Barbados Travel Guide

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Top Things to See

Barbadian gardens
Rare fruit and spice trees are on display in Welchman Hall Gully’s magnificent botanic garden (www.welchmanhallgullybarbados.com) and an exotic array of blooms in Andromeda Gardens (http://andromeda.cavehill.uwi.edu). Another highlight is the Flower Forest (www.barbados.org/flowfrst.htm), a 20-hectare (50-acre) leafy garden rich in native plants.

Bridgetown
Barbados’s capital, Bridgetown is the best place to see the island’s colonial history and English character. There’s a miniature of London’s Trafalgar Square (now known as National Heroes Square), which boasts a statue of Lord Nelson - without the pigeons.

Viewpoints
Lofty Mount Hillaby, the island’s highest point at 343m (1,125ft), offers incredible panoramas across the east, west and northern coasts. Dramatic vistas also abound from St John’s Parish Church over miles of jagged coastline and moss-covered family vaults dotted with tropical flora.

Caves
The sea anemone-covered Animal Flower Cave is a cavern of coral rock and flowers. Harrison’s Cave is another jaw-dropping spectacle: a mysterious subterranean world and geological phenomenon abundant in stalactites, stalagmites, deep emerald pools and waterfall cascades.

Colonial architecture
The Jacobean St Nicholas Abbey is graced with ornate Persian arches and well-kept gardens. Although now in ruins, Farley Hill is still covered in hibiscus and poinsettias and is one of the island’s most storied plantation houses.

Chalky Mount Potteries
Barbados’s famous Chalky Mount potters are renowned for their high-quality inexpensive art. You can watch the local potters at work at the wheel fashioning centuries-old designs – a respected 300-year-old tradition.

Tyrol Cot
Tyrol Cot, the grand former home of Sir Grantley Adams, the first premier of Barbados, is a stunning example of local architectural styles. Constructed in 1854, this architectural gem characterizes an interesting mixture of Palladian and tropical vernacular – beautifully restored by the Barbados National Trust.

Morgan Lewis Mill
The aged and charming Morgan Lewis Mill is one of only two of the Caribbean’s intact sugar mills, and a noteworthy example of a Dutch windmill from the days of the sugar cane planters.

Top Things to Do

The Barbados Wildlife Reserve
The Barbados Wildlife Reserve’s resplendent mahogany forest is the roaming territory of green monkeys, tortoises, deer, raccoons, pelicans and otters. A walk-through aviary allows a leafy stroll with peacocks, turkeys, toucans, parrots, flamingoes, pelicans, lovebirds and macaws.

East Coast Road
Barbados’s East Coast Road, hemmed by crashing Atlantic waves, is one of the island’s most exciting drives. A rugged coastal route overlooks treacherous reefs with an inland road that weaves through rolling sugarcane to quaint plantation towns topped by church steeples.

Scuba diving
Barbados’s rainbow of coral reefs offers a pristine watery home to seahorses, sponges and giant sand eels. Hidden caves and shipwrecks provide plenty of underwater nooks and crannies along a shoreline nested by Hawksbill Turtles.

Rum tasting
Barbados is the birthplace of rum, and, understandably, rum is the island’s favorite tipple. A thousand rum bars offer plenty of choice while Mount Gay Rum (www.mountgay.com), the oldest rum producer, on the island’s west coast offers tours - and tastings.

Cricket
Cricket is the national sporting obsession. Choose from barefoot village friendlies to international and local club cups – where many of the great names of West Indian cricket are honored, most notably Sir Garfield Sobers.

Horse riding
It’s possible to gallop along the beach at sundown or simply trek along inland trails. Over two-dozen horse-riding events take place on the Garrison Savannah. Polo is also played to a high level by fiercely competitive Barbadian teams.

Crane Beach
The baby-pink sands of cliff-flanked Crane Beach, an idyllic spot that is one of the most beautiful on the island, are perfect for a stroll. Moderate, foamy waves draw a body-surfing crowd and there are plenty of shaded spots to chill out until the magical sunsets arrive.

Fishing
Wahoo, dorado, barracuda, tuna and sailfish, together with mighty blue marlin and shark, all patrol Barbados’s deep sea waters. There are plenty of game fishing tournaments and inshore competitions to join or just grab a rod and head to the jetty.

Watersports
The island’s rugged south and west coasts boast world-class watersports where windsurfers, jet skiers, parasailers and water skiers enjoy perfect conditions. To ride the waves head to the Soup Bowl, South Point and Rockley Beach, Barbados’s surfing mecca.

Guided hikes
The Barbados National Trust (http://nationaltrustbarbados.com) offers free guided hikes, which last around three hours and cover distances of 8 to 22km (5 to 14 miles). They are divided into three categories: stop’n’stare, where’n’there and grin’n’bear. Moonlit walks are also held.