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Barbados travel guide
Soak up the sun, sea and sandy beaches of the unique Platinum Coast on our holidays to Barbados. This beautiful island has over 80 dreamy white-sand beaches - some are the best in the Caribbean. St Michael and St James on the west coast boast long stretches of soft sand beaches lined with palm trees and luminous blue waters. Barbados’ south coast is graced with picture-postcard shores, excellent dive sites, larger waves for windsurfing and lively nightlife in St. Lawrence Gap. There’s plenty more beyond the beach, Bridgetown’s the best base for an action-packed time away, with historic sites, boat tours, rum distilleries and you can even catch a game of cricket at the Kensington Oval. If you are searching for paradise, you’ll find it in Barbados.
Beaches in Barbados
While tourism is unsurprisingly huge here, locals haven’t let it take over their beautiful island. One of our favourite things about the beaches in Barbados is that they’re all public: no need to beg, borrow and steal your way into private properties to see the best shores – everyone’s welcome to enjoy the coastline which is famously safe, clean and easy to access. In all, sixty beaches cover seventy square miles, and there’s oodles of variety.
Best Beaches in Barbados
Bridgetown
Barbados’ western shore is postcard paradise – bright turquoise waters gently ripple over spectacular reefs and shipwrecks, sliding silkily over pale, soft sand. The beaches around Bridgetown are the best for activities, whether you’re diving the six shipwrecks and countless coral reefs, deep sea fishing, kayaking or sailing.
St. James
For luxury, there’s nowhere quite like the trendy parish of St. James, home to some of the most fabulous beachfront villas, hotels and restaurants in the Caribbean.
St. Peter and Speightstown
Generally, the further north you go, the quieter and less developed the coastline. While St. Peter and Speightstown have some busier stretches, a lot of the shores here feel deliciously secluded.
Christ Church & St. Philip
Meanwhile on the south coast, there’s a marvellous mix of the two. The bright blue waters are calm and reef-protected on some beaches, and choppier on others. You can surf and snorkel, paddleboard and kiteboard - or just lounge under palms on some of the lightest, softest sand we’ve ever seen. A lot of beaches have the odd surf café or food shack, but you’ll also find ones moments from the nightlife in St. Lawrence Gap or the fish restaurants in Oistins. We love the beach walks here, where you can wander from wide stretches of sand to rocky coves, or along the boardwalk into the nearest town or village for fresh fish and rum punch.
St. Andrew & Saint Joseph
The east coast tells a different story, left to Mother Nature’s devices with rugged cliffs carved by the wild and wonderful Atlantic, which rolls onto beaches in a deep beautiful blue. You might not want to graciously backstroke here, but the surfing is out of this world.
Barbados geography
Barbados history
Wildlife in Barbados
Activities in Barbados
Watersports
Diving in Barbados
Formed of coral and limestone and with barrier reefs as little as 20m below the surface, scuba divers will have a whale of a time in Barbados. There are usually brilliant conditions throughout the year here, with visibility up to 30m and water temperatures hovering around 25 – 28°C. The west coast has some incredible wrecks, from the six sunken vessels in the Carlisle Bay Marine Park to the Stav (formally SS Stavronikita) freighter in the Folkestone Underwater Park and the beginner-friendly Pamir freighter further north.
Reefs burst with colour off the west and south coasts, home to corals and sponges of all shapes and sizes as well as turtles, rays, parrotfish, barracuda, seahorses, eels and sometimes nurse sharks. Favourites include Dottins near Holetown and Caribee off Rockley Beach.
For equipment, instruction and guiding, there are dive shops dotted around the island, most in the southwest. Snorkelers can join tours too, or explore from the shore of beaches like Batts Rock, Dover Beach and St Lawrence Bay.
Surfing in Barbados
The fact that Barbados sits so far east in the Atlantic, ringed by a coral reef, gives us some of the most consistent – if not THE most consistent – breaks in the Caribbean. November – June statistically sees the best swell, but generally there are good conditions throughout the year thanks to reliable trade winds. The water’s wonderfully warm (rarely under 25°C) and a brilliantly clear turquoise, while pale sand beaches with tall palms play backdrop.
The rugged east and northwest coasts here are often likened to Hawaii, with the surfy town of Bathsheba home to the legendary Soup Bowl – Barbados’ biggest wave which Kelly Slater counts among his top three. Waves travel thousands of miles without interruption before they finally break here, creating some of the most powerful right-handers we’ve ever surfed. On the south coast, gentler waves consistently roll in, creating incredible conditions for beginners, improvers, longboarders and bodyboarders. A handful of surf schools are based along the coast, providing lessons, board hire and trips to the best breaks of the day. While the west coast is less reliable, it can be ridiculously good when there’s a decent north swell.
Windsurfing & kitesurfing in Barbados
Barbados is up there with Hawaii when it comes to the best places to windsurf and kitesurf on the planet – the south coast sees consistent trade winds of 15-35kn throughout the year and water temps of 25°C+, with the best time to come being between November and July.
The neighbouring Silver Sands and Silver Rock beaches take top spot location-wise, with pro-windsurfer Brian Talma providing lessons and rentals at his deAction Beach Shop. The Barbados Waterman Festival takes place here (usually around March) – one of many international events hosted on the island. As well as launch from here, kiters can use the beaches as downwind destinations from Long Beach.
Surfers Point and South point also have good conditions, while the coastline to the west around Oistins has calmer conditions for beginners and freestylers.
