Christmas in Barbados
On arrival I had organised for a private minibus to transfer us to our villa which was to be our home for the next couple of weeks. We were staying along the West Coast of Barbados in the Parish of St James. Our villa was at the end of a beautiful long stretch of white sandy beach that runs all the way into Holetown. As you meander along the beach to town you can admire all the wonderful hotels set in spacious tropical grounds, we often stopped off for a cold drink en-route and had a nose whilst we were there too! None of the hotels in Barbados are allowed private beaches so you are able to sit and relax wherever you wish. The walk into Holetown from our villa took around 15 minutes.
Another route to town which my girls loved was the Reggae bus. We would often get these if we had shopping or were heading to town at night. The Reggae buses look like the yellow American style buses and are privately owned by locals. They drive like maniacs with the music blaring, they pick you up and drop you off wherever, there doesn’t have to be a bus stop, a great experience for the whole family and also very popular with tourists as they are so cheap to travel on. Tip: If there’s no available seats, hold on for your life! So much fun!
Holetown
Holetown itself is great and has everything you need. Running parallel to the beach you have the brightly coloured Chattel houses that have been converted into gift shops and coffee shops (a Chattel house is a Barbadian word for a small moveable wooden house that working-class people would occupy and still do today.) You will also find a large supermarket here as well as Limegrove shopping centre that offers designer outlets and lots of lovely delicious restaurants. There are also a couple of side streets that have restaurants along them too with one outside bar that has karaoke in the street every Sunday night. Good fun for the adults but the kids might want to sit this one out! There are also lots of lovely beach bars too where you can grab a cocktail, sit back and relax and watch the sunset in the evening
Out and about
We also hired a car for a few days which is a great way to explore the island. We saw lots of lovely sights on the way. First stop was the Flower Caves located at the Cliffs at North point. It’s known as the flower caves due to the tiny flower like anemones that sit on the rocks in the water. The cave has a coral floor and you can see some of the natural carvings the sea has created and there’s also a natural rock pool that is around 8ft deep at the lowest point where you can swim. Bring your swim stuff, my kids had a great time (they felt like they were in the Mako Mermaids cave, for those of you that have 8yr old girls will know what I mean!) Absolutely perfect and tranquil and closed off from the rest of the world. Humpback whale watching can also be seen at The Cliff Tops around Feb time.
Second stop on our island tour was the Andromeda Botanic Gardens on the East coast, in the Parish of St Joseph, part of the Barbados National Trust. This was a self-guided tour where you walk through the winding pathways on a horticultural delight. You’ll be amazed at the variety of unique trees, some of which are not found anywhere else in the Caribbean. You can relax by the main pond where the kids fed the fish and enjoy the spirit of this wonderful space - one of the finest post-war gardens in the world.
We also drove to the beach at Bathsheba. It’s beautiful, wide white sand beaches stretch along a dramatic coastline of striking rock formations against huge surf waves. What at first glance looks like huge rock boulders washed up on the beach are actually rock formations broken away from ancient coral reefs
Beaches
We did our fair share of beaches. Mullins Bay is a lovely bay just North of Holetown. Great for kids as it has inflatables in the sea and a great beach bar. Water sports are also available here. Paynes Bay also has a lovely long stretch of beach good for snorkelling and swimming - you may even spot some turtles. We also visited the beach next to the famous Sandy Lane, but we found the water got very deep here very quickly. Our favourite beach though was our stretch of beach right at the end of Holetown walkable from our villa! There also lots of beaches along the south coast of Barbados amongst the hotels which are great for a day trip. You can also tie in with a visit the famous Oistins Fish fry - very popular with the crowds on a Friday night, lots of great food and live music.
Boat Trip
We missed the UK boxing day sales, but we had made sails of our own that day and headed off on a full day’s catamaran trip around along the west coast. It was such a great day, the kids absolutely loved it. All food and drink were included throughout the cruise. We stopped in places along the way to snorkel and swim with the turtles and jumped and dived off the side of the boat. A great way to see the coastline if you’re not keen on driving.
All in all, we had a fabulous holiday and a wonderful family Christmas in Barbados, even Santa visited on Christmas eve and left gifts for the girls. We spent Christmas day on the beach and around the pool with the girls singing carols whilst we BBQ-ed fresh fish and sipped cool rum punches. I definitely can’t wait to visit this island again, It really is a wonderful place, full of happy friendly people. With its endless white powdery sandy beaches to its lushes green interior, water sports, swimming with turtles, boat trips, amazing restaurants, mesmerising sunsets and its laid back vibe, there's definitely something here for everyone.
If you fancy a visit to the Caribbean, please contact me today and let me help you to find your little slice of paradise.
Key facts: Capital: Bridgetown, Language: English and Bajan Time Zone: -4hrs, currency BBD Barbados Dollar, Flight time: 9hours