Gardens

Located on a cliff overlooking the town of Bathsheba, the Andromeda Botanic Gardens make a great day out for the whole family. With plenty of space to run around for the kids, adults will also be very impressed with the wonderful flowers here, such as orchids, hibiscus and heliconia. The magnificent palm trees are also something to marvel at, as well as the bird life that frequents the gardens.

Flower Forest

This wonderful attraction is a fantastic place for families to take the kids for the day. The beautifully-colored tropical plants are spectacular and flowers such as hibiscus, heliconia, roses and begonias can be enjoyed while the children run around discovering more of this beautiful garden.

Folkestone Marine Park

Combining a museum and an aquarium, the Folkestone Marine Park and Visitor Center features an artificial reef around a purposely-sunken ship where some of the most incredible tropical marine life lives. The marine park is fantastic for snorkeling and has equipment available for hire. The museum features a visitor interpretation center for public education as well as an aquarium displaying some fantastic and rare marine life. A great day out for the whole family.

West Coast Beaches

Barbados' beaches are known around the world as vacation hotspots, and the west coast is known as the 'Platinum Coast'. Running north from the capital Bridgetown, are numerous luxury beach resorts resting along the shore of the clear warm Caribbean waters that lap gently onto golden sands. Some of the most popular beaches for swimming and sunbathing are Batts Rock and Paynes Bay in the St James parish, or Mullins Bay and Heywoods in St Peter. Hotels here bear exotic names like Treasure Beach, Smugglers Cove, Mango Bay and Discovery Bay. Treasure Beach at Paynes Bay, St James, for example is a tranquil luxury hideaway famous for its Bajan cuisine and freshwater swimming pool surrounded by tropical gardens beside the turquoise sea.

Graeme Hall Swamp

Not far from Bridgetown, in the parish of Christ Church, is the largest expanse of inland water on Barbados. The expansive Graeme Hall Swamp, with red and white mangrove trees, is a natural habitat for more than 40 species of birds. Government plans to develop much of the area have unfortunately forced the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary to close most of the park to visitors, but the Lakeside Lawns is still open and a pleasant place for a picnic.

Barbados Garrison

Barbados' colonial military history is well represented at the Barbados Garrison, the 18th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward Islands Command. This elegant Georgian building, dating from 1802, is the headquarters of the Garrison Committee who are unearthing the numerous old cannons scattered around the island; about 400 have so far been found in gardens, cellars, beaches or buried beneath fortifications. The most important pieces from this collection are mounted in front of the Main Guard House and make a fine photographic display for visitors. The Garrison complex also features the Barbados Museum, which is housed in the old military detention barracks - the display galleries were once prison cells. The museum houses exhibits chronicling the natural history and arts and crafts of Barbados. The Garrison Historic Area is also home to a racetrack that hosts the Barbados Derby, and other prestigious events on the Barbados horseracing calendar.

Gardens

Barbados offers the tranquility of several beautifully landscaped tropical gardens. Just outside Bridgetown, in the parish of St Michael, is the Lazaretto Garden with its magnificent waterfall cascading over a rock face. A little further inland are the Ayshford Ratite Gardens, with their breathtaking selection of tropical plants and fine restaurants attended by international executive chefs. The gardens are illuminated every night and are open from 9am to midnight for meals. Exotic birds, ostriches, pheasants and fancy pigeons roam the gardens to the delight of visitors. In the heart of the countryside, surrounded by sugar plantations is a six-acre former chicken and pig farm that has been transformed into the Orchid World, a floral paradise where more than 20,000 orchids are grown and displayed. Visitors can take self-guided tours past a waterfall, through a coral grotto and onto five orchid houses.

Further towards the East Coast, in the Scotland District of Barbados, is the magnificent Flower Forest. The variety of plants and species here is awesome, with the brilliant colors of flowers like begonias and heliconia reflected against the lush jungle greenery. The Flower Forest is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and admission is US$7 per person. In the parish of St Joseph is yet another spectacular garden, the Andromeda Botanical Garden. The garden covers six acres and contains several varieties of orchids, palms, ferns, hibiscus, bougainvillea and other exotic flowers and trees.

Turners Hall Woods span 50 acres in the Parish of St Andrew. The woods survive as one of the last remnants of the indigenous tropical forest that covered Barbados before the first settlement in 1627. It contains examples of indigenous trees like the Sand Box, Silk Cotton, Cabbage Palm, Trumpet Tree and Macaw Palm. In the Parish of St Thomas is a long gully, known as Welshman Hall Gully after its original owner. It contains some impressive tropical trees. Here also is the world's largest pillar that has been formed by the joining of a stalactite and stalagmite.

