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Barbados cruise port guide

Cropover is a six-week festival every summer in Barbados - Bob Thomas
Cropover is a six-week festival every summer in Barbados - Bob Thomas

Why go?  

Barbados scores highly on just about every front. It offers first-rate sightseeing: dotted around the rolling and lush interior are plantation homes and glorious botanical gardens to visit, and the British colonial garrison and parts of the capital Bridgetown are a Unesco World Heritage Site. If you want to take things easy, enticing beaches lie in easy reach of the port, good restaurants are plentiful, rum shops – laid-back and characterful bars that serve as cornerstones of local life – are ubiquitous, and by Caribbean standards the shopping in Bridgetown is pretty decent. Last but not least, the island is friendly and feels safe, so pottering around independently is fine.

Cruise port location

Cruise ships dock in a large port about a mile west of downtown Bridgetown. The cruise terminal has shops, bars and cafés. Bridgetown is in the south-west corner of Barbados.

Sunset in Barbados - Credit: Getty
Barbados has some spectacular sunsets Credit: Getty

Can I walk to any places of interest?

It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the cruise terminal to the centre of Bridgetown. On the way you'll pass Cheapside Market, a sizeable food market busiest on Saturday mornings, and St Mary's Church, a handsome Georgian edifice (normally open). You can also take a mini-bus shuttle for US$2 (£1.50) from the cruise terminal to the centre of town.

Getting around

If you want to head off to a nearby beach, consider using local buses. Services along the south and west coasts are very frequent, journeys of any length cost just BD$2 (75p), and the island's main bus terminal is conveniently located 10 minutes' walk from the cruise terminal. As well as full-size buses, there are ZR mini vans (they have ZR on their number plates), which pick up and drop off anywhere on set routes. Squeezing into a ZR packed with locals with their shopping, with the music blaring, can be fun.

Taxis on Barbados are not expensive. Use them to take you to a specific destination (remember to fix a pick-up return time), and for half- or full-day island tours – drivers can make good guides. Establish the cost before setting off (negotiating is fine for tours), and check whether the price is per person or trip, and in Barbados or US dollars.

For timings, factor in heavy traffic around Bridgetown on morning and late-afternoon weekday rush hours.

Best beaches for cruise-ship visitors

Many cruise-ship passengers head for one of the beach bar/restaurant complexes, such as the Boatyard, at long, sandy and well-protected Carlisle Bay, just south of Bridgetown.

If you want to integrate more with local life, Accra Beach, on the south coast four miles from the cruise terminal, is a good bet. You'll find a lengthy arc of soft sand, maybe moderate surf, and cheap eats in the beachside stalls and nearby cafés.

Paynes Bay in Barbados - Credit: Getty
Paynes Bay is one of the best beaches on the west coast of Barbados Credit: Getty

Calmer waters and a calmer atmosphere await on the west coast. One of the best beaches here is Paynes Bay (five miles from the port), a gorgeous long stretch of sand backed by upmarket hotels and apartments; boatmen on the beach offer to take visitors to swim with turtles out in the bay.  

What to see and do

Barbados is only 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, but it packs a lot in. Even on the busiest full-day itinerary, you won't be able to see all the highlights.

What can I do in four hours or less?

You could focus on the cultural and historical sights in and around Bridgetown –  straightforward to do independently. Highlights include the 19th-century Parliament Buildings (a good museum and the often tourable House of Assembly and Senate) and Bridgetown's synagogue – one of the oldest in the western hemisphere – and its associated museum. A 10-minute taxi ride away is the handsome George Washington House, where the American president once lived. The house is within the Garrison area, the largest British military establishment in the Caribbean in the late 18th century and now scenically set around a horse race course; tours are available some days (barbadosgarrison.net).

George Washington House, Barbados - Credit: Getty
Future first US president George Washington spent two months in this house in Barbados in 1751 Credit: Getty

Also close to the port is the Mount Gay Rum bottling plant, which lays on informative one-hour tours with tastings. A pricey but thrilling option, especially with children, is an undersea voyage with Atlantis Submarines – departures from close to the port.

