Gibbes Beach Barbados

[mazzamoo123]

Hi there,

I’m looking for advice. I am planning a special holiday for my husband’s 40th in the Easter holidays of 2021. To get the best flights, I need to book in a few weeks time.

He is keen to go to the Caribbean - he’s never been and likes the idea of chilling out at a beach bar, drinking beer and listening to reggae music! At the minute, I have provisionally booked a villa (with a shared pool) just behind Gibbes Beach that I found on air bnb. It’s expensive and definitely more than I would normally spend but this is a one off and it does look beautiful... for info, we have 3 children (they’ll be 18 months, 4 and 6).

So a few questions...

Is Gibbes Beach a good location? My husband likes peace and quiet but with a bar not too far away (ideally in walking distance).

Is Barbados the right island to have chosen??

Is Barbados safe? I read on hear that it’s not that safe anymore.

Should we be thinking of going somewhere entirely different?? ie. not the Caribbean at all. Any suggestions welcome - especially child friendly ones.

Thanks!

The West coast is beautiful! Barbados is very safe (with the usual caveats about anywhere!). It's also very child-friendly, and the people are (IME) very friendly.

I wonder, though, if you might not be better off booking a hotel? You're presumably self-catering, which is a lot of work for you, especially with kids the ages yours are? There are lots of all-inclusive hotels in Barbados - doesn't mean you have to restrict yourself to staying in the hotel - but it does make the holiday a restful one for all of you!

Barbados is great and its perfect for self catering ..we stopped at a very cheap apartment right on Paynes beach

Perfect spot! Quieter and less built up than St James but with a couple of beach bars and a short bus ride to Speightstown where there are a few more places to eat. Have fun on my island. It is the best!

Thanks everyone

@BIWI the nice AI hotels I’ve looked at have worked out as much more expensive which is why we opted for the villa... and my husband has a real issue with noise and lots of people, which makes it tricky!! He’s quite demanding But you are right, a hotel would definitely be less work for me. I’m hoping the villa will have a bbq so we can just grill fish on that and it won’t be too much effort!

@pelirocco123 what was the self-catering apartment? Maybe I could have a look at it... the villa we’ve found is beautiful but very expensive and I’m feeling a bit sick about it!

@Barbadosgirl thank you! We’re very excited. Whereabouts are the beach bars? Are they in walking distance? And is Gibbes Beach pretty? Would we be able to walk to Mullins? Sorry for all the questions!

Very safe.

Some cracking spots.

Love the island. Enjoy.