Places to visit in Barbados: A Bucketlister top list

It is an integral part of planning my trips to check the places that I must visit, how I can get there and, of course, the costs associated to them. This wasn't different in this case either, except for the fact, that I had pre-booked diving lessons, so I had to adjust the schedule to that.

I mostly start with checking two sites, tripadvisor and Get your guide, where I can always find the top 5 or 10 list for places you must see in almost every country or city around the world with comments and experiences shared by other travellers, that can help me to choose. In many cases I can quickly find the links to all the sites of the local attractions too, where I can get more details on opening hours and ticket prices.

In Barbados the price-value ratio was the guiding principle, since I had the time, but my budget was limited. Based ony my experience, the cost of living was higher compared to what I'm used to. It is one of the more expensive Caribbean islands, the prices in the supermarket were roughly 1,5 times higher than in Hungary. The entry tickets were also way more expensive than in most of the countries I've already been. I tried to prioritize those attractions that I really wanted to visit, and left out the rest, which fell into the ' I might never come back to this place, so let's visit them now' category.

Below you can find my list of Top 5, that you shouldn't miss here.

Top 1: Harrison's Cave

This cave is situated in the central uplands of Barbados, 210 meters high above sea level. You can see amazing stalactite and stalagmite formations and caves inside. A little tram takes the tourists through the visitor's path with 2 stops to take photos. There are multiple options in this adventure park to choose from, I opted for the simple ticket to visit the cave itself and go around the park. An interesting fact about this tropical cave, that the temperature is rather warm and humid instead of being cool. I was really glad about it, because I forgot to pack any jumpers in my bag.

You should definitely book your tickets in advance here. The tours have a fixed schedule and tickets are quickly sold out.

Top 2: Hunte's Garden

A fun fact about this botanical garden, is that it was created by a horticulturist, Anthony Hunte, in the '50s. He is still alive and you might have a chance to meet him in person there, unfortunately he wasn't there. It is just amazing what he created in this pit-crater. Wandering around his garden I was thinking that instead of an old cat lady, I could really enjoy being a plant lady here. You should definitely bring mosquito repellent and and a hand fan, because this place can be very humid and hot, and you might be troubled by insects too. Here you can find their website, no need to book in advance.

Top 3: Barbados Wildlife Reserve

The intro on their website says ' Is there a Barbados zoo? No, actually we have something even better - a wildlife reserve!'. This catchy phare says it all, my personal experience was exactly the same. There are two main areas. The first one is a more adventurous place with tiny paths in a forest with monkeys and caves. You can enjoy the feeding of the monkeys two times a day, from 11 am and from 2 pm. The other area resembles an open zoo, where most of the animals can wander around freely, except for some birds, reptiles and predators for sensible reasons. Mind your steps, when you're here, I almost kicked into a poor turtle because I couldn't see it (I love animals, I swear). I also tried to avoid the roosters due to some childhood memories (or traumas). I don't really like zoos in general, but I did enjoy this place, which can be an amazing experience for children of all age too. Here you can find more info about it, no need to book in advance, the main point is to arrive 15-20 mins prior to the feeding time.

Top 4: Brighton Farmer's market

I'm a big fan of markets and handcrafted things, so I couldn't miss this place. It is only open on Saturdays from 6:30 am to 10 am, so you can't skip waking up early. It is situated in a beautiful area where you can find parking spots easily, and you can get anything and everything: fruits, vegetables, various handcrafted items that can be great souvenirs too. There are various places to eat and drink, it's a perfect spot for a breakfast.

A funny twist that this was the only place where I was totally soaked in a pouring rain during the day. I thought, that since it already had rained earlier in the morning and the sun was shinging, I could leave the umbrella in the car. It was a very bad idea.

Here you can find more details on trip advisor, that was the most informative article I found about the market.

Top 5: Bathseba Beach

I really liked in Barbados, that there were a lot of free, public and hidden beaches that weren't crowded at all and could be reached with car very easily. Each of them showed the nature of Barbados from a different angle. Batsheba is a famous surfing paradise situated on the eastern coast of Barbados. All the forums say, that it is dangerous to swim here, so you should avoid it at all cost. I thought, that they have no idea about my self-confidence and the level of swimming skills, so I would be doing that, who could dare to stop me? Nature did.... This coast is very rocky, there are several smaller 'pools' where you can actually swim during high tides, though I couldn't to that while I was there. This is the reason why this place is being referred to as the 'Soup Bowl'. The waves are no joke, only experienced surfers should come here in good weather conditions.

Visitors were reminded of the danger by a memorial of Zander Venezia, who was a local surfer and died at a young age of 16 in an accident. You shouldn't miss this place, it is beautiful, but be careful with the water and surfing!

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