Barbados June 2015

This summer I decided to visit a small Caribbean island called Barbados to visit some family. 

Barbados is known for its tropical climate, beautiful beaches and friendly people. Barbados is made up of 11 parishes. The currency is Barbados dollars but US dollars are widely accepted. £1 equates to $3BDS. It's pretty easy to get around the island on the yellow reggae buses or government run blue transport buses. They are $2BDS/£0.65/$1 per person irrespective of how long the journey is. 

Weather is pretty much 30 degrees all year round and the rainy season is from May to September. It usually rains for a few minutes and the temperature is still hot. High season is October to March and flights and hotel prices will reflect this peak season. 

Mount Gay Rum Tour
I visited the Mount Gay Rum Tour which is located on the Spring a Garden Highway in St Michael. This is easily accessible from your hotel by taxi. 

The Signature Tasting Tour which I went on runs from Mon-Fri 9:30am-3:30pm for $20BDS/£6.50/$10. The tour guide will show you around the distillery and tell you about the history of the rum whilst sampling the rum. The tour is about an hour, you can purchase drinks at the bar afterwards. There are also good prices for rum at the gift shop. Our tour guide was really funny and it was really interesting. I would definitely recommend it. 

Beaches
There are several beaches to choose from on the West Coast. I will mention the few I visited but you really can't go wrong whichever beach you visit. I was staying in the Parish of St Peter and our nearest beach was Port St Charles. It's a nice and larger stretch of beach but no sun loungers available. 

Another beach is Mullins Bay, also in St Peter. There's a beach bar there and lots of opportunities to do water sports and jet skiing. Sun loungers are available for $25BDS/£8/$12.50.

A bit further up the coast in St James is Alleynes Bay. This is a larger beach and several hotels are located on this beach. Sun loungers can be rented for $15BDS/£4.90/$7.50, there are a few beach bars for drinks and food and also The Lone Star Restaurant and Hotel. This is a popular beach for water sports, snorkelling and where several catamaran cruises pass by. 

Miami beach just south of Ostins is another beach. Sun loungers can be rented for $10BDS/£3.25/$5 and there is a food truck nearby for some light bites.  

Brandon's Beach is a large stretch of beach in St Michael very close to the docks of where cruise ships come in. There is a nice beach bar selling good wholesome food and drinks. There are also changing facilities at this beach. Sun loungers are $10BDS/£3.25/$5.

Oistins Fish Fry
Oistins is the place to be on a Friday night for tourists and locals alike.  Oistins Fish Fry is located in the Parish of Christchurch and on Friday nights there are several places open to buy food mostly consisting of several fish types eg mahi mahi, flying fish, snapper etc with side dishes. All food traders are good but Pats Place is the best one. A meal there will be around $30BDS/£9.75/$15. I went there twice this holiday and both times I was unable to finish my meal, for those of you who know me this will tell you how big the portions are. I would recommend sharing a meal if you go. 

There are also several stalls selling local trinkets, souvenirs and jewellery. Also local youngsters dancing to the lastest tunes on the stage and on the other side oldies ballroom dancing. There's something for everyone and probably at least a thousand people there on a Friday night. 

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