Excursion round Barbados then to airport

[PAULINELESLEY]

Has anybody done the Seabourn tour after the cruise round Barbados then dropped at the airport. We had a trip booked but apparently the rules have changed at the port and private companies aren’t allowed in, it only happened a couple of days ago. We are debating the Seabourn option or a day pass at the Hilton Hotel.

[LittleRedJohn]

Last time I was in Barbados our foursome walked out of the terminal, where some taxi cabs were lined up, and then kept walking further outside-- not a real long walk-- where there are more cabs parked. I then announced we wanted a tour of the island. We quickly found a nice English speaking driver, agreed on a reasonable price, and off we went. We had a good windshield tour, he dropped us off for lunch, then came back and picked us up and returned us to the ship. It worked well. Of course I had a map and had been to Barbados once  before so I wasn't a complete novice. Even if he hadn't picked us up after lunch we could easily have gotten a cab to the port. There are many cabs in Barbados. LittleRedJohn

[Fletcher]

There are many car rentals at the airport - driving around the island is easy-peasy and the wildly spectacular east coast a whole world away from the bling-ness of the main resort areas on the west coast.  Inland it's wonderfully rural with cane fields, 'English' churches and villages.  

[mraven]

We did the Seabourn tour after the transatlantic this past fall. It was great to see the whole island. The tour guide was very good. Lunch was  better than expected. Only issue was we got to the airport 5 hours before our flight and we had to wait 2 hours before we could even check our bags.

 

Remember to keep the immigration ticket. The security line has 2 queues. The MUCH shorter one is for cruise passengers with their immigration ticket.

[Catlover54]

I did not do the round the island to airport tour, but the round the island tour back to the ship, which covers similar territory.

 

I agree with Fletcher that the wild, east side is the place to see, ( at least for pictures and scenery) unless you need upscale hotels , fine dining, a golf course,  or want  to see where Rhianna has her $23 million condo on the west, either with a cab driver or if you can easily drive on the left, in a rental.  Spectacular views, crashing waves, hauntingly beautiful, we did not spend as much time there as I would have liked, but because we had never been to Barbados, I opted for an overview tour.  But if we ever make it back, especially for DH and picture taking, we will head east.

If you do the tour and likely stop at St. John Parish church, head straight for the walks through the graveyard high above the sea behind the church, for the best use of the short time there.

[PAULINELESLEY]

Thank you for you help Catlover very interesting about the East side a few people have mentioned that, also the church is on the list, I wanted to go to Hunte’s garden but it will have to be another time. Thank you for your reports and photo’s on your trip very interesting also seeing the wine list, I have never seen one on any of the Seabourn boats we have been on. Kind regards, Pauline.

[travelwell]

We stayed at the Hilton prior to our Seabourn cruise last year. Easy cab ride and nice pool, just okay beach. If you just want to relax not bad.

We did the around island tour when we debarked, really to pass time as we had a 4 pm flight out and we correctly had heard the airport beyond nuts. In other words 6 -8 hours in airport beyond bad. We had low expectations of. Bus tour and were pleasantly surprised by an excellent bus guide. Barbados is a beautful and diverse island and we really got the flavor.

[PAULINELESLEY]

Thank you to everyone with your help, I think the bus trip is the answer at least we can see some of the island which sounds lovely. Best wishes, Pauline.

[BoatBoy12]

Hi there. 

We are spending our fourth winter in Barbados..

Yes, you can walk out of the cruise terminal and then out of the port. You may find that cab drivers are not interested in short trips to nearby beaches. The Hilton has a very nice beach, and the Hilton is also near to Pebbles beach and the fabulous Carlisle Bay, which is one of the nicest on the island. You can swim out to snorkel with turtles (just look where the catamarans are) or see a couple small wrecks. There are bars like The Boatyard which do umbrella/chair/food voucher rentals. Accra Beach at Rockley is also very popular, and the Tiki Bar there does a $30 chair/umbrella rental redeemable on food or drink.

For tours, you can do an 80 mile 'round the island tour with people like Williams Tours or Barbadospleasuretours.com.  These are for several hours. 

You can get a flavour for stuff to do by reading Barbadosinanutshell.com.  Also see Barbados.org which has a page of What's on in Barbados today.  A big fat magazine is  Ins and Outs of Barbados, also on line, I think.  Lots of choices for beaches!

[1901Phil]

We did the Island / airport tour then in February 2018. 

It was very good. A journey along the Atlantic coast then an old mansion where we had a pleasant buffet lunch. From memory we were at the airport around 2pm.