Barbados TravelAdvisor

Saturday
Left a cool, sunny Omaha to travel all day. Landed in Barbados at about 10:15 pm. Too dark to see much but did pop down to the beach to feel the sand and hear the waves before crashing for the night.

Sunday
We started with a quick breakfast at the hotel, then it was off to snorkel. Evan did well but quickly decided that he did not like trying to breathe through the tube. Lots of fish close to the reef. After spending the morning hanging out at the beach, we headed down the boardwalk towards Rockley Beach. Tried to go to Just Grillin’ for lunch but found that the did not open until dinner time on Sunday; ended up at Bar Ka’nei. Food was just OK; but the banks was cold! After lunch, headed into the water at Rockley Beach; slightly bigger waves that in front of the Coconut Court. Headed back for the rest of the afternoon at our beach. Happy hour was spent at the beach bar where we met a couple of guys from Canada, a couple of New York (fellow Yankee fans for Evan), and a British couple on their honeymoon. Evan got a shark tooth necklace from the British guy. After several Banks/rum punches, we headed off to clean up for dinner at Tapas. Food was fantastic! A great meal to end our first day.

Monday
We slept in and then had to rush to get a quick breakfast before heading off on Ted’s Tour. Ted was very fun and knowledgeable about the island. We headed north along the west coast with a stop in Speightstown for Ted to stock up on the ingredients for rum punch. We then headed inland passing by Mount Gay and St Nicholas Abbey on our way to Cherry Tree Hill. We stopped here for a taste of fresh sugarcane and coconut. (Evan did not like the fresh coconut milk.) and the opportunity to check out the east coast from up high. Continued on the tour with a lunch stop at Bonito Bar & Restaurant in Bathsheba - good traditional Bajan fare. After lunch we had time to check out the area before heading off again. We circled around the island going through Oistens and ending up back in and finally Hastings. Evan’s favorite line of Teds was related to driving - The right side is the wrong side, the left side is the right side, the other side is suicide. Had time for a quick trip to the beach for swimming and snorkeling before the sunset. Ended the day with a stop at the pool for Evan (Crazy boy goes to an island and wants to hang out at a pool - was obviously dropped on his head a few too many times!). We ended up at Mama Mia’s right across from the hotel for a nice Italian dinner.

Tuesday
After breakfast, headed to the activities desk to try to book a swim with the turtles for Eva and Evan - without being on a boat for an extended period of time and deep sea fishing for Tony. Thought we had the swimming booked for Wed am and Tony was tentative for fishing on Thursday morning. Headed to the beach for snorkeling and a dip in the water. After a rest, we headed up the beach to the Hilton hotel and Garrison area. Evan fell in love with the beach because of the awesome waves; they were perfect for him to body surf. Stopped several times each way for picture opportunities. We to The Ackee Tree for roti for lunch. Tony and Eva really like; Evan tried it but won’t rush out for more! Back to the beach for a few more hours. Headed in a little early as this was the day for our family photos on the beach. If you ever want pics taken, we highly recommend Steven Cumberbatch; got just a few pics taken when we had to run for cover during a brief rain. A couple minutes later (and a visit to the room to freshen up Eva’s hair), we finished the photos and headed off to the Managers Reception - free rum punch! Afterwards it was dinner at Brown Sugar. Again, a nice meal.

Wednesday
Started the day with a call that the swim with the turtles was cancelled due to not enough participation. Decided to try the bus (city) and headed up to Paynes Bay. Got settled and convinced Evan it wasn’t that far to swim out. Started out close to the ropes and that was when the fun started. Eva was in the lead with Evan and Tony following. Eva got most of the way out and turned to see where the boys were - pretty close to the beach. Swam back to find out what the problem was now. Evan had found crabs in the water and was in serious panic mode. Eva tried to reason that the crabs would not crawl on him and he needed to toughen up and start swimming. Evan continue to fuss saying Mom had crabs on her back. It was a great lecture right up to the point Tony pointed out that, yes there were in fact 3 crabs on Eva’s back and one in her hair! Regrouped back on the beach. Tried to convince Evan to go out again. Not happening Finally convinced him that he and Mom could take a jet ski out and get in the water right where we needed to be. Tony was tough and swam out; he was very brave with the crabs! Saw the turtles, a sting ray and many other fish. Headed back to the beach for some rest and then back in the water - decent waves but not as good as the Hilton. Took a reggae bus to a grocery store to stock up on Banks and rum. Tony doesn’t think they sell anything else! Took a ZR bus to Bridgetown for lunch at The Waterfront Café. We were pretty tired at that point so splurged on a taxi back to the hotel. Spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach swimming and snorkeling. Headed into St. Lawrence Gap for dinner. No firm plan in place, we walked the majority of the loop to end up at Pisces for a great meal! Another great day ended.

