Bridgetown Barbados, well what can I say. I have been to Barbados 8 times and am so enamoured by the Island that I have bought land out there and brought home a stray dog from there too! The pace is very slow and laid back which takes some getting used to at first. We regularly go to Bridgetown, you can get a taxi, or just take the cheap bus, it only costs about one and half dollars, but it is not for the faint hearted. If you are staying at an all inclusive hotel they usually provide a free shuttle to Bridgetown so you can go and spend all your money.
We got married at Turtle Beach Hotel, it was fabulous, there are some great wedding packages out there. I got my engagement ring and wedding ring and eternity ring from Bridgetown, I think the shop was called The Royal, very nice and very posh, it is 14 Karat gold as opposed to 9 or 18 that you get here in UK. There is a shopping mall called Cave Sheperd, they sell fab gold, perfume, make up etc at duty free prices, if you go up to the first floor, they have opened up a coffee shop, near the book section, which serves up delicious cold or hot coffee drinks. My daughter even went to the building next door and got her ears pierced.
The Ganzee Tee shirt shop sells great gifts and souvenirs. There are plenty of nice places to eat in Bridgetown, we sometimes ate at Chefette which is like KFC, nothing special really though. We bought some lovely paintings from an artist who was selling them in the street, real tropical scenes and at reasonable prices.
The currency is Barbados dollars or US dollars, we always take US dollars with us and you get a great rate at the moment on US dollars. Beware of the man who accosts you in the street selling jewellery, he is polite but insistent, we eventually gave in and bought some, it is the stuff that is made from shells and beads, it is not too expensive and he has got to make a living somehow.
Some general info about the island. It is approx 21 miles by 14 miles, flying time from UK is 8 hours and there are plenty of airlines who fly there, BA, Virgin,Excel Airways to name a few. We mainly stay all inclusive, we have done self catering and there are nice places to eat out there but we thought it was a little pricey, the food in the supermarket was not cheap either, so in future we will always go all inclusive. There are plenty of attractions to visit, the Wildlife Reserve, Mount Gay Rum Distilleries, and too many more to mention. The submarine trip is good, you go to Bridgetown for it and go under the sea in a submarine, not for you if you get claustrophobic though. You can just drink the water straight from the tap, it is very pure. There are lots of sugar cane estates dotted all over the island.
The rainy season is from June to October, we have been during rainy season and there were just some heavy showers that were over quickly, although I do know people who have had rain for the whole week of their holiday, never happened to us though. As Barbados is in a far eastern location of the Atlantic, it is just outside the hurricane belt, so they are not affected as bad as other places, although they do occasionally get hit.
I am heading back to Barbados very soon and I cannot wait. If you have any queries on Barbados, just ask and I will try to help.
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i have looked at barbados, but went to the maldives first and now you just can't get me anywhere else maybe when they disappear this will be my next place !
Bollinger28 20.05.2007 13:03
I've been there twice and really loved it. I've been to a lot of the islands in the Caribbean, but Barbados is definitely my favourite as it's got bags more character than a lot of the others. Lexy PS Well done you for adopting a dog from there - I bet it cost you an absolute fortune to get him/her into the UK though?
nic63 18.05.2007 22:32
Great review but if you space it out a bit and add paragraphs, it'll make it easier to read : ) Nic x
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