Barbados
Barbados really is a great destination for families with the flight being around 7.5 to 8.5 hours. I was surprised at how many people were travelling with young children. With the island being only 21 miles long and 14 miles wide your transfer is very quick on arrival.
We stayed at Elegant Resorts - Turtle Beach Hotel, a 4* all-inclusive property on a beautiful white sandy beach. If you're lucky enough you can at certain times of the year see nesting turtles on the beach. The long stretch of beach was ideal for an early morning stroll and the waves great for a spot of body boarding.
The hotel has three restaurants, the main buffet, the waterside and an adult only Italian restaurant. All offer a wide selection of choices, sometimes buffet or otherwise a la carte. One evening we even had a BBQ on the beach. For younger children they also offer an early dining option at the waterside restaurant from 5.30 - 6.30.
The bar staff were always on hand to make some wonderful cocktails, even creating special selections for the children. Waiter service was also provided around the pool and beach where you would often be served such delights as a rum punch.
Sam and his water sports team played a big part at the hotel, arranging many activities, moving sunbeds to the best spot for you and offering clean beach towels as many times as you wished throughout the day. My son particularly liked the sports on offer including, football, cricket and volleyball.
The onsite children's club was a big hit with Izzie. This was available from 9am - 9pm and you could just pop in and out as you wished. The movie nights were always very popular. The children's club is aimed at younger children I would say up to about 12 years old.
The rooms in the hotel have recently been refurbished. We had a basic room type which led from the veranda onto the garden and then directly to the beach. This was perfect for us as the children could play outside quite freely. I loved how close it was to the sea. The room had a large king size bed and sofa bed for the children which was cleaned daily to such a high standard. In the evenings we loved seeing all the red crabs running around in the garden outside our room.
We hired a car whilst there and visited one of the sister hotels of the Elegant chain called Crystal Cove. This is an added bonus of the Elegant chain, you can visit any of the other hotels on the island. Crystal Cove is located on the west coast where the sea is much calmer so we made the most of all the water sports that day. Trying out the snorkelling, jet skis, kayaking and body boards. All of these were included in the day pass.
Another wonderful day was spent on a catamaran trip swimming with the turtles. It's a real must do thing when visiting Barbados! The catamaran had two slides off the back which were a real hit with the children. All the snorkelling equipment was included plus a lovely lunch and drinks all day. Especially lots of Rum Punch!
We also snorkelled over a ship wreck and the sailed along the west coast, going past some amazing properties including the famous Sandy Lane.
The weather when we visited was just coming into the start of the wet season but this was no issue at all. Every day was at least 30 degrees and we had the occasional shower each day and a few clouds but soon enough the sun would be out again.
I would highly recommend Barbados to families and adults travelling alone, the people were so friendly and I can't wait to visit again soon.