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Barbados was the last stop on our recent Southern Caribbean cruise. We had scoped out some possible activities, including going to Harrison’s Cave (a tram tour) but all we wanted to do was to sit on a gorgeous beach!
We opted for a beach day at Pirate’s Cove (which is in Carlisle Bay) which included a snorkel boat trip and several hours on the beach. Beware though – while a lot of sites indicated this trip cost $25, if you added snorkeling, the price went up to $48 once you checked both beach and turtles. We booked our excursion through Viator, which offered the same package as our cruise’s Shore Excursion desk, for less.
Unique Things to Do in Barbados:
We were picked up at the dock and taken on a short ride through town. We had picked the first group (8:30 am) based on reviews that suggested getting to the beach and snorkeling before it got too crowded. It was also suggested that there is a better chance of seeing turtles earlier in the morning before the large crowds of tourists scared them out of the area.
After a short drive around with a few highlights pointed out, we arrived at Pirate’s Cove, a restaurant, bar and beach club located on a beautiful slice of beach. We took a short walk to the pier to get on the boat for the first part of our adventure – snorkeling. There were only two things that Allan wanted to see on this trip – one of which was he wanted to swim with turtles! (The other was going to Maho Beach in Saint Maarten and watching planes fly overhead.)
Swim with Turtles!
Our first stop on the boat was to a stop to swim with turtles. Our two water guides were magnificent at finding turtles and encouraging to come into our group. We were warned to not get too near them or we would scare them away. We saw at least three large turtles who got pretty close to us. Look at this gorgeous face!
Snorkel Around a Shipwreck
After a short time swimming with the turtles, we got back on the boat and went a short distance away to snorkel around a shipwreck. Our guides were excellent at pointing out all the fish. We saw stingrays. One of our guides even swam through the sunken ship and encouraged another strong swimmer to do the same. For me, the fun part was going down the water slide into the water!
Relax on the Barbados Beach
I’ve heard about pink sand beaches in Bermuda, but the beach in Barbados was absolutely AHMAZING!!!! Look at the clear water, the sand is almost pink, and that water! In fact, I spent so much time in the water that I got an incredibly bad sunburn on my upper half!
The price of our tour included two lounge chairs, an umbrella, and a drink each. Talking to the guests sitting next to us on the beach, they had left their all-inclusive Sandals resort to come spend the day here. It turns out that Sandals’ newest resort is located on the Atlantic Ocean side and the beach was covered in sargasso seaweed. Since everyone goes to Barbados to enjoy the beach, they had left their resort to spend the day at this gorgeous spot.
A bar located on the beach catered to every taste. We enjoyed a bucket of Carib beer which was really inexpensive. We didn’t stay long enough to eat lunch but it was available too.
I would like to come back to explore more beaches and enjoy some underground time in Harrison’s Cave. I enjoy visiting unique places and we hadn’t seen any caves at any of our other stops. But we were at the end of our trip and tired from all of our activities. Bridgetown would have been an easy place to walk around and enjoy some downtown sites. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list and I only drove by them. Barbados is definitely on our list of places to go back and explore more!
Visit Barbados Cruise Port
Because of the sunburn, we returned to the ship early. Four of us split the cost of a cab since the tour bus left earlier than announced. We ran into friends and of course bought another bucket of beer, this time featuring Banks. We found drink prices at ports to be fairly reasonable.
If your cruise itinerary includes these stops, you may be interested in reading these posts as well:
- St. Lucia
- St. Maarten
- St. Kitts
- Antigua
- San Juan
- Curious about our itinerary and budget? Learn about them here.
What about you? What are some of your favorite unique things to do in Barbados? Let me know in a comment below!
Happy travels!
Annick, The Common Traveler
Raised as a third culture kid living in South America and Europe, Annick caught the travel bug early. As an empty-nester, Annick enjoys sharing her tips for traveling for those with champagne taste and beer budgets.
Spending a Port day in Barbados must be great as it have lovely beaches besides clear waters. I loved your turtle photograph as to watch them so closely in their natural habitat must be an amazing experience. It is great that they have Sandal resort if we want to have night stay at this beautiful location.
Swimming with Sea Turtles is a bucket list item for me, and that pic is amazing! Was that taken with a Go-Pro? Thanks for all the great info on how I can make this a reality!
It was taken with a small Olympus tough camera which is shockproof and waterproof up to 50 ft that takes great underwater shots. But it really isn’t very good for underwater video!
Looked like a wonderful time! I want to snorkel with the turtles!!
You should give it a try!
You’re a sea turtle picture is amazing! I have always wanted to see them in their natural habitat and I am totally adding this to my bucket list now. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
So gorgeous! We almost went to Barbados on our honeymoon years ago; I think we need to schedule a trip there after seeing all these gorgeous pictures. And that turtle!
Beautiful pictures! I’ve never been to Barbados, but this definitely makes me want to go! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Talk about paradise!!
Oh, my gosh! Sea turtles, beautiful beaches, clear water ~ all sounds like the perfect day to me!
Looks like a beautiful place!
It looks like you guys had a great time. I miss the beach, its been five years since we moved and I have only seen lakes since the move.
I love the beach! We live a few hours from it but we never go, and instead wait for vacation.
I love the beach. It re-charges me!
Your pictures are amazing! I visited Barbados years ago and definitely want to go back.
Worth spending more than a day!
Your pictures are amazing (and I think the sea turtle is my favorite)! Sounds like an awesome experience 🙂
Thanks! The turtle was amazing!
Looks absolutely beautiful! I’ve done some swimming with the turtles in Hawaii and it is absolutely amazing!
I’ve never been to Hawaii but it’s on my list!
That water looks AMAZING! Sorry about your sunburn!
The water was perfect! I was a walking advertisement for using sunscreen!
Wow would love to snorkel with turtles. And what a great shot! Barbados looks like a dream. I like that way you said you were tired, but would come back for sites unseen. Really enjoy your posts – they have dimension – like an insiders look at travel.
Thanks, Verla! I really enjoy traveling!
This looks like such fun! What a way to relax and enjoy the summer!
It was!
It all looks wonderful! I need a cruise in my life soon!
I love cruising! I highly recommend it!
It looks beautiful there! Those turtles are just so cute!
It was gorgeous!
Gorgeous! And the turtles too!
So much fun! I always love ocean and beach vacation, my little one who was 4 years old when we took her to her first beach vacation love to snorkel.
Snorkeling opens up a whole new world!