Barbados, November

[Mindgone]

We're planning on going on an 'exotic' holiday for my significant birthday, and I've always fancied the Caribbean! The flights work out best with Barbados. Does anyone have any advice or wisdom to pass on please? Getting confused with TripAdvisor, because there's always some negative reviews to make me nervous!
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Isn't hurricane season then?

Regardless, we had a lovely holiday Barbados. All the beaches are public so you can go to any. Good restaurants. Parts of tge island aren't as pretty as you would imagine eg vacant lots covered in rubbish.

The east Coast is wild and rugged and worth a day trip. Stay on the west coast for great sunsets and calm seas.
Definitely explore the island.
Plenty of Caribbean culture.
If you want an attractive island st Lucia is better. Antigua fantastic beaches. Granada lots of character. Mexico is good value with lots to do.

Grenadines beautiful but quiet

We've done Barbados in late Nov/early Dec a couple of times and it was fabulous. Gorgeous island - stick to the west coast though (Jamestown, Holetown) rather than the South.

It's NOT hurricane season 🙄 Though even if it was I wouldn't let that put someone off going. Hurricane season means a hurricane could happen somewhere in the Caribbean for a few days at a time, but not all the time and not in every place. It doesn't mean that the wind howls for 3 solid months!

Barbados is lovely, but you have to be careful where you choose, because of all the parts of the Caribbean I've been to it is the scruffiest. Having said that, there are some lovely hotels there. Not ones I've stayed in though 😆 As people say, stick to the west coast if you want the pristine white beaches.

In terms of a desert island/paradise feel, I would recommend more or less anywhere else in the Caribbean except Jamaica or Nassau in the Bahamas. St Lucia is lovely. Someone recommended Mexico - fab place, one of my favourites (am off again in Sept) Lovely beaches and loads to see and do, but not desert island-y. Make sure you don't stay in Cancun! It's a dive.

I've been to Barbados a few times. Yes to staying on the west coast but definitely visit the east coast as it's so different. Rugged with choppy water. We liked Bathsheba particularly. Other things to do are Oistins fish fry every Friday night and Speightstown further up the west coast; it's a bit of remaining old Barbados. The island is so small you can hire a car for one day to see it all. The food in Barbados is great. It's really easy to find proper carribean food of a really high quality.

I would agree with the other poster though, for a proper dose of desert island feel you can't really beat Mexico. Check out Tulum which is 2 hours drive from cancun. Also absolutely beautiful is the tiny island of Grenada. Much more lush than Barbados. Food was really geared towards Americans though. Burgers and club sandwiches everywhere.

It's been a few years since I've been but it was amazing. We stayed on the west coast at The Sandy Lane which I think was one of the nicest hotels I've ever staying in.
We had fabulous food we at The Lone Star which I believe is a really nice hotel now, The Cliff was breath taking, Daphne's was good as was the restaurant at The Sandy Lane which you can eat at if you're not a guest.

Agree lone star and the cliff were favourite of ours. No need to go all inclusive the restaurants are very good.
You can go to sandy Lane beach even if you aren't staying at the hotel
But yes tge scruffiness of Barbados is unexpected I think and it's not in a charming shabby chic way

We had very good Caribbean food in Grenada but it was some time ago

Thanks so much everyone for your input.
Any other recommendations for our exotic trip? Would love any personal recommendations for anywhere specific in that 'neck of the woods'!

Is zika virus a concern for you? I think most of the Caribbean has it now.

Fishermans Pub in Speightstown. A relaxed and rustic restaurant over the water. Cheap & delicious Bajan food with a great view.

I've been to :
Antigua ( amazing beaches and great snorkelling and sailing ),...my favourite island ( went August)
St Kitts, (great scenery and some jungle )....we went in October and experienced a tropical storm
Cuba, ( great for music, culture, and scenery)hotels are a bit dated and food a bit hit or miss, but Cubans are very welcoming and a visit to Havana is a must !!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE BARBADOS! If you can then go!

We went on our honeymoon and totally adored every minute.

Good thing compared to other islands is that you are encouraged to just go hop on a bus and explore and get lost. Whereas other islands in the Caribbean aren't classed as safe anymore.

Mega tip would be to stay on the west coast as it's difficult to swim on the other coasts due to the ocean being too rough. The west coast is the Caribbean Sea.

If you want any tips or have any questions do send me a pm. We went on loads of adventures and have loads of good tips and experience.

Very jealous btw.

We went mid September and it was fabulous. We stayed in coconut court on the west of the island. Travel on public transport is cheap but somewhat hairy although fun! A must is trying flying fish! A catamaran trip out snorkelling some wrecks and coral reefs is a must! We also went tee king on horseback through sugar cane fields and the beach.

"Whereas other islands in the Caribbean aren't classed as safe anymore"

I'd agree with that to some extent, especially if you are considering Jamaica or Freeport. But tbh, there are 7000 islands in 25 different countries covering over a millions square miles in the caribbean, and saying all of them except one aren't safe is a bit like saying the UK isn't safe because there are a few streets in a couple of cities you wouldn't walk down after dark!

Thanks all
We've finally booked it!
MotherOfBeagles, any tips or advice you have will be gratefully received!

@motherofbeagles it's totally untrue that Barbados is the only safe Caribbean island.

Op where have you booked

Little Good Harbor. Anyone know anything about it?

Hope you have a great holiday. I think we are the only people that have been that wouldn't go back, we just didn't like it at all. One thing we did really like though was The Cliff restaurant, it was fabulous, highly recommend it.

Thanks Fittess, hope we like it more than you did!

I'm sure you will . To be fair we had been to Lily Beach in the Maldives just 4 months before which totally ruined us! Nothing could really have lived up to that so soon after. Try to go to The Cliff, it really was fabulous, gorgeous setting. We booked it before we went, it's very popular.

My husband has said maybe if we went to a different area it would be better. We stayed on the so called Platinum Coast, absolutely nothing outside the hotel. It was 3 years ago so maybe changed a bit.

Just thought of another thing, The Reggae bus! That was absolutely mental but great fun. It's just a regular bus service but belting out Reggae music and crazy driving. Hang on tight though!

I've just got back a few days ago from my 7th trip to Barbados (my favourite place on earth) so any questions feel free to ask. I've never visited LGH & it's quite far north so you might want to hire a car so you can get around the island although the buses are really cheap & convenient (but the reggae buses can be a bit crazy) & taxis are easy enough. What sort of things are you wanting recommendations for? Restaurants? Attractions?

4forksake, so glad you love it there! I'd love any recommendations you have really! Any insider info would be great. What's great to do, what's not so great, what do you enjoy when you go over? Is it very expensive? Would you recommend hiring a car from here, or locally when we get there?
Sorry, too many questions!