The cruise lines lay on whistle-stop highlights tours of the island lasting around four hours. These typically take in the hilly interior, much of which is covered in sugar cane, perhaps a botanical garden or a plantation home, and a quick stop on the exhilarating and unspoiled Atlantic-facing east coast (not good for swimming). But you're better off going on a longer tour, at your own pace and with more flexibility, in a private taxi.

What can I do in eight hours or less?

On a full-day, tailor-made taxi tour, you could visit: the gentle-paced, historic seaside town of Speightstown; St Nicholas Abbey, the most scenic and interesting plantation house; Welchman Hall Gully, a protected little pocket of tropical forest where you may see wild green monkeys; Bathsheba, the most dramatic place on the east coast (good for lunch); and Hunte's Gardens, magically set in a sinkhole. If you want a swim, arrange a stop on a west-coast beach.

Bathsheba, Barbados - Credit: Getty
Bathsheba on the rugged east coast of Barbados Credit: Getty

Boat trips by catamaran and pirate ship tour the usually placid waters off the scenic west coast, stopping to snorkel and swim with turtles; most trips last 4-6 hours.

What can I do with longer?

Barbados is the departure port for many Caribbean cruises, and it's well worth considering adding on a couple of nights on land at the start or end of the trip. Doing so could enable you to sample one of the cosseting hotels that line the west coast and several of the island's many gourmet restaurants. There's also Oistins Fish Fry, a large-scale, food-oriented street party every Friday evening.

Oistins Fish Fry, Barbados - Credit: Getty
Oistins Fish Fry, a Friday institution Credit: Getty

Eat and drink

Barbados is one of the most foodie Caribbean islands. Consider splashing out on a lunch in an upmarket waterfront restaurant: The Cliff Beach Club, near Paynes Bay, is among the trendiest. Tapas is a great, more affordable option on the south-coast boardwalk. To sample local dishes (including fish cakes, flying fish, macaroni pie) have the great-value buffet lunch at Brown Sugar near the Garrison. Best lunch option in Bridgetown is the Waterfront Café (waterfrontcafe.com.bb), in a pleasant dockside spot.

At rum shops, you order rums by the bottle not the glass (small bottles available). The main island-brewed beer is Banks.

Mount Gay rum from Barbados - Credit: Getty
Mount Gay rum has been made in Barbados for 300 years Credit: Getty

Don’t leave the island without...

The Pelican Craft Centre, five minutes' walk from the cruise terminal, has shops selling locally-made arts and crafts. Earthworks Pottery studio, 20 minutes' drive from the port, sells lovely hand-decorated ceramics, and you can see artists at work. Best of Barbados gift shops are good for affordable souvenirs – there's an outlet in the cruise terminal.

Broad Street, the main thoroughfare in downtown Bridgetown, has lots of duty-free shops: you need to show your passport and cruise ID to benefit from the lower prices. The best one-stop shop for duty free, and souvenirs, on Broad Street is Cave Shepherd department store.

The ultimate guide to Barbados
The ultimate guide to Barbados

Need to know 

Flight time from the UK

Direct flights with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic take around 8 1/2 hours.

Safety/crime

Though Barbados is one of the safer main Caribbean islands, violent robberies of tourists have happened. Leave valuables on the ship, don't wear jewellery conspicuously, and be especially on your guard in Bridgetown and on isolated beaches.

Best time to go

December-April is the busiest time of year, and when accommodation is more expensive. June-November – the official hurricane season in the Caribbean – is more humid and wetter. Major storms are most likely August-October, but Barbados' easterly location means it normally avoids direct hits.

Cropover, Barbados' full-on carnival, is the big annual event, culminating in early August.

Currency

The Barbados dollar (BDS$) is fixed at a 2:1 rate with the US dollar. Always be clear in which currency a price is being quoted. You can usually pay in US dollars if you prefer, but change may be given in Barbados dollars. ATMs issue Barbados dollars.