BARBADOS

OVERVIEW

• When: 3 July- 7 July, 2024
• Where (accommodations): Little Arches Boutique Hotel
• Transportation: JetBlue airlines Boston (BOS) to Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) (layover in JFK on the way down, direct flight back), car rental through Stoutes
• Sights/attractions: Mullins Beach, Chattel Village Holetown, Rihanna’s Drive, Bridgetown (Swan and Broad Streets), Harrison’s Cave, St Nicholas Abbey and the Steam Railway, Farley Hill National Park, Bathsheba Beach, Bath Beach, Crane Beach, Miami Beach, Oistins, Codrington College, Cool Runnings lunch snorkeling cruise
• Food/drinks: Cafe Luna, Tides restaurant, Zemi East Coast Cafe, Uncle George’s Fish Net Grill, The Cliff restaurant

The Fourth of July long weekend trip that nearly got blown away by a hurricane. Up until the second leg of the flight, we were not sure if we’ll make it to what turns out to be my 64th country- Barbados. We knew that booking a trip to the Caribbean during the hurricane season is a risk. But when category 4 ‘Beryl’ formed, every meteorologist was surprised. It came very early in the season, broke several records and missed Barbados by just about 60 nautical miles. The island’s airport was closed on Sunday and Monday, reopened Tuesday, just to have another tropical system go through on Wednesday morning.

We landed just slightly delayed in the afternoon. Even though we were greeted by gray skies and wind, everything cleared up the following morning. We had gorgeous 3.5 days which we are VERY grateful for. Steel drums playing upon the arrival, palm trees swaying in the wind- we are on island time!

Talking about island time- that’s exactly how I’d describe the time it took to pick up our rental car from Stoutes (which shares the counter with Avis). We had the car booked in advance, seems like everyone else did too. And with several delays, many planes landed all at once, so the line was long and it was moving veeery slow. It took us almost 1.5 hours waiting in the hot and humid air to finally get our little rental. Despite that, it was worth it. Taxis are expensive and if you want to explore, having a car is freedom. Yes, driving is on the left side of the road, so you have to re-wire your brain, especially entering the roundabouts, but after driving all over Barbados, we were very glad we did not rely on taxis. It would’ve been very inconvenient and would’ve cost us a small fortune.

Little Arches Boutique Hotel

There will be a bit of a mixed review about this hotel and I’ll explain why. We loved the convenient location- 10 minutes drive from the airport. Also steps away from the gorgeous Miami Beach (yes, there is Miami Beach in Barbados). Also, less than 10 min walk from Oistins, which is a happening place if you are around on Friday night. Apart from that though, there is not much around walking distance, so you really need to have a car.

There is a restaurant on premises – Cafe Luna, located on the rooftop. People were coming from outside to eat here, since there are no other places around.

We had all our breakfasts here and first two dinners. Food was good, especially the pumpkin pancakes with banana sauce. We later found out it had triple sec in it, so that might explain the deliciousness 🙂 .

The first dinner we had was in the room, because restaurant was still closed post hurricane. The second time was on the rooftop, which looked very nice and cozy with the string lights.

Gnocchi and their mango cheesecake were excellent!

As far as hotel goes – it’s a 10 room boutique property, some room locations much better than others. We stayed in #1 – Union Island and I think it was the best room that they had. Ocean front (though there is a street and a little parking area, so you see cars before you see the ocean).

We also had a private plunge pool (so did room #2, right next to us). However, we saw one room (I think it’s #3) that has a terrace basically in the parking lot, right near the stairway to the reception and the restaurant. Whatever you do, don’t book that one. There was a bigger pool on the second floor, though still pretty small.

All in all, we were very happy with our choice and the overall stay here until 5 minutes before we checked out. And we would’ve remained that way if not for the General Manager Sandra, who sprung up on us, four days after arrival, that we are responsible for paying $220 USD for the massages that did not happen on the first day. Hotel does not have a spa, so I arranged with them to have masseuses come on site and had it scheduled for 4pm on the day of our arrival. When the car rental was taking a long time, we emailed and called the hotel asking to move it by 30 min. We were told that masseuses will not be able to extend the time, so they will have to be cancelled. Nobody mentioned any cancellation fees at the time of booking or at the time of cancellation.

I was disappointed and really wanted a massage, so I called around and found Kal from Tutch Mobile Spa. He came in, set up his table and provided two amazing 90 minute massages to us back to back.

It came as a total surprise when, right before the drive to the airport, Sandra announced, that hotel had to pay the initial masseuses and, therefore, now we owe this money back. Given the fact that this was never communicated to us before, we refused to pay, argument ensued, and after a perfect stay, we left with a sour taste in our mouths. Hotel that we paid nearly 2k for 4 nights, chose to eat at their restaurant and were generous with tips was basically now accusing us of robbing them of 200 USD. We don’t plan to return to Barbados, but for those that go- I’d say Little Arches is a nice place to stay, but don’t book any services through them to avoid a potential disagreement.

