Full day at Crane Beach?

Was planning to catch a taxi and spend the day at Crane Beach / have lunch at the resort using the day pass etc. Now I'm worried there might not be a lot to 'fill' an entire day, especially since the water is normally rough. Perhaps I'm drawn to it because I've heard it's one of the nicest beaches around... Any comments from people who have been there?? Would it be better to take an island tour and visit a few different beaches instead?? Thanks in advance!

If this is your first time on the island it is always nice to take a comprehensive tour. You can always return to see the things that you missed the first time.

If you secure a cab first thing and head up our West coast to Speightstown and then head east, you can stop and see St. Nicholas Abbey and/or the Wildlife Reserve. Head SE to the Morgan Lewis Mill then down and stop at Chalky Mount Potteries. Continue SE to Cattlewash/Bathsheba and Tent Bay. Andromeda Gardens is just below Tent Bay and if it interests you, stop. A must-see that is on the way is St. John’s Parish Church.

Continue SE around Kitridge Point then SW right down to The Crane. Probably will be around noon depending on all of your stops, so a great time to have lunch there and hit the beach for a while.

When you’re ready to continue, the Crane front desk will secure a cab for you if your driver didn’t wait.

You’ll have about 45 minutes to an hour back to the ship, so if you have time, stop and see Oistins, Barbados Museum, peek at Kensington Oval and what else your driver recommends and that you have time for.

If you still have a couple of hours (!!!???) you can have your driver drop you off at a West Coast Beach. Carlisle is minutes away from the ship and taxis are abundant.

It takes most folks 5-7 days to see everything that the island has to offer. The above will give you a good idea what else you want to see on your next trip.

When you return for your second visit we don’t say that you’re coming back, we say that you’re coming home ;)

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday! :)

Wonderful suggestions! Thank-you!! :D

Last, and first, time to Bridgetown I walked a few blocks down to the local bus station and took the bus with the locals. Traveled down the island VERY inexpensive. Met a nice lady who used to live in Canada; she pointed out local spots of interest. The driver dropped me off at the Cranes' driveway. A beautiful beach and a lovely lunch. Nice gift shop; no problem with the run of the place. The bus picked me up for the trip back to town with a little time to poke around.

Going back to Barbados next month for a week and will explore some more

We have been out to Crane for the day and absolutely loved it. It is stunning out there. We just love to relax on the beach and do not need to be entertained. It was a whole day's trip for us.....no need to do anything else.

Barbados.......it has been many years since we were out there and we just entered through the Public Access area. Now we are too old to try to do that!! Do they still have the day pass that you can get in the hotel lobby? Do you know how much it is and what it entails? Seems like you used to be able to use the fee towards your restaurant bill? Would love any information. Thanks!

How is the water for swimming on Crane beach? Too rough? Is it safe?

How is the water for swimming on Crane beach? Too rough? Is it safe?

This can be hit or miss depending on the weather conditions on the day but generally I would not recommend swimming there unless you are a really strong swimmer.

It is a beautiful location though and well worth the visit if you have the time.:)

If this is your first time on the island it is always nice to take a comprehensive tour. You can always return to see the things that you missed the first time.

 

If you secure a cab first thing and head up our West coast to Speightstown and then head east, you can stop and see St. Nicholas Abbey and/or the Wildlife Reserve. Head SE to the Morgan Lewis Mill then down and stop at Chalky Mount Potteries. Continue SE to Cattlewash/Bathsheba and Tent Bay. Andromeda Gardens is just below Tent Bay and if it interests you, stop. A must-see that is on the way is St. John’s Parish Church.

 

Continue SE around Kitridge Point then SW right down to The Crane. Probably will be around noon depending on all of your stops, so a great time to have lunch there and hit the beach for a while.

 

When you’re ready to continue, the Crane front desk will secure a cab for you if your driver didn’t wait.

 

You’ll have about 45 minutes to an hour back to the ship, so if you have time, stop and see Oistins, Barbados Museum, peek at Kensington Oval and what else your driver recommends and that you have time for.

 

If you still have a couple of hours (!!!???) you can have your driver drop you off at a West Coast Beach. Carlisle is minutes away from the ship and taxis are abundant.

 

It takes most folks 5-7 days to see everything that the island has to offer. The above will give you a good idea what else you want to see on your next trip.

 

When you return for your second visit we don’t say that you’re coming back, we say that you’re coming home ;)

 

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday! :)

Hi "Barbados", it's me again :)

(still not decided on catamaran ;)

what a great tour suggestion! When we travel, we love to see different "sides" of places we visit.

I have a question: about how much taxi would cost?

Are there taxi drivers who are willing to be hired for a day (to tour with cruise passengers) and what is the average price per day?

and one more: if there is one extra stop to add: a beach that has easy but nice snorkel - which one would you recommend? A lot of post reference he Tiki Bar at Accra Beach...do you agree?

Thank you so much for your time.

ALL taxi drivers would love to have an all-day fare and it gives you bargaining power.

I believe that the government published fare is about US$25/hr. for up to four (4) in the cab. This in not ***each***; it is a total hourly rate for a total of four (4) people.

With your bargaining power you should be able to secure a cab for perhaps US$15/hr. so an eight (8) hour taxi tour would run about US$120 + tip. Really not a bad deal for a private tour with your own private tour director that knows his island.

I have to tell you that the best Barbados snorkeling isn’t a shore snorkel. It is a reef snorkel. You can hit any of the west coast beaches, even down to Accra and be offered a glass bottom boat trip to a close, offshore reef for maybe US$10-20 each. It is generally worth it (unless there is a north swell and the water is cloudy).

They will boat you to either Dottins Reef by Holetown or Shark Bank by Carlisle or Bellbouy by Accra.

