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Barbados Guide

 A guide to exploring Barbados without spending a fortune

Barbados is the island of elite resorts, haute cuisine and prices approaching cruising altitude, right? Wrong.

Sure, the Caribbean jewel long favoured by the yacht-eratti offers any number of ways to blow your life savings, but it’s also possible to see it sensibly.

Besides, hiding behind pricey resort walls may mean missing out on the best that Barbados has to offer, from free views to the Friday fish fry.

The best part? You can see it all in one day—and it’ll barely cost anything.

7 a.m.: Breakfast and Sunrise on the Boardwalk

The Barbados Boardwalk opened last January just outside Bridgetown and spans almost two kilometres of the island’s South Coast. Joggers, travellers and local families congregate in the early evenings, but at the break of dawn you’ll likely have it to yourself. Grab coffee and a pastry from Italia Coffee House, across from the Accra Beach Hotel and Resort near the west end of the boardwalk entrance, and enjoy the island’s best wake-up call.

9 a.m.: Find your Inner Freeloader at Sandy Lane

Head west on South Coast Road and then north for 40 minutes until you get to Holetown, where another boardwalk begins across from the West Coast Mall and runs south to beautiful Sandy Lane Beach. It’s one of the most elite strips of sand in the country, but in Barbados even the swankiest hotels must provide free public access to the beachfronts they occupy.

You may even find yourself rubbing elbows with some stars: Mick Jagger, Simon Cowell, Sir Elton John and even Queen Elizabeth II have all vacationed here.

10:30 a.m.: Shopping Stop

Beached out? Holetown’s Chattel House Village is a favourite stop for shoppers, with crafts and souvenirs from traditional plantation-style cottages. Just north of town, the pretty coral-stone St. James Parish Church (246-422-4117) is the island’s oldest Anglican church. Wherever Holetown takes you, don’t leave without stopping at the Super Centre to grab some goodies for a picnic lunch.

Noon: Picnic at North Point

The island’s northern apex is all seething surf and ragged cliffs—a perfectly dramatic spot for a picnic. To get there, head north along the West Coast Highway as it veers inland just after Speightstown. At the roundabout below St. Lucy’s Parish Church, turn north again and follow the signs to the Animal Flower Cave.

North Point is just beyond the cave entrance and its raw, rocky beauty, in such stark contrast to the idyllic beaches on the coasts, is worth the 30-minute trek from Holetown.

1:30 p.m.: Close Encounters at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve

The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is one of the island’s busiest attractions for a reason. Deer, peacocks, turtles and the island’s endemic green monkeys roam freely. Be sure to make your way to the feeding area in time for the 2 p.m. feast; it’s a spectacle.

To get to the reserve from North Point, drive 20 minutes southeast along Highway 2 to make it to the day’s only stop with an entrance fee: expect to pay about US$23 for adults and US$11.50 for children.

3 p.m.: Kick Back at Bathsheba

Go from monkey-gazing to wave-spotting at tiny Bathsheba, a laid-back village on the east coast where the island’s best surfers come to play. The water here is generally too rough for swimming. Instead, wander the beach and check out the strange rock formations carved by the waves and tides, or just kick back on the cliffs and watch the surfing.

The Round House Inn Restaurant and Bar (246-433-9678), at the north end of town, is a good pick for a drink and bite with a view. To get there, head east on Highway 2 until you reach Belleplaine, then take East Coast Road to Bathsheba.

6:30 p.m.: Feast with the Locals in Oistins

Locals and tourists bond over the day’s catch at Oistins, a fishing village with a cluster of beachside huts serving up slabs of grilled dolphin fish, swordfish and tuna nightly (though the scene is at its best on Friday evenings).

Check out Annie’s, one of the easternmost stalls, for typically Bajan side dishes like macaroni pie or peas and rice, or head to Uncle George’s, at the opposite end, for enormous cooked-to-order local fish meals.

By day’s end, as you munch on the fresh catch at a communal table in the sand, or dance to local soca and reggae once you’ve had your fill, you’ll realize that, in Barbados, true luxury has nothing to do with how much money you spend.