Wildlife

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. In the far north of the island is the Animal Flower Cave (in the parish of St Lucy) where sea anemones abound in cave pools deep enough to swim in. Scuba divers flock to the Folkestone Marine Park, which has an artificial reef created by the deliberate sinking of the ship Stavronikita in 1976. Less adventurous snorkelers enjoy swimming in the Recreational Zone of the park on a reef that is home to numerous fish and marine species, corals and sponges. The Park also has a museum and an aquarium. It is situated in St James, near Holetown. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is mainly a monkey sanctuary set in a natural mahogany wood in the parish of St Peter. Green monkeys provide entertainment for visitors as they play in a natural environment. There are also ducks, turtles, tortoises, birds, peacocks, otters, raccoons and deer roaming the woods.

Harrison's Cave

This huge underground cavern is one of the most popular attractions on the island with its amazing gallery of stalactites and stalagmites, streams of crystal clear water, breathtaking waterfalls and deep emerald pools. Tour guides conduct visitors from the attractive Visitor's Center on a drive in electrically operated trams down through an extensive system of caves. At the bottom level of the cave visitors alight to gasp at a spectacular waterfall.

Bathsheba

This little fishing village on the east coast is a favorite spot for photographers because of its picturesque rocky terrain. It also boasts one of the island's most spectacular beaches, Bath Beach. It is situated about 14 miles (23km) from Bridgetown in the St Joseph parish, and is known locally as 'the Soup Bowl' because of its foaming surf. Bathsheba is a favorite surfing spot and the venue of Barbados' annual surfing contest.

Jacobean Mansions

St Nicholas' Abbey in St Peter and Drax Hall in St George are two of the oldest buildings in Barbados. Both are world-renowned examples of Jacobean architecture that features curved Dutch gables and coral-stone finials, each furnished with antiques. Both buildings were constructed in the 1650s. Drax Hall was one of the earliest and largest sugar plantations in Barbados, built by James and William Drax. They were a wealthy family like many other plantation owners who prospered by growing sugarcane and established considerable influence at home and abroad. Visitors to the Jacobean sugar mansions can enjoy a film about life on the sugar plantations. Another relic from the plantation days is the Morgan Lewis Mill at St Andrew, one of only two restored sugar mills in the Caribbean. It is maintained by the Barbados National Trust and provides an insight into how sugar was produced through windpower.

Surfing the Soup Bowl

Being a coral island, a coral reef stretches all around Barbados' coastline, providing for unlimited surfing conditions all over and is guaranteed to have surf somewhere along it's shores at almost any given day of the year. The east coast boasts the most powerful and biggest waves and the foaming surf of the 'Soup Bowl' is a favorite spot that is internationally recognized and the venue for the annual surfing contest. Surfboard lessons and rentals are available, as well as surf tours for the more experienced.

Carlisle Bay Diving

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. Barrier reefs, situated about 1.5-2 miles (2.5 to 3km) from shore, are home to numerous schools of tropical fish, corals, turtles, rays and barracudas, while fringe reefs are found closer to shore with smaller coral formations and more plant life. These are home to marine life such as seahorses and eels. Barbados is also good for wreck diving; historic Carlisle Bay has numerous wrecks and is a popular dive location, as is Folkestone Marine Park, where the artificial reef was formed by the deliberate sinking of the Greek freighter Stavronikita in 1976.

Ocean Park

Families traveling in Barbados will absolutely love Ocean Park, where over 26 displays of Caribbean marine life can be enjoyed, including touch pools, tropical aquarium and even a walk-through underwater tunnel. There is not much shade, so remember the sunscreen.

The Concorde Experience

Small kids love nothing more than the sheer size of airplanes and seeing a real-life world-famous Concorde will be no different. British Airways Concorde G-BOAE or Alpha Echo for short, which used to fly between London and Barbados, is now housed in this museum dedicated to everything about the Concorde. Visitors can even get a chance to hear what the engines sounded like. A must for all aviation enthusiasts!

Andromeda Botanic Gardens

Located on a cliff overlooking the town of Bathsheba, the Andromeda Botanic Gardens make a great day out for the whole family. With plenty of space to run around for the kids, adults will also be very impressed with the wonderful flowers here, such as orchids, hibiscus and heliconia. The magnificent palm trees are also something to marvel at, as well as the bird life that frequents the gardens.

Flower Forest

This wonderful attraction is a fantastic place for families to take the kids for the day. The beautifully-colored tropical plants are spectacular and flowers such as hibiscus, heliconia, roses and begonias can be enjoyed while the children run around discovering more of this beautiful garden.