The cabbie that you choose will probably have a relative or friend that he will hook you up with. The cabbie is a valuable contact and he wants to please you.

Watch your time! Don’t miss the ship!

Please return and see all that you missed the first time! Barbados is a beautiful and sophisticated island (just ask Tony Blaire of the UK why he flew in from London on the Concorde twice a month!).

BEST!

all taxi drivers would love to have an all-day fare and it gives you bargaining power.

 

I believe that the government published fare is about us$25/hr. For up to four (4) in the cab. This in not ***each***; it is a total hourly rate for a total of four (4) people.

 

With your bargaining power you should be able to secure a cab for perhaps us$15/hr. So an eight (8) hour taxi tour would run about us$120 + tip. Really not a bad deal for a private tour with your own private tour director that knows his island.

 

I have to tell you that the best barbados snorkeling isn’t a shore snorkel. It is a reef snorkel. You can hit any of the west coast beaches, even down to accra and be offered a glass bottom boat trip to a close, offshore reef for maybe us$10-20 each. It is generally worth it (unless there is a north swell and the water is cloudy).

 

They will boat you to either dottins reef by holetown or shark bank by carlisle or bellbouy by accra.

 

The cabbie that you choose will probably have a relative or friend that he will hook you up with. The cabbie is a valuable contact and he wants to please you.

 

Watch your time! Don’t miss the ship!

 

Please return and see all that you missed the first time! Barbados is a beautiful and sophisticated island (just ask tony blaire of the uk why he flew in from london on the concorde twice a month!).

 

best!

thank you so much!!!!!!!!!

You are very welcome!

Oh, I almost forgot, be sure and bypass the hordes of taxi drivers in the compound as you exit the ship. These cabbies are …..”government controlled” or …..”Unionized” and they will not vary from the published fares.

They will put you in a 10 person van to give you the price that you want and make you wait while they fill it up. Their ‘tour’ is like collective bargaining with eight (8) other people.

Walk past these…..guys….through the Gatehouse and out to the roundabout on Spring Garden Hwy. These are the cabbies that you want. They will work with you.

Also, please always be sure you are talking US$ and not BDS$. Barbados dollars are twice the US currency (BD$2 = US$1).

Please have a grand holiday on my favorite island! :)

You are very welcome!

 

Oh, I almost forgot, be sure and bypass the hordes of taxi drivers in the compound as you exit the ship. These cabbies are …..”government controlled” or …..”Unionized” and they will not vary from the published fares.

 

They will put you in a 10 person van to give you the price that you want and make you wait while they fill it up. Their ‘tour’ is like collective bargaining with eight (8) other people.

 

Walk past these…..guys….through the Gatehouse and out to the roundabout on Spring Garden Hwy. These are the cabbies that you want. They will work with you.

 

Also, please always be sure you are talking US$ and not BDS$. Barbados dollars are twice the US currency (BD$2 = US$1).

 

Please have a grand holiday on my favorite island! :)

Great information!

I was trying to PM, but i am not able to, so i will ask on main boards: would you be able to recommend anyone you know that we could contact and arrange to meet us at the port? If you can't post it here, i can post my email. Thank you in any way. You helped us with many good tips and ideas.

I wish that I had a contact for you, but we only cab between Grantley Adams airport and our home and Barbados is only one of the three islands that we now winter on so we have limited contacts that would benefit you, unfortunately.

Perhaps there is another resident or recent visitor that will have a name for you.

However, I can almost guarantee that you will find a great driver within 30 minutes of your docking.....He may become a friend by the end of the day.:)

I wish that I had a contact for you, but we only cab between Grantley Adams airport and our home and Barbados is only one of the three islands that we now winter on so we have limited contacts that would benefit you, unfortunately.

 

Perhaps there is another resident or recent visitor that will have a name for you.

 

However, I can almost guarantee that you will find a great driver within 30 minutes of your docking.....He may become a friend by the end of the day.:)

you are very nice. Thank you! can't wait to visit beautiful Barbados island!

Hi Barbados,

It has been 26 years since we have last been to Barbados on a cruise stop, and we are looking forward to our stop there in February. We had rented scooters the last time in 1989 and rode out to The Crane and enjoyed the beach, etc.

This time, we are going the taxi route instead. What do you recommend as far as securing a taxi to head out to The Crane? I see you mentioned something about "government taxis" or that we can walk past them for other taxis. I'm not sure what we should do regarding that. There will probably just be two of us

How much would you expect we should pay in USD for the taxi one way to The Crane? Can we use USD to pay the taxi fare? We will not pre-book our round trip return because we want to be flexible on our return time. Also, are taxis readily available at The Crane or how would we go about getting that? Also how much time should we allow to return to the ship?

We plan on spending the day there, getting the day pass (if they have it available that day) and it sounds like you can use that towards food or beverage purchase at the pool bar. We havent decided how we will handle Bridgetown and if we will stop to shop or not - since I'm not sure if we can walk back to the ship or how far it is, etc.

Thanks for any information you can provide. Looking forward to it.

Last, and first, time to Bridgetown I walked a few blocks down to the local bus station and took the bus with the locals. Traveled down the island VERY inexpensive. Met a nice lady who used to live in Canada; she pointed out local spots of interest. The driver dropped me off at the Cranes' driveway. A beautiful beach and a lovely lunch. Nice gift shop; no problem with the run of the place. The bus picked me up for the trip back to town with a little time to poke around.

Going back to Barbados next month for a week and will explore some more

Hello!

I'm will be in Barbados by the end of December and was thinking about using the bus. How long is the ride? Also, are there any restaurants or bars besides the hotel?

Thank you