sofee

Ok...after weekend long debates on where to spend our birthday week in October we went with Barbados! This was Plan D after initially rejecting (in order) Costa Rica, Mediterranean Cruise and St. Martin.

Accomodations: CHECK! http://www.vrbo.com/260821

Flights: CHECK! (Jet Blue from Boston with stops in JFK)

Car Rental: CHECK!

Now the fun planning begins. We want to experience local cuisine...maybe an occasional nice dinner...but parking lot food trucks have appeal and the Oistin fish fry is on our list. Any other food/restaurant suggestions?


Best outfit for snorkeling day trips? We'll have the car so look forward to seeing sights (wildlife, etc) off the beaten path...suggestions?

Thanks!!

virginia

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...18892-2.cfm?10
i think you'll enjoy this site.
have not been on barbados so can't help with dining but friends have advised paynes beach for me in the future. said it has some decent snorkeling.
another fodor poster has this blog: http://www.barbadostips.com/Barbados_Tips/Welcome.html

sofee

Hi Virginia, Thanks for your reply. I've seen those sites and they are indeed full of useful information!

greenie

Oh you'll have a wonderful time...I'm so jealous! We love the food trucks! I'm not sure about the area you're visiting, I know we always see them in the Gap area.

Peace, Greenie

bostonallison

Hi Sofee, We enjoyed our snorkel trip with Sail Calabaza. The crew was very friendly and the food was delicious! We stopped by a restaurant near Crane Beach called Cutters and had the flying fish cutter (sandwich) and the BEST rum punch -great place for lunch!

bdshotsauce

Hi there,

It sounds like you'll definitely be getting around the island if so, during a fantastic week, for wild life you can go swimming with the turtles during a catamran cruise, and visit the wild life reserve. If you do end up on the East Coast of the island there are many local shops and quant bars along the coast especially the fishing community at Bathsheba, you can definetly sample traditiona bajan cusine and snacks like yummy fish cakes.

Hope you enjoy

BarbadosTravel

Check for the food trucks in the Sandy Lane area (just north of Paynes Bay) around midday. Macaroni Pie is a must!

Just Grilling in Holetown, also just north of Paynes Bay serves great grilled fish and sides (grilled potatoes, veggies, coleslaw, Ceasar salad, etc) at good prices. Zaccios in Holetown is a nice beachfront restaurant.. bit more pricey but not expensive. Surfside restaurant is a few steps from Zaccios - also beachfront, more casual and less expensive than Zaccios.

Check out http://barbadosbymap.com to get a lay of the land and map out a drive around the island.

Have a wonderful time!

StanKase

The snorkeling around Barbodos is fine, not the best compared to St. John and a few places in the BVI's but as mentioned Calabaza sailing soes a first rate job.I would sugget you email them now and make your reservation for the snorlel/sail trip/ Last year it was $100 for adults including a surprisingly good lunch, soda, beer and a little too much rum for those who over-do those kind of things. They pick you up if you are at a major hotel at about 9 and you are on the water from 9:30-about 3. They take you to 2 of the 4-5 best places but unfortunately so do the the other sail charters go there at the same time so that instead of just the 12 on your sailboat you may find 4 other boats with 6-10 other at the same place at the same time or35+ people in a fairly limited area. We tended to sort of follow the directions and stay with the group but if you area strong wimmer as we are we tended to go a bit closer to shore where were less people and some intersting coral and more fish because the snorkeler's had not dispersed them. You are wearing life jackets so as long as you do not go to far afield you are safe and it is a little more pleasant. On our trip you sail back the last 30 minutes and that is quite pleasant if you stake yourself a nice spot and have a lot of sun screen on. The boat is almost new and takes a maximum of 12 on the 42 ft. sail boat which is really it's max. We were fortunate and had 10 and 12 might have been a little tight. But a very pleasant day. We enjoyed eating at the Brown Sugar a bit upscale but worth it in our opinion.

sofee

Excellent recs so far!!!

BDSHS: definately heading to the East side!!

BT: your restaurant suggestions are right up our alley

SK: Thanks for the tip to schedule snorkeling now.

starfish1

A trip to Barbados for us is never complete without a visit to Enterprise Beach aka Miami Beach just south of Oistens. There's a great food truck there called Mr.Delicious, serves flying fish cutters/rotis and fantastic rum punch. You can rent beach chairs and enjoy the beach with lots of shade. Heading back in December and can't wait. Have a wonderful time!

sofee

Starfish: YUMMMMMMM!!!