West side of the island

On Thursday all clouds cleared and we woke up to a gorgeous sunshine. Caribbean water that seemed dark and muddled has been replaced with a turquoise blue. A perfect time to start our West side of the island self guided tour!

We walked over to Miami Beach first, since it’s steps away. Waves were still big, but this beach is truly gorgeous.

We drove to the furthest point that we wanted to see on the West coast first- Mullins Beach. There was no place to park, so Sean idled on the side of the road while I jumped out to take pictures.

It looked like a nice beach, but there were some debris, most likely caused by the hurricane. And overall, the beach near our hotel looked better.

Next stop was Chattel Village Holetown. Not a place to be if you are trying to save money. Super cute little boutiques, a few restaurants and even an ice cream shop. We spent a couple of hours and ‘supported local’. There was another mall we were going to go to, but after doing enough damage here, decided against it.

We chatted with one of the boutique’s owner and came to find out that her daughter-in-law is Lithuanian! She Facetimed while we were shopping and I had a brief conversation- she even happened to be from my hometown, Kaunas! What a small world…

Lunch time was approaching, so we walked into Tides. Beautiful restaurant right on the water and the food was delightful too.

We did not get dessert, because we planned to stop at the Cooke’s Finest Bakery. I read about their cakes online, but I did not realize that it’s more of a bakery that makes sweets to order. We pulled up, the door was cracked open, but there was not like a bakery display. We asked the kid that came out if they have cakes to go and he handed us this slice of packaged Oreo cheesecake. For about $8 USD it was not that good. I would not bother going there.

Maybe the made to order cakes are different, I can’t speak to those of course!

We made our way down the island passing by some of the other beaches, but many of them had very narrow strip of sand- of course that was an impact of the recent storm.

Nothing that we saw looked as good as the beach right near our hotel to be honest.

Right before downtown Bridgetown we just had to visit Rihanna Drive. The house and the neighborhood where the famous singer grew up.

Humble little house (I believe now it’s an AirBnb), and a quiet neighborhood with colorful island houses.

As we entered the capital, the traffic and the atmosphere changed. Bridgetown is definitely bustling city with hard to find parking. We circled around and eventually parked illegally risking to get a ticket. The walk around Swan and Broad streets was quick, we did not want to leave the car for too long knowing that we parked where it clearly was a no parking zone.

There were a lot of vendor stalls, some nice jewelry shops and a mall, but not a city that we cared to return to.

Time to go back to our hotel. West side of the island tour is complete!

We went back with all best intentions to go swimming, but massive waves scared us (me) away. So we took some pics, pet the island cat, and enjoyed our pool instead.

Caves, trains, and the East coast of Barbados

Harrison’s Cave

Oh, the freedom of having a car! The amount of land we covered would not have been possible by taxis for sure. On Friday we set off to explore different side of Barbados, starting with Harrison’s Cave. It took less than an hour to get there, but we did not have tickets in advance and entry is timed and limited. It makes sense, because the access to the caves is by an electric tram! We have been to somewhat similar caves before, but usually they are explored on foot. Well, not this one!

Even though we arrived 10 minutes before 10am, the next available tour was not until 10.40am. There is a rum distillery/bar and a gift shop, but it felt a bit too early to drink, so we just waited around. Some people that arrived right after us had to wait until 11am tour or later, so my advise would be to go there early or purchase tickets in advance. If the tour bus from the cruise shows up, the wait might increase dramatically.

Also, prepare to spend about 2 hours here. First there is a mandatory video, then everyone goes in and watches another video, and finally board the tram.

Everyone has to wear hair nets and helmets, because there is a chance of stalactites breaking off and falling down (did not happen). There is also a bit of water dripping once in a while. The cave was warm, but pleasant temperature and we were able to step out of the tram and touch the waterfall (the only thing that was allowed to touch). Apparently this water is a fountain of youth, so we should look 10 years younger now. Still waiting for that transformation 🙂 .

The caves were truly spectacular and the guide was funny and informative. I wish the initial process took a bit less of a time, but I’d recommend this activity for sure! There is a full eco adventure park with a zip-line, bird watching, etc. We did not have the time, but it could be a fun half a day experience for the whole family.

St. Nicholas Abbey and Steam Railway

Looks like today is the day for train rides! Sean was more excited for this one than I was, but we both had a great time! Again, we were strapped on time, so did not do the full experience, but we took the steam train ride and that was super fun.

We had a quick snack at the cafe and then it was time for the train ride. Again, the guide was informative and the ride is through a beautiful scenery, so for sure recommend this as well!

Once we reached the Cherry Tree Hill station, we all got off and enjoyed the views for about 20 min. The front of the train became the end and the kids got to push it to turn it around.

