Barbados is one of our absolute favorite Caribbean islands. It is a small but vast island. There is so much more to Barbados than just relaxing on its beautiful beaches and swimming in its clear, turquoise water. It offers such an array of landscapes, from the cliffs on the north point, to the wild Atlantic side best known for surfing, to the calm and luxurious east end. There truly is something for everyone on this amazing island. After spending 8 adventure-packed days on this slice of paradise (it was hard work but somebody had to do it), we did our best to narrow it down to our TOP 10 Things To Do in Barbados. We are excited for you to fall in love with this country like we have. Have fun and tag us on Instagram @AdventuresofMattandNat so we can see your Barbados adventures!
North Point Cliffs/Animal Flower Cave
The North Point Cliffs are located in St. Lucy parish and are the northernmost point of the island. They have amazing views of the ocean, and if you visit between February and April you might get lucky and see humpback whales off the coast. Underneath the cliffs is the island's only accessible sea cave, Animal Flower Cave. It has a beautiful swimming lagoon with giant open “windows” that overlook the Atlantic Ocean. Be sure to bring your water shoes as the floor of the cave is coral and can be slippery and rough on your feet. We were fortunate to visit on a slow day and got to enjoy swimming in the cave all by ourselves. Our guide was super sweet and even offered to take our pictures. And while there are no lockers here, we felt totally comfortable leaving our items with our tour guide while we swam. The 7 acre area surrounding the cave and cliffs includes a clifftop restaurant and bar, souvenir shop, restrooms, and a farm which are all open from 9 am to 4:30 pm every day. Guided tours of the cave are available during those hours as well, no reservation required. Tour tickets, which include cave access, cost $12.50 USD ($25 BDS) per adult and $5 USD ($10 BDS) per child younger than 12. The price is a bit steep but we think swimming in a cave is a bucket list item.
Banks Brewery Tour
If you love breweries then this tour is for you. The brewery is in an industrial area close to Oistins. The tour takes about 35-45 minutes which includes a short video on the process of making their beer. For adults, the cost is $13 USD ($26 BDS) and for children under 18 it is $11 USD ($22 BDS). This price includes 2 free Banks tastings after the tour ends. They also have a nice outdoor courtyard with covered seating with a bar where you can try all of the different varieties of Banks. We recommend you check the website for their tour times but at this time they are Monday - Friday: 10am, 12pm and 2pm.
Catamaran Cruise
This ended up being one of our favorite things we did while in Barbados. What better way to spend a day cruising along the beautiful waters, wind in your hair, and drinking a mimosa headed to swim with turtles? There are many options to choose from for a catamaran cruise, but we ended up choosing Calabaza Sailing Cruises because it was recommended to us for being the best all-around experience. We truly can not say enough about Calabaza Sailing Cruises! The crew was amazing! Super friendly and very attentive. The cruises are normally anywhere from 12-13 people and we were fortunate to have a great group of people on ours that really made the experience even better. We booked the “lunch cruise”, which includes, a tapas breakfast, all you can eat lunch, premium bar (unlimited), 2 snorkel stops (1 with turtles & 1 with a shipwreck), equipment, a lesson if you have never snorkeled before, and not to mention that they take pictures all day and you get access to all the photos, including the underwater pictures. We also stopped a 3rd time for lunch and swimming near the famous Sandy Lane Hotel. At that stop, there were vendors offering jet ski rides or tubing for an extra charge. We opted out of the extra’s and just spent our afternoon swimming with floats (they provided) and jumping off the catamaran. At $133 USD ($266 BDS) for adults and $103 USD ($206 BDS) for children under 12, this is definitely not the cheapest thing you could choose to do, but we felt that our catamaran cruise was worth every single penny. We recommend making reservations in advance, either by phone or on their user-friendly website. If you’re looking for a more high energy, party-vibe atmosphere, check out Cool Runnings.