Thursday
Tony started the day off early with deep sea fishing with IOU Fishing. Had a great morning on the boat with a couple of exciting moments - two strikes within 15 seconds of each other and landed a 10 and 12 pound dolphin fish. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, they were also boarded by the Coast Guard - nothing like having a guy with an AK47 jump on your boat! We passed inspection and went on our merry way. Eva and Evan slept in (although not mentioned each day, dinner was wrapped up at the hotel bar resulting in some later nights for Evan!). After breakfast, they headed down the beach to the Hilton for more bodysurfing. Once Tony came back, we headed off for lunch at Just Grillin’. Shared the table with a nice couple from Denver. Evan enjoyed talking about Boy Scouts and we enjoyed getting some ideas for dinner. Back to the hotel for our afternoon of snorkeling and swimming at the beach. Had a British cricket team check in so a little more action at the hotel. After our visit at lunch, we had planned to go to 39 Steps for dinner. Get there and when being seated were told that there was no fresh fish. Seems kind of crazy on a small island in the Caribbean that there would be no fresh fish! After debating a bit, paid for our drinks and headed to catch a ZR to Champers for a nice meal (with fresh fish!). Came back to the hotel for karaoke. Tony is a bit of a showman and did his customary “Great Balls of Fire” to many rounds of applause. Hung out at the bar for a while chatting with other visitors.

Friday
Our last day started out with the customary breakfast at the hotel and then off to the beach for snorkeling. Again, headed up the beach to the Hilton for more bodysurfing and relaxing. Came back to Coconut Court around lunch time. Got takeaway from Mama Mia to have a picnic on the beach. Stayed at the beach until the sun went down. Cleaned up and then headed to Oistens for the fish fry. Had dinner at Pat’s (recommended by Ted). Got to share a table with a couple of guys from Edinburgh. Had a great time chatting with them about our anniversary trip to Scotland and London a couple of years ago. Wandered around Oistens enjoying the atmosphere. Had to head back to the hotel fairly early to get packed for our early departure (cab picked us up at 4:30 am).


Weather was absolutely wonderful. There was a couple of brief showers, neither of which lasted more than 5 minutes. Mostly sunny and definitely hot and humid. Barbados is a very beautiful island with friendly people. We look forward to our next visit!

Tony and Eva

Great trip report Tony - laughed frequently while reading it. Sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves and will be back again sooner if not later. Family pic is awesome!

I agree with Jewell it sounds as though you had a really great time and so glad for you guy's .
excellent trip report.

Great trip report. Loved the crab story! Good for Evan for getting back in the water after that! I'm going to have to watch for crabs now.

Great report ET. Sounds like you all had a great time.

Well done Tony! Great report.

Great Report - feeling a bit guilty for not posting mine yet!

Great report...so glad you enjoyed the Island and Champers. The family portrait is beautiful, what a great idea to have it done on vacation.

Nice trip report ET.
Sounds like you all had a wonderful time.

Yes Nikki, get a move on with your report, please

Great report ET - thanks for posting it. Cheered me up on a miserable Friday evening in SHeffield after 3 hours in motorway traffic! x

What a week Tony ,sounds like you kept pretty busy most of the time ,loved the bit with the crabs.

Great trip report. You put me to shame, I haven't done one.

Glad you had such a good holiday. It is good to see you got out such a lot to see the island. There are so many boring people that don't do anything.

Great report, you tried a few nice restaurants too Shame about the crabs though, they would have freaked me out How did you like Coconut Court, any complaints or not?

great report - Glad you had a good time and enjoyed Tapas ! good pic too. How was Coconut Court ? any dos or donts about the hotel?