A Week of Growing Things in Barbados
Your Barbados Itinerary at a Glance
- Day 1 Day 1: Arrive south, walk the shore
- Day 2 Day 2: Bees and the Scotland District
- Day 3 Day 3: The forest day
- Day 4 Day 4: Sugar, rum and what it cost
- Day 5 Day 5: Reef day, done properly
- Day 6 Day 6: The makers
- Day 7 Day 7: East coast, slowly, and go
Where to Stay in Barbados
Little Arches Boutique Hotel
Enterprise Beach at Oistins, a short run from the airport, small and owner run.
PEG Farm and Nature Reserve (camping)
Camp on the regenerative farm at Easy Hall.
What to Do in Barbados
Paddle Barbados
Paddle out from Pebbles Beach at Aquatic Gap.
Walkers Reserve (Bajan Bee Experience)
A former sand quarry being rewilded at Walkers in St Andrew, with a beekeeping experience that explains what pollinators are up against on a cane island.
Springvale Eco-Heritage Museum
A small family museum in the Scotland District covering bush medicine, wild food and how people actually lived off this land.
Coco Hill Forest guided agroforestry hike
Food forest rather than ornamental garden, and the guide makes the difference.
Turner's Hall Wood
The last fragment of Barbados' original mature forest.
Joes River woodland and Joes River Bridge
Between Bathsheba and Cattlewash.
St Nicholas Abbey
Cherry Tree Hill in St Peter, a working estate with its own steam mill and cane.
Harry Bayley Observatory
Clapham, St Michael.
CORALL (Coral Reef Restoration Alliance) volunteer
West coast nurseries.
Green Divers Barbados
Bay Street, Bridgetown.
Boho Beautiful Studios
West coast, near Hayman's Market.
Bath Beach
Bath in St John.
Hike Barbados (Barbados National Trust)
Free, guided, a different location every Sunday, and run by the National Trust since 1982.
Where to Eat in Barbados
Vegan Cottage
Black Rock, St Michael.
Focus Ital Shop
Dayrell's Road, St Michael.
Your Day by Day Barbados Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive south, walk the shore
Land at Grantley Adams and stay close for the first night rather than driving tired.
Little Arches Boutique Hotel
Enterprise Beach at Oistins, a short run from the airport, small and owner run.
Paddle Barbados
Paddle out from Pebbles Beach at Aquatic Gap. Flat water, and the best way to see Carlisle Bay without a motor.
Day 2: Bees and the Scotland District
Move to the east. The whole week gets better once you are on this side.
Walkers Reserve (Bajan Bee Experience)
A former sand quarry being rewilded at Walkers in St Andrew, with a beekeeping experience that explains what pollinators are up against on a cane island.
Springvale Eco-Heritage Museum
A small family museum in the Scotland District covering bush medicine, wild food and how people actually lived off this land.
PEG Farm and Nature Reserve (camping)
Camp on the regenerative farm at Easy Hall.
Day 3: The forest day
Two of the last wooded places on the island, back to back.
Coco Hill Forest guided agroforestry hike
Food forest rather than ornamental garden, and the guide makes the difference.
Joes River woodland and Joes River Bridge
Between Bathsheba and Cattlewash. Free, quiet, and one of the few genuinely wooded walks left.
Day 4: Sugar, rum and what it cost
You cannot understand Barbados without the plantation, so go to the one that tells it straight.
St Nicholas Abbey
Cherry Tree Hill in St Peter, a working estate with its own steam mill and cane.
Harry Bayley Observatory
Clapham, St Michael. The Barbados Astronomical Society opens it to the public, and the night sky here is worth an evening.
Day 5: Reef day, done properly
Get in the water with people who work on the reef rather than around it.
CORALL (Coral Reef Restoration Alliance) volunteer
West coast nurseries. Restoration work you can join rather than watch.
Green Divers Barbados
Bay Street, Bridgetown. The best dive credential we found on the island, holding Green Fins accreditation.
Day 6: The makers
This is the day that changes what you take home.
Boho Beautiful Studios
West coast, near Hayman's Market. Note it closes for the whole of August.
Focus Ital Shop
Dayrell's Road, St Michael. Ital again, because it is the island's real plant based tradition.
Day 7: East coast, slowly, and go
Leave a day with nothing much in it.
Bath Beach
Bath in St John. Reef sheltered, free, and the safest swim on the Atlantic coast.
Hike Barbados (Barbados National Trust)
Free, guided, a different location every Sunday, and run by the National Trust since 1982. If your week contains a Sunday, do this.