Tourist Attractions in Barbados

After seeing all the advertising in the brochures in my hotel about Pelican Village, I was very excited to check it out during my excursion to Bridgetown. I was hoping to get some clay masks that I has seen at some of the restaurants and some Earth Works pottery. Boy was I disappointed. After walking to the village from the main street in Bridgetown, past the post office and through the parking lot of buses (I think it was a bus station of some sort) I arrived at the village to find most of the stores/workshops closed. Also, those that were open did not have much to sell- lots of trinkets and trash.

Fun Alternatives: I found that there were some nice art galleries that sold what I was looking for. One in the Hilton Hotel and one above Champers restaurant. I also found some Earth Works pottery at the Women's Rescue Center in Bridgetown.

Okay, if you're as white as I am, for pete's sake, DON"T DO IT. You look silly. Don't believe me? Didn't you ever see that episode of friends when Monica got HER hair braided in Jamaica? 'Nuf said. But besides looking cheesy--white folks can get some SERIOUS burn between those corn rows. It takes FOREVER. It takes longer to take them out. And your hair is horribly crimped afterwards.

Unique Suggestions: Okay, so the nice lady talks you into it, or your child INSISTS that she MUST get her hair braided.

#1 Scalp burns are AWFUL. (I got a particularly bad one at a soccer tournament--I used to braid my hair with a part down the middle to keep it out of my face. Lets just say it turned PURPLE, SCABBED UP, and peeled for a long time. I was praying for dandruff compared to this. Brushing hurt like hell. I haven't parted my hair down the middle sense). SOOOO be sure to rub sunscreen down those cornrows. They do make a special hair and scalp spray sunscreen, but at last check it wasn't water proof.

#2 Coat your hair with leave in or that VO5 conditioner when you are ready to take the braids out, wrap your head (not your face!) in saran wrap, and take a shower or a bath. The heat will help the conditioner penetrate the hair, and the extra oil will (a) replenish lost nutrients in your hair and (b) make it easier to take out the braids. Afterwards, Shampoo like normal, twice if necessary, and condition the ends again if they need it. Let it air dry, its been through enough!

Fun Alternatives: Try a french braid--it gets your hair out of the way for a day, is easy to undo at the end of te day, and it protects your scalp!

Taxis in Barbados are a big rort. There are supposedly fixed fares based on the destination, but in reality they charge according to the number of passengers. A 10km taxi ride with four people on board will set you back BB$50-60, whereas the same ride with two people will be BB$20-30.

Unique Suggestions: If you are travelling in a larger group, the taxis can be a good idea. Just ask for a maxi-taxi - they can seat up to 15 passengers and cost BB$50-60 between any two points in the southern part of the island.

Watch out for the ones who charge too much
be aware of the price you are paying-sometimes we as tourists just don't care and this encourages them to pursue ridiculous prices and makes it harder for ''real people''travelling to get reasonable prices....

Unique Suggestions: Be nice but firm-paying 300.00 for a car is not something you would normally do back home-so why would you do it on vacation?

Fun Alternatives: Their are organised tours for those who do not want to risk the roads-onboard the crusie and if your just going to Barbados as a vacation for a week-once again,be reasonable.

If there is one thing that makes me mad is those time share people who stop you, talk you into going to a breakfast/lunch or something like that, and you sit through about 2 hrs of blurb, and pressurised into buying time share. Do not get me wrong, some people would like to own time shares, but do not agree if you do not want to.(

Unique Suggestions: To avoid this, when you see them, do not walk with your partner, they do not ask single people, they go for couples. I always walk 10 paces behind !!!

Also if you do go for the free voucher, meal etc., and are prepared to accept the taxi ride to the time share appartments, do not take your credit card, then you cannot complete forms, and they take your credit card away, phone to see if you are credit worthy, !!! I do not let my credit card out of my sight.

The time share apartments are usually very high standard, but think hard about your investment for the long term.

If you want time share, then go for it .

When you are driving around Barbados, you may be stopped by somebody who says he wants to help you out, maybe by telling you that there is a broken bridge at the end of the road, etc. Of course there is no such danger, but he will then ask you for money.

Unique Suggestions: If you are stopped by somebody like this, let them tell you what they want to tell, say thankyou and just carry on driving. They shouldn't get angry or violent, they'll just wait for the next sucker who might give them something. I don't advise you to give them any money for two reasons. 1. Once they've got something off you they'll keep pushing for more, they are NEVER grateful. 2. It just encourages them to try it on with more tourists.

We drove out to the northernmost part of Barbados (St. Lucy Parish) to see the Animal Flower Caves. daily 9-17 : 809-439-8797. I expected to see the anenomes.

We were told we had to pay a guide a fee to go through the caves, and there was no one available at that moment, so we bought sandwiches at the bar there and took them outside to eat. When the guide took us through the cave (you go down a lot of steps into the caves) he didn't show us any anenomes, so I feel I paid my money and didn't get the moneys worth. It may be that we didn't get a good guide because it was the off season.

Unique Suggestions: Many people think these caves are really wonderful. There are supposed to be pools deep enough to swim in. (I understand the water is cold.) So be sure your guide is really good and ask what you will see before you pay your money.

Also try to go on a relatively calm day, because I am told that the anenomes will not come out and show themselves if the sea is rough.

Fun Alternatives: Just standing on the point and watching the waves is not only free, but is a real photo opportunity.

I was a bit disappointed with these caves because I thought they had been too "manufactured" for the tourist market. However the journey there was definitely worthwhile. We got the local bus from the bus station just by St Mary's church and had a wonderful journey across the centre of the island.