Last updated: March 2025 Originally Posted: February 14, 2019

Overview:

Barbados is the most easterly island in the Caribbean and populated by about 280,000 people. The island is formed by limestone rocks and measures about 430 square kilometers. Barbados is just north of the equator and far away enough from the hurricane belt that it usually gets spared from them. While less known than other Caribbean destinations, Barbados might be worth a visit. In this post, we talk about the pros and cons about Barbados to help you decide if it’s an island you will enjoy visiting.

Pros:

Here are the things we like about Barbados:

1) Beaches: Barbados Beaches may not make the top beaches list often but they’re those idyllic white sand and aqua water beaches that everyone dreams about. Compared to other destinations, Barbados beaches are plentiful and easy to access, which means they’re never too crowded. Parking regulations are easy-going so you can easily park somewhere and access many beaches. Many of the public beaches also offer shower and change room facilities. Some of these beaches are: Pebble’s Beach, Brownes Beach, Worthing Beach, Miami Beach, and Silver Sands to name some. 

Pebbles Beach and Brownes Bay in Carlisle Bay are some of the most popular beaches, as they are closer to the cruise ship terminal and offer a wide variety of services like lounge chairs and umbrellas, food and drinks, and tours to go snorkel.

On our last visit in February 2025, we were a little surprised to see how Pebbles Beach has changed due to the recent hurricane. It is not as easy to swim as it less sandy and there are more rocks that can be hard to avoid. Carlisle Bay has also expanded their services and it is harder to find a spot to sit if you don’t want to rent a chair and umbrella. That being said, Brownes Beach is still our favorite spot to swim due to the clear and calm waters, and soft sandy bottom.

Tip: Bring your own snorkel set and visit Carlisle Bay and Heywoods Beach for some great snorkeling where you will see fish and even sea turtles sometimes.

2) Weather: Weather: Sunny days and bright blue skies are generally the norm here outside of hurricane and rainy season. We’ve never had a vacation here ruined due to bad weather and appreciate the consistent weather here. We typically go in February but have been in May as well. In May, you definitely feel the humidity more. On our last visit last week, it was sunny and +27-30 Celsius every day, but a little windy at times. The East and South East part of the island are generally windier.

Tip: Wear a rash guard if you plan to swim a lot as the sun is very hot here and sunscreen will not keep you from getting sunburned. Pack an Elaine hat too for maximum protection!

3) Infrastructure: You can drink the tap water in Barbados. Barbados is made up of coral limestone that filters water, making it high quality. Being able to drink tap water also makes you worry less about what you are eating and drinking compared to other tourist destinations.

You can also rent a car and drive yourself around fairly easily and safely on the island. You do need to be aware that the driver’s seat is on the right, you drive on the left hand side of the road due to the UK influence. You also need to be mindful of narrow roads, potholes, goats and cows, and intense roundabouts. On our last visit, we noticed that the road conditions have gotten worse and there are definitely more hazardous potholes and bumps to avoid, even on the ABC Highway (main highway).

If driving sounds intimidating, you can get around most of the island using the public bus system. There are some more independent buses as well as the government run ones. You can find more information about that here. We’ve taken the loud bright yellow reggae busses a few times, and it is actually quite fun!

Tip: If you rent a car, buy the additional insurance due to the conditions of the roads and how people drive. Here are some unwritten rules of the road when you’re driving: if someone flashes their lights it means they are letting you go; if someone’s hand is outside the window on the driver’s side they are letting a pedestrian cross; if someone honks once it is because they are passing and if they honk twice it means thank you.

4) Language: English is the spoken language so no need to stress out and learn a new language. Most people speak conventional English but don’t be surprised if you hear the Bajan dialect which is made up of sayings and a slightly different pronunciation of certain letters. Before visiting, you may want to brush up on Bajan to be pompasettin to the locals!

5) Development: Things don’t change that much here so development is limited to protect the environment. Compared to other places like Mexico or Bali, there aren’t massive new hotel projects going up everywhere. Sadly though, many failed projects do remain on prime beach front land. Limited development also means less room inventory which keeps prices high enough and the island from being overrun. The latest trend has also been to build more all-inclusive hotels, which has pros and cons. Some new exciting options include a new IHG Indigo Hotel being built in a convenient area around Hastings Beach. While it has been delayed a long time now, they are also building a Hyatt Ziva all inclusive on Carlisle Bay near Bridgetown. It is disappointing to have such a large inclusive hotel being built in an area with so much character and dining options, in our opinion. Hopefully the small business in the area benefit nonetheless.

6) Safety: You still need to exercise precautions but Barbados is pretty safe overall in the sense that you can leave your resort or stay in a vacation rental and explore on your own. Like many other destinations we have visited, people have tried to sell us drugs, but they have never been pushy.

Violent crime is present but not very common and it is very rare tourists are targeted. In general, locals are pretty friendly, even after you bust them for trying to scam you, i.e. a man approached us to charge us $10USD to park in a free lot and we called him out on it and he just laughed and walked away.

It is also safe, cheap and easy to take the public transit (reggae busses, minivans or government busses) to get around.

We do feel it is safe to bring children here for a family vacation and see many people who do. It is also common for families to take the local busses.

You should exercise safe habits in Barbados like many other spots: don’t leave your belongings unattended on the beach, don’t buy drugs, don’t get super drunk in public, and don’t leave valuables in your car.

Tip: If you are visiting the Animal Flower Cave, local people will try to sell you art and souvenirs, if you hand them $1-$2 they will leave you alone and you won’t have to buy anything if you’re not interested.

Tip: While tourists cannot bring cannabis with them into Barbados, those with a valid prescription from a doctor can get it dispensed at an approved pharmacy on the island under certain conditions. You can find out more before your arrival on the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority website.

