Barbados

Barbados is an incredibly picturesque and prosperous island, in comparison to other Caribbean islands. The beaches are all incredibly beautiful with white/pink sand and gorgeous turquoise water. The snorkeling is great in several areas.

It doesn't seem like the vendors outside of the cruise terminal are willing to haggle over the price of souvenirs.  Once you are away from the city, you may have better luck but we usually don't buy any souvenirs on this island.  Educate yourself, in advance, on the prices of taxis, tours, etc. as you can be taken advantage of quite easily.

If you are paying cash for souvenirs or food on this island, be aware  that most prices are quoted in BD$ (Barbados Dollars)- $2BD = $1 US. Everyone will accept American money, but will usually give you change in BD$ so try to pay exact change or close to it. Just ask if the price shown is US or BD currency.

Locals on the discussion boards encourage you to not get a cab inside the cruise line terminal area. We usually walk out past the terminal entrance, through the guard gates and either deal with the taxis outside the gates or head to the local bus terminal down the road. Sometimes cab drivers have ‘deals’ with some of the beach bars and get a kickback if they take tourists there so they will try to convince you that the beach you want to go to isn’t clean or the waves are too big…know where you want to go and be firm! Don’t be shocked by cab fares…they are very pricey on this island. We usually travel by bus.

If you want a tour of the island, it is best to make arrangements for a tour before you arrive...then there are no surprises to deal with.

INTERNET CAFÉ – you can buy internet access time at the booth just inside the cruise terminal.  Last time we were there in March 2010, it was the first kiosk located in the center of the terminal.

BEACHES
Barbados has some of the most beautiful beaches of any of the Caribbean islands.  There are simply way too many gorgeous beaches to mention them all.  Every beach we have ever been to has been gorgeous white or pink sand with crystalline blue waters. The entire west coast is a stretch of beaches...one after the other.  I have pasted a thread below from a discussion board that has compiled all sorts of information on Barbados that you can browse through at your leisure.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1071747

I will mention a couple beaches that we have personally been to:


ACCRA BEACH – this is on the south coast (pictured at right). It is a gorgeous light pink sand beach with gorgeous water and (usually) not high surf. We caught a local bus there for $0.75 and caught a cab back. It is at least a half hour ride.

MULLINS BAY BEACH – we have been to this beach twice. It is on the west coast, where most of the best swimming/snorkeling beaches are found. Once we took a cab and another time we took the bus. Also about a half hour ride.

ATTRACTIONS

HARRISON’S CAVES – these are underground caves located in the center of the island. It is a 30 minute cab ride ($23 US for up to 4) and a $20pp entrance charge for approximately an hour’s tour down into the caves. You can also take a local bus there for about $0.75. Open Wednesday to Sunday.


FOLKSTONE UNDERWATER PARK – this is a protected snorkeling area with lots of fish and coral to see. It is on the west coast in Holetown and is easily reached by cab or local bus. It does not have a wide beach area so it isn’t a spot you would go to spend the whole day sunning. You can reach wider beaches by walking up or down the coast as most of the popular beaches are located along this west coast stretch.

PAYNE’S BAY BEACH – this is the beach that you can go to if you want to swim/snorkel with sea turtles. The area where the turtles are is a few hundred metres off shore and you can take a glass-bottomed boat for around $15pp out to the area. It can be quite crowded when the ship’s tours are in the area. We stopped at the ‘turtle spot’ last year on our catamaran tour! Saw two or three sea turtles…a great experience! If I recall correctly, there are also other boats at the Underwater Park that come looking for tourists who want to go out.

TOURS

SHASA CATAMARAN – http://www.shasacatamarancruises.com/ - catamaran tours are usually very pricey but we found a relatively reasonably priced one and splurged in 2009. This is a small outfit run by Jason and his wife, Tess. We paid $80pp and there were only 8 of us on the catamaran. The larger catamarans from the ship’s excursion had up to 60 people on them. Jason was a fantastic guide and stopped at a couple of different snorkel sites (turtles, underwater shipwreck) and they also provide a delicious catered lunch which you eat while anchored in a gorgeous turquoise bay. Well worth the money if you want to do it! You should make your reservation in advance and Tess will pick you up at the terminal and drop you back there at the end.

LAND TOUR WITH CAMERON REID
http://www.scenicbarbados.com/
I have read very good recommendations about this gentleman on the discussion boards. He is very friendly and knowledgeable about the island. You can contact him at ‘camireid@yahoo.com’ to arrange for a private tour. It looks like he charges $135 for a 3-4 hour tour (for up to 4 people) which works out to about $33.75pp and $34 per hour after that. He takes you to all sorts of attractions and scenic spots on the island and can also take you to Harrison’s Caves (although you still need to pay the entrance fee).

The problem with this island is that you will have a hard time deciding between all of the appealing options!