Folkestone Marine Park

Combining a museum and an aquarium, the Folkestone Marine Park and Visitor Center features an artificial reef around a purposely-sunken ship where some of the most incredible tropical marine life lives. The marine park is fantastic for snorkeling and has equipment available for hire. The museum features a visitor interpretation center for public education as well as an aquarium displaying some fantastic and rare marine life. A great day out for the whole family.

West Coast Beaches

Barbados' beaches are known around the world as vacation hotspots, and the west coast is known as the 'Platinum Coast'. Running north from the capital Bridgetown, are numerous luxury beach resorts resting along the shore of the clear warm Caribbean waters that lap gently onto golden sands. Some of the most popular beaches for swimming and sunbathing are Batts Rock and Paynes Bay in the St James parish, or Mullins Bay and Heywoods in St Peter. Hotels here bear exotic names like Treasure Beach, Smugglers Cove, Mango Bay and Discovery Bay. Treasure Beach at Paynes Bay, St James, for example is a tranquil luxury hideaway famous for its Bajan cuisine and freshwater swimming pool surrounded by tropical gardens beside the turquoise sea.

Graeme Hall Swamp

Not far from Bridgetown, in the parish of Christ Church, is the largest expanse of inland water on Barbados. The expansive Graeme Hall Swamp, with red and white mangrove trees, is a natural habitat for more than 40 species of birds. Government plans to develop much of the area have unfortunately forced the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary to close most of the park to visitors, but the Lakeside Lawns is still open and a pleasant place for a picnic.

Barbados Garrison

Barbados' colonial military history is well represented at the Barbados Garrison, the 18th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward Islands Command. This elegant Georgian building, dating from 1802, is the headquarters of the Garrison Committee who are unearthing the numerous old cannons scattered around the island; about 400 have so far been found in gardens, cellars, beaches or buried beneath fortifications. The most important pieces from this collection are mounted in front of the Main Guard House and make a fine photographic display for visitors. The Garrison complex also features the Barbados Museum, which is housed in the old military detention barracks - the display galleries were once prison cells. The museum houses exhibits chronicling the natural history and arts and crafts of Barbados. The Garrison Historic Area is also home to a racetrack that hosts the Barbados Derby, and other prestigious events on the Barbados horseracing calendar.

Gardens

Barbados offers the tranquility of several beautifully landscaped tropical gardens. Just outside Bridgetown, in the parish of St Michael, is the Lazaretto Garden with its magnificent waterfall cascading over a rock face. A little further inland are the Ayshford Ratite Gardens, with their breathtaking selection of tropical plants and fine restaurants attended by international executive chefs. The gardens are illuminated every night and are open from 9am to midnight for meals. Exotic birds, ostriches, pheasants and fancy pigeons roam the gardens to the delight of visitors. In the heart of the countryside, surrounded by sugar plantations is a six-acre former chicken and pig farm that has been transformed into the Orchid World, a floral paradise where more than 20,000 orchids are grown and displayed. Visitors can take self-guided tours past a waterfall, through a coral grotto and onto five orchid houses.

Further towards the East Coast, in the Scotland District of Barbados, is the magnificent Flower Forest. The variety of plants and species here is awesome, with the brilliant colors of flowers like begonias and heliconia reflected against the lush jungle greenery. The Flower Forest is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and admission is US$7 per person. In the parish of St Joseph is yet another spectacular garden, the Andromeda Botanical Garden. The garden covers six acres and contains several varieties of orchids, palms, ferns, hibiscus, bougainvillea and other exotic flowers and trees.

Turners Hall Woods span 50 acres in the Parish of St Andrew. The woods survive as one of the last remnants of the indigenous tropical forest that covered Barbados before the first settlement in 1627. It contains examples of indigenous trees like the Sand Box, Silk Cotton, Cabbage Palm, Trumpet Tree and Macaw Palm. In the Parish of St Thomas is a long gully, known as Welshman Hall Gully after its original owner. It contains some impressive tropical trees. Here also is the world's largest pillar that has been formed by the joining of a stalactite and stalagmite.

Wildlife

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. In the far north of the island is the Animal Flower Cave (in the parish of St Lucy) where sea anemones abound in cave pools deep enough to swim in. Scuba divers flock to the Folkestone Marine Park, which has an artificial reef created by the deliberate sinking of the ship Stavronikita in 1976. Less adventurous snorkelers enjoy swimming in the Recreational Zone of the park on a reef that is home to numerous fish and marine species, corals and sponges. The Park also has a museum and an aquarium. It is situated in St James, near Holetown. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is mainly a monkey sanctuary set in a natural mahogany wood in the parish of St Peter. Green monkeys provide entertainment for visitors as they play in a natural environment. There are also ducks, turtles, tortoises, birds, peacocks, otters, raccoons and deer roaming the woods.

