i haven't been yet but fodorite lois swanson has:
http://www.barbadostips.com/Barbados_Tips/Welcome.html

Best calm beaches on the west coast.
Best wavy beaches on the south coast.
Deserted beaches---good luck!

Leeward parts of the island have the best baaches
Crane Beach and Fairmont.com
Royal Pavillion best areas for me.
travelzoo.com good specials
virtualtourist.com great local postings.

Good luck!

When are you going? We chose Barbados for our vacation this year. We orginally decided on August, but after much research found it would probably not be the best time of year for us. Too many kids, so we changed it to the first week of November.

I found good info at Barbados.org and Trip Advisor. The beaches around the Gap area have strong current, but that area seems to have the better, less expensive dining options. The West side had the better beaches, but that is where many of the expensive hotels are located. So it's a trade off.

We debated long and hard between AI and non-AI. I'm finding the food/drink prices expensive, so we are going AI. We chose Mango Bay, which is in Holetown and has a calmer beach. They also offer a free catamaran trip to swim with the turtles, which is about a $200 value for 2 people.

Must Do's:

Island Tour - we chose Glory Tours

Jeep Safari

Swim with the Turtles

Dinner/Cocktail Cruise on the Jolly Roger

Harbor Lights Dinner Show

Bajan Root & Rythem Show

Day trips to Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines or St. Lucia

Shopping in Bridgetown. I'm ready that Bridgetown has some great duty free shopping and a passport and return plane ticket are required to buy anything, which I have never seen in the other Islands we've been to. (Can someone clarify that) I'm also reading the stores are high end merchants, that I would never shop at anyway. Less expensive tourist shops are in the Gap area.

Also, I'm reading the dress code for many hotels and restuarants for dinner are quite formal. No shorts and no capri pants for women. Long pants for men, with collared shirts and closed toed shoes. Women need long pants or a dress. Shoes much be closed toed or nice dress sandals. I also read that Mango Bay offers a beach bar-b-cue one night and no cargo shorts for men. Must be dress shorts or pants.

Oops, I forgot the Oistens Fish Fry on Friday nights.

http://www.barbados.org/oistins-fish-fry.htm

Thanks for the great info guys.

KVR, we are looking to go in a few weeks, and is leaning towards renting a villa.

Can you tell us what you had found out about day trips to St. Vincent/Genedines? We were in Grenada recently and it was quite fun.

Cheers

There is a company called Chantours

http://www.chantours.com/grenadine-sailing-tours

They will fly you over to one of the Islands and then you take a catamaran trip through the Grenadines. There are 3 tours to choose from and then they fly you back.

Barbados is a great choice for great local food, Brown sugar restaurant Mullins area, also Mullins the Gap for great beaches and cheap local food, There is also a Great coffee shop in the gap with lots of local pastries,There is a small Barbecue place next door with great menu items friday night fish fry at Ostins fish market is a must.Hope you have a great and safe trip.

Best beaches - for calm waters and swimming west coast beaches are best. Try Six Men's on the north-west coast for a quiet beach. The east coast beaches (Cattlewash especially) are most deserted but, while extremely beautiful, are not suitable for swimming although there are tide pools for relaxing dips.

Local Food - Oistins Fish Fry is a must, although fish have been scarce this year. Fish cakes for breakfast and try local sea cat (octopus)! Pudding (sweet potato) and souse (pickled pork) and cou-cou (like polenta) are local favourites.

Local "establishments" - highly recommend Sand Dunes on the east coast and Lemon Arbour (lovely setting in the countryside).

Good live music - your hotel may have live entertainment some nights. St. Lawrence Gap is the party spot in Barbados but may be a bit too lively on some nights. Check www.WhatsOnInBarbados.com for great local entertainment.

Must-do's: Harrison's Cave, Island Safari, Atlantis Submarines, Oistins Fish Fry, one (or more) of the musuems, Bajan Root & Rhythms Dinner Show, day trip to another island (check Chantours for options).

One additional question.

What are your opinions of renting a moke? Should I rent a regular car instead?

KVR -
To obtain Duty Free prices you must have your Passport and Airline ticket at time of purchase to present to the cashier. If you don't have them, you don't get the duty free prices.

Hi foodiechan, when we visited Barbados, we thought about renting a moke but opted for a compact car. We made a good choice b/c we needed the AC - it was really hot there! Here's a blog I just wrote on Barbados, which includes lots of info.
http://eatsleeptravel-1.blogspot.com/
Have a great trip!

Knowing, thank you for clarifying that. We have been to various Caribbean Islands and never had to present passport or return ticket for duty free prices. So glad I asked. It's great info to know.

Ok, here's my take, and it took me a while

- Best beaches
Lots of great beaches. Try Mullins Beach on the West Coast, Brownes Beach on the South Coast.

- Best local food.
Go to Golden Sands Hotel on Saturday for their pudding & souse lime (party/get-together). It starts at about 9:00 a.m. and the food is usually sold about about 3:00 p.m. There is music, karaoke and food.

Brown Sugar for restaurant dining. It is a locally owned sit down restaurant with the best bread pudding ever. Brown Sugar is located on the same street as Hilton Barbados.

Also in that same area is a beach "hut" called Cuz's. He has THE best flying fish sandwiches ever! You must make it a point to try one.

Barbados is known for it's restaurants, and we're the only Zagat-rated Caribbean country with our own Zagat Guide. Restaurants go from local Barbadian, to French, Italian, Brazilian...you name it, we have it!

Sunday brunch at The Crane. Lots of Barbadian delicacies.

Oistins for lunch or Oistin Fish Fry on Friday nights. The best place to eat in Oistins is Fred's hands down. Angela will whip you up something delicious.

- Best watering hole. Dive bars, local "establishments" of sorts.

- Good live music
Most of the hotels have entertainment nights, so check with your hotel, as someone said. There is also nightlife on the West and South Coasts.

On Wednesdays Crystal Waters Beach Bar in Worthing on the South Coast has an evening "lime", and on Sundays from 12pm - 7pm. There will be more tourists there, with a smattering of locals, but it's fun.

Checking the whatsoninbarbados site is a good suggestion.

- Must do's?

Land and Sea Tour, tour into the country, shopping in town (we also have a few very good malls), horseracing at the Garrison on some Saturdays, Plantation Dinner Theatre, Zip line...

If I think of anything else, I'll post.

Mag

I forgot about watering holes, but there are so many places around you can just hop into one, or two, or three. I also forgot to mention Fisherman's Pub. It's in the northwest in Speightstown. Great food and drink right on the water. Very casual, not fancy or pretentious. There is karaoke and dancing there on some nights as well. Get the macaroni pie and fish!