Sadly we did not have time to visit the rum distillery and The Great House, which is 350 yrs old. Between the cave and this tour, I’d plan for good half a day. We wanted to see the East coast of the island, so continued our drive.

Farley Hill National Park

Before we head east, we stopped by the Farley Hill. It’s just about 10 min drive from St. Nicholas Abbey, so we could not miss it.

Popular picnic area, beautiful view and the ruins that definitely add to the charm.

Bathsheba and the East Coast

Finally we are heading towards the beaches- Bathsheba being the first stop.

For sure gorgeous landscape. And it’s hard to see, but that huge rock had a bench on top! Spectacular rock formations, very different views than the West coast or even South side of the island. This is the side that surfers love, but for us it was way too scary. Huge waves and quite a bit of seaweed. No swimming on this side of the island for us.

Another stop was “Soup bowl”. I imagine because of the waves, again, surfers paradise. Not for chickens like us though 🙂 .

We were hungry for lunch and Zemi East Coast Cafe was a perfect spot. Beautiful views and delicious food! Especially their truffle ceviche.

Another quick stop along this coast was Bath Beach. We passed by the abandoned satellite and only got out to take a picture- the beach as predicted was covered in seaweed and not nearly as nice as the one near us or the West coast.

Right before it closed we got to check out Codrington College– beautiful building and grounds.

We had to get by some friendly ducks before entering the gate- I think they expected food, because as soon as I got out of the car, I was surrounded. Sad to disappoint, duckies!

Last stop before returning back to the hotel- Crane Beach. From the photos it was supposed to be one of the nicest beaches on the island. Sad to report- it was massively covered in seaweed. We asked a local if this is due to the storm. And she said it’s been like this for the past 6 years! Once again, very glad we did not pick accommodations on this side of the island!

And just like that, we’ve seen pretty much the whole Barbados! We made it just in time to get ready and check out Oistins Fish Fry– local Friday night festival. Located only a few minutes walk from our hotel, which was super convenient because parking situation would’ve been difficult.

It was a good mix of locals and tourists, we had freshly made fish, local beer (for me) and a great time. If you are in Barbados on a Friday, definitely check this place out!

Cool Runnings Catamaran Cruise

We explored the land, now it’s time for some water excursion. Several people recommended Cool Runnings, so we booked their Lunch snorkeling cruise for Saturday. Pick up was at 9am, drop off at the hotel by 2.30pm. Very fun and relaxing activity for sure.

There were two snorkeling stops- one at the ship wreck site and the other at Carlise Bay, where we saw turtles, stingrays, huge puffer fish that came right next to me and tarp- the fish slightly resembling a shark. We of course forgot to bring our under water camera, so there is no proof of any of this. But believe me, it was a great excursion! They provided lunch (lunch cruise, duh!), which was exceptional. Usually it’s hit or miss with food in these type of activities, but here it was very very good. And of course rum punch was flowing freely. By the end of the trip we have jumped off the boat, we danced, read laying on the net and returned just a bit sunburnt.

Also, I do get car sick and a bit seasick if the boat is swaying a lot. This catamaran was very smooth and I had none of the seasickness whatsoever. And, I nearly forgot- we saw a TON of flying fish! Hence the nickname for this island. They were not only jumping around the boat, but it truly looked like they were flying in the air!

We got back with time to spare to walk by Oistins, Miami Beach and enjoy our plunge pool before it was time for our last dinner on the island.

The Cliff

Since it’s our last night, and we have heard nice things about it, we decided to splurge and dine at this beautifully set restaurant perched on the cliff.

We made reservations in advance for sunset time (they charge $150 USD up front) and enjoyed their 2 courses for me, and 3 courses for Sean.

As always, honest opinion. The service and the setting/atmosphere were exceptional. Food- for the price, could be better. We loved the foie gras and the dessert. Sushi was OK. Sean’s fish was average. Essentially you pay for the beautiful setting and service more than for an amazing meal. No regrets for going, just an observation that for the price you pay, it could be slightly better.

There is another place next door- QP Bistro, and they had live jazz music, different atmosphere and a bit more relaxed/less formal. We only stopped by, but it looked nice.

Our flight on Sunday was at 2.45 pm, so we had the whole morning to relax by the pool and even took a swim in our beach- waves finally calmed down and the water was amazing!

My hotdogs definitely got enough sun. Thanks Barbados!

CONCLUSION

A quick little getaway and a very lucky one. It was so close after the hurricane that I am still amazed that we made it. Barbados was a nice mini vacation and everyone was super friendly and welcoming (minus the hotel manager). The island is super safe, easy to drive, plenty of things to do. It is small, so I don’t feel like we have a need to return. There was no ‘we are in love’ feeling which we still have for Tobago. I think it will be one of those trips were we came, we saw, had a great time, but there is no pull to come back. As always, grateful for a successful trip and experience!