Harrison's Cave

This huge underground cavern is one of the most popular attractions on the island with its amazing gallery of stalactites and stalagmites, streams of crystal clear water, breathtaking waterfalls and deep emerald pools. Tour guides conduct visitors from the attractive Visitor's Center on a drive in electrically operated trams down through an extensive system of caves. At the bottom level of the cave visitors alight to gasp at a spectacular waterfall.

Bathsheba

This little fishing village on the east coast is a favorite spot for photographers because of its picturesque rocky terrain. It also boasts one of the island's most spectacular beaches, Bath Beach. It is situated about 14 miles (23km) from Bridgetown in the St Joseph parish, and is known locally as 'the Soup Bowl' because of its foaming surf. Bathsheba is a favorite surfing spot and the venue of Barbados' annual surfing contest.

Jacobean Mansions

St Nicholas' Abbey in St Peter and Drax Hall in St George are two of the oldest buildings in Barbados. Both are world-renowned examples of Jacobean architecture that features curved Dutch gables and coral-stone finials, each furnished with antiques. Both buildings were constructed in the 1650s. Drax Hall was one of the earliest and largest sugar plantations in Barbados, built by James and William Drax. They were a wealthy family like many other plantation owners who prospered by growing sugarcane and established considerable influence at home and abroad. Visitors to the Jacobean sugar mansions can enjoy a film about life on the sugar plantations. Another relic from the plantation days is the Morgan Lewis Mill at St Andrew, one of only two restored sugar mills in the Caribbean. It is maintained by the Barbados National Trust and provides an insight into how sugar was produced through windpower.

Surfing the Soup Bowl

Being a coral island, a coral reef stretches all around Barbados' coastline, providing for unlimited surfing conditions all over and is guaranteed to have surf somewhere along it's shores at almost any given day of the year. The east coast boasts the most powerful and biggest waves and the foaming surf of the 'Soup Bowl' is a favorite spot that is internationally recognized and the venue for the annual surfing contest. Surfboard lessons and rentals are available, as well as surf tours for the more experienced.

Carlisle Bay Diving

The waters around Barbados are a treasure trove of marine life. Barrier reefs, situated about 1.5-2 miles (2.5 to 3km) from shore, are home to numerous schools of tropical fish, corals, turtles, rays and barracudas, while fringe reefs are found closer to shore with smaller coral formations and more plant life. These are home to marine life such as seahorses and eels. Barbados is also good for wreck diving; historic Carlisle Bay has numerous wrecks and is a popular dive location, as is Folkestone Marine Park, where the artificial reef was formed by the deliberate sinking of the Greek freighter Stavronikita in 1976.

Ocean Park

Families traveling in Barbados will absolutely love Ocean Park, where over 26 displays of Caribbean marine life can be enjoyed, including touch pools, tropical aquarium and even a walk-through underwater tunnel. There is not much shade, so remember the sunscreen.

The Concorde Experience

Small kids love nothing more than the sheer size of airplanes and seeing a real-life world-famous Concorde will be no different. British Airways Concorde G-BOAE or Alpha Echo for short, which used to fly between London and Barbados, is now housed in this museum dedicated to everything about the Concorde. Visitors can even get a chance to hear what the engines sounded like. A must for all aviation enthusiasts!

Andromeda Botanic Gardens

Located on a cliff overlooking the town of Bathsheba, the Andromeda Botanic Gardens make a great day out for the whole family. With plenty of space to run around for the kids, adults will also be very impressed with the wonderful flowers here, such as orchids, hibiscus and heliconia. The magnificent palm trees are also something to marvel at, as well as the bird life that frequents the gardens.

Flower Forest

This wonderful attraction is a fantastic place for families to take the kids for the day. The beautifully-colored tropical plants are spectacular and flowers such as hibiscus, heliconia, roses and begonias can be enjoyed while the children run around discovering more of this beautiful garden.

Folkestone Marine Park

Combining a museum and an aquarium, the Folkestone Marine Park and Visitor Center features an artificial reef around a purposely-sunken ship where some of the most incredible tropical marine life lives. The marine park is fantastic for snorkeling and has equipment available for hire. The museum features a visitor interpretation center for public education as well as an aquarium displaying some fantastic and rare marine life. A great day out for the whole family.