Know anything about Barbados?

I'm about to pull the trigger on a vacation to Barbados. Anyone familiar with the island who can offer some tips? We'll be there for a couple of days in June. We're down to a short list of hotels/resorts. How hard is it to get around without a vehicle?

all I can tell you.. family friend lives there. He loves it. He is a master shipwright and built the Pride of Baltimore II

Last time I was in Barbados, I rented a Moke and headed North (from the cruise ship dock) to the Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a few bucks to get in, and you stroll through a bunch of monkeys, turtles, birds and these things that look like a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo. It was a good excuse to head out for the day and see the island a bit.

There is great snorkeling, especially along the Carribean Sea coast. (The Atlantic is pretty rough, although Lewis Beach is nice and if the wind is up, surfboarding is popular)

Bridgetown is pretty hopping during the day, worth a stroll around for some shopping. Eat local and talk to the locals and try not to be an A-hole tourist and you will really have fun.

We will see if Gameboy chimes in, he lives there. I do quite a bit of business in Little England. Very peaceful, very low crime rate, especially compared to Jamaica and Trinidad. Generally quite friendly. It is a wealthy place with a lot of ex-pat Brits and Canadians. Just read a joke that if Air Canada shut down, Barbados would be broke in a week. No, that won;t happen, but you will see Canadians there. Very pretty, quaint architecture. I think you will enjoy a lot.

A friend of mine in Miami used to work for Carnival and would hop on their Caribbean cruises as often he could. Barbados was his favorite destination. Less crowded, more low key, and just a happier place than the usual tourist ports.

Quick story about my first visit there. I was flying to St. Vincent, a speck of an island. No direct flights, so had to fly into Barbados on Air Jamaica, then take Liat to St. Vincent. Had a three hour layover. Not much you can do with a three hour layover, so I went across the driveway in front of the (very beautiful) airport to a Rum Shop. Open air bar. Met up with 5 Bajans there. No hostility to the big American whatsoever. Had a wonderful time, totally forgot about the time. Then I hear a booming voice behind me- "Are you Mr. Hanlon?" I turned around, and there was the pilot of the Liat plane! They had held the plane until they could find me. You are not going to get that kind of service from United Airlines!

This is all i know, or need to know about Barbados. :)

I went there a couple years ago. Beautiful place and very friendly people. Can't wait to go back.

Don't miss the Oistens Fish Fry. Buses will get you anywhere on the island for cheap.

Zombie thread revival - leaving in a couple of weeks.

Anyone else have local knowledge they can share?

Safe, not too expensive, plenty of nature tours and relaxation to enjoy.

Best stuff to do: Atlantis submarine tour, Harrison's cave, offroad tour (few different companies offer them).

Rent a car with doors, windows and meaty wheels, ground clearance helps. Some places rent Suzuki Jimnys.

It is the last piece of bread on the "Dutch sandwich" .

Hey if you want to navigate in an offroad TSD rally on June 23rd, I'll see if I can convince my regular navigator to give you a chance That's the most excitement you'll get down here and you'll get the best views of the island.

When we went to Barbados, our tour guide told us that they have a story down there: In heaven, everyone was happy and enjoying eternal life in paradise... except for one guy, who wasn't satisfied at all.

"What's the matter with him?"

"He's a Bajan [Barbadian], and he just wants to go home."

GameboyRMH wrote: Hey if you want to navigate in an offroad TSD rally on June 23rd, I'll see if I can convince my regular navigator to give you a chance That's the most excitement you'll get down here and you'll get the best views of the island.

Awesome offer, thanks, but I'll be long gone by then.

Good places for lunch in Bridgetown?

Places of interest near Dover Beach?

Historical sites or museums worth going out of the way to see?

Nature tour operator that stands out from the crowd?

This is a milestone wedding anniversary, but it could also be my last if I try to pull off anything too car-related. Thanks again.

I should probably ask my sister about the food, she cares about that stuff, I just look for something mildly pleasant to scarf down

The Oistins fish fry has already been mentioned, it's maybe a half-hour drive from Bridgetown though.

The thing about the museums and historical sites is, there's not much to see in one place. It's a lot of minor places of interest spread all around. The best concentration of interesting stuff is probably the Barbados Museum, but that's not saying much. There are some tours that will load you up in a van or bus and take you to see many interesting places in one day.

There are a ton of other nature tours I didn't mention, all worthwhile (although on some you don't get a tour guide and are pretty much left to wander through some rainforest and read the little signs, like Welchman Hall Gully tour - still worth it IMO but keep that in mind), but do make sure you go on the Atlantis submarine tour. There are only a few places in the world you can do this, and I must say it's the best nature tour here. The biggest offroad tour operator is Adventureland, I've heard good things about them.

Dover beach is probably the most touristy area on the island, it's all restaurants, hotels and nightclubs around there, you'll have to travel a good distance to escape that.