Sailing in Barbados
While you can usually hire hobies on the south and northwest coasts, the place you want to be for proper sailing in Barbados is St Michael’s Carlisle Bay near Bridgetown. Barbados Yacht Club, Barbados Cruising Club and LRN 2 Sail school are based here, organising races and regattas throughout the season and providing rentals and lessons. The biggest event on the sailing calendar is the Round Barbados Race, where sailors completely circumnavigate the island – and others include Harris Paint’s Regatta and the Barbados Old Brigand Rum Regatta. If you prefer someone else at the helm, crewed charters are available for tours and private cruises along the west coast, with snorkelling trips and sunset boat parties being hugely popular.
Fishing in Barbados
There are hundreds of species of fish in the waters surrounding Barbados, with catches including barracuda, tuna, wahoo, dorado and marlin – and if you’re lucky, a yellowfin tuna. Better yet, you don’t have to travel too far out to get them, with deeps only a mile or so from the shore in most parts. December – April is the best time of year for game fish, though local fishermen will be able to guide you to the best spots throughout the year. Bridgetown is your best base for fishing charters, with a bundle of companies like BlueFIn Fishing, Reel Crazy, Legacy charter and Billfisher III based around Fisherman’s Row. Often companies will pick you up from your accommodation, provide gear, bait and refreshments, then help you cook your catch when back on land.
Inshore fishing trips with local fishermen are a great way to fish on a smaller scale – often resulting in the same catches you’d get further out. Tarpon can be found in the freshwater springs on the northeast coast, and while there aren’t many shallow flats for fly fishing, it is possible to catch bonefish from some beaches. Shorefishing is particularly popular in Speightstown from the pier, Godings Bay and Six Men’s Bay. It’s also possible to spearfish for amberjack, grouper and snapper around Saint Peter, the south coast and east coast.
The Barbados Game Fishing Association (BGFA) arrange events and tournaments throughout the year, including the Barbados International Fishing Tournament held in Saint Peter’s Port St. Charles Marina.
Canoeing & kayaking in Barbados
With gorgeously warm, clear waters, the south and west coasts are awesome for kayaking. Most of the bigger hotels have their own fleet of ocean kayaks for guests to use, and you’ll also find companies like Paddle Barbados (in Saint Michael) and Kayaking Barbados (in Saint Peter) providing hire and tours. The south coast is brilliant if you like to play about on the waves, while the west has incredibly still waters where you can see turtles and rays swim beneath you. At the northwest end of the island, cliffs get more rugged and there are some wonderful caves to explore.
Land Activities
Golf in Barbados
Altogether there are seven golf courses on the island – just enough to try a different one each day of the week… Come here in April and your visit might cross over with the Sir Garry Sobers Golf Championship, which takes place on the islands best courses.
Christ Church and Saint James are the golfing parishes here, with two clubs on the south coast and five to the west. In Oistins, the Barbados Golf Club famously hosts the Barbados open and PGA seniors tournament. Ron Kirby designed, it’s an 18 holer remembered for its ‘Amen Corner’ at the 16th hole, where the presence of a lake and winds are known to drive even the stubbornest atheist to prayer… Further west, the Rockley Golf & Country Club has a 9 hole course plus alternative tees for 18 holes. It’s positioned on flat parkland, with strategically placed trees in the middle of the fairways and around greens, giving every shot an extra element of challenge.
Up on the west coast, the Royal Westmoreland Golf Course was masterminded by Robert Trent Jones Junior and has incredible views of the sea throughout with parts of the course built into an old stone quarry. The Apes Hill Club has a championship course, belonging to the Audubon Society for its environmental friendliness. The challenging front 9 features uphill stretches and rocks, demanding concentration. Rewards include the views over the sea from sixth hole and Atlantic from the 12th. The rest of the island’s golf offerings belong to the Sandy Lane Estate, including the tight, challenging fairways of The Old Nine, World Golf Championships host The Country Club and the Green Monkey course, Fazio-designed and usually exclusive to guests.
Cycling & mountain biking in Barbados
The roads may have some potholes, and you mightn’t find the best marked trails on earth – but that’s not to say you can’t have an awesome time in Barbados on two wheels. The passion for cycling has been steadily rising in this neck of the woods, ever since a cyclist was the first Bajan to compete in the Olympics in 1952. More recently, the Caribbean Road Race Championships were hosted here in 2015, and the Barbados Cycling Festival celebrates the sport every September.
While some might be put off by the business of the roads (the West Coast Highway is the most notorious), if you’ve cycled in London or another of the big UK cities you’re unlikely to find them too intimidating. Popular routes include the East Coast Road (amazing views over the Atlantic) and the uphill climb on Apes Hill. For rougher terrain, head to the north of the island and mountain bike through cacti fields, along narrow coastal paths and up and down the Scotland District.
The best way to experience Barbados by bike is with a local guide, who’ll know the roads and paths inside out. Riding champ Ells at Bike Caribbean (formerly Trailseekers) is based in St Lawrence Gap and runs tours as well as providing bike hire, repair kits, helmets and locks.
Walking & hiking in Barbados
While you mightn’t find as many walkers and hikers as divers and snorkelers here, that’s not to say there aren’t some excellent paths to explore in Barbados. Thanks to the smallness of the island – even driving the whole length takes no more than an hour – nothing’s stopping you from really roaming. There are some incredibly scenic routes to the north, with favourites including the one from Cove Bay to Pico Teneriffe, a rugged coral cliff in Saint Peter. The Barbados Hiking Association run morning, afternoon and moonlight hikes of varying lengths and difficulties, setting off from different points on the island. The Great Train Hike is always popular, touring the main ‘stations’ from Bridgetown through old sugarcane factories in Saint George and Christ Church and finishing up on the seaside villages of the east coast. If you’re more sand and flip flops than hills and boots, the coastline here is perfectly set up for long beach walks – wander between fishing villages, clamber over to coves and enjoy the never-tiring sight of the big blue and pale sands on the south and west coasts.
