Barbados

gracehopper

Headin there in April for 2 weeks, was wondering have any boardsies been there and if so could yee fill me in on decent places to eat, drink, watch live music etc.
cheers
David

ralphh

That's odd... so am I! I'm going from the 6th to the 20th flying BA. You?


My sister lives there so I have been there many times and don't have the expensive hotel bills! The best place to eat is a place called the Carrib beach bar on the south coast. Best fish on the island. Hard to find as it's not aimed at the tourists but worth it. The best place to party is a nightclub called 'Harbour lights'. Kinda touristy but great fun. All you can eat and drink for €40 entrance fee so normally fall out of there about 5 in the morning. St.Lawrence Gap is also worth a look but aimed directly at the tourists so not much quality. The Irish bar is good though. They have Karaoke there and we sang 'The isle of Inishfree' to a 95% local audiance! For live music, there is a local band on the island called Kite and they are pretty good. Try and catch them when they are doing the full band session though as they do an acoustic session too which isn't as good.


The west coast is where the rich live so worth a drive around to look at the big houses and Sandy lane hotel. East coast is where the scenery is and I highly recommend a drive to a beach called Bathsheeba. Beaches.... the any on the west coast are beautiful but touristy so check out Miami beach on the south coast. Beautiful sea and sand.


As for activities... most will be found on the west coast for the rich with money to burn. Banana boats, Diving with turtles (amazing), sailing on the Jolly Rodger (kinda like Harbour lights but on the sea with a Pirate theme. Losers walk the plank!), snorkling on the reef, etc etc. These activities are kinda expensive though so I would pick carefully if you are on a limited budget.


Now for the most important part... beer. The local beer is called Banks and tastes like liquid gold! Still the nicest beer I've tasted. My sister always has a bottle waiting for me when I step out of arrivals! It's damn sweet.


Enjoy it. I'll be the guy doing the stupid dancing in Harbour lights.


PS: They don't make it known but there is no drink driving laws in Barbados. They 'ask' that you don't drink more than 4 beers an hour if you are driving but there is no law. Just so you know you don't have to get a taxi if you have a beer or two over dinner.

gracehopper

cheers Ralphh,
thanks for the summary, i'll definately check out your recommendations. I'm fond of good beer too so i imagine that banks willl be perfect for me. I'm heading over on the 29 of april. It's really the first 2 weeks of may that i'll be there, i just say april to boost my morale

thanks again!
David(Gracehopper)

ralphh

No probs. Have a good one.

Bluetonic

It's a smashing place, you really should have a ball.

Places to visit - Mount Gay Rum factory, it's the time of year to get a game of Cricket in and also there probably be some horse racing in Bridgettown.

Don't bother with the Cave in the middle of the Island or up north - not worth the look.

Hire out a jeep and head to the East of the Island - some amazing cliffs and deserted beaches.

In Bridgetown itself near the bus station I'd hightly recommend talking a walk throught the shanty houses where the locals live, get talking a local and ask them to bring you around - some experience.

Have a ball anyhow.

Ju27

David,
I've been to Barbados a couple of times and can tell you your gonna have a ball. If you like mexican food, there's a restaurant called Cafe Sol in St Lawerences Gap. it's good food and even better strawberry margaritas !!! Definitley hire a car, they drive on the same side of the road as us and the island is so small you can drive it in a day. Go up to Batsheba - amazing views.
Nightlife - Tues/Wed/Fri/Sat - The Boatyard (on main road into Bridgetown) is a great spot, on the beachfront
Friday night - go down to Oistins ( jump in the ZR vans on the road out of Bridgetown - which stink but you can't go to Barbados and not use one !) it's an open air fish market. you can sample the local cuisine and it's great to see the locals dancing / drinking and smoking the wackie backie....
enjoy - you'll have a fantastic time !

J.

ralphh

Oh man... the margaritas in Cafe Sol are so sweet!!



I never did the Mount Gay factory tour. Didn't realise I was missing out! Always wanted to do the Banks tour as I heard they have an all you can drink session at the end! I also recommend doing a fishing trip. Tuna, kingfish, dolphin (not what you think) and baracuda are all very catchable.

gracehopper

i totally forgot to check back to this thread. Thanks for all the tips & pointers. I've copied them out and will be following them up.

A month to go!!! the excitement is growing.

cheers
David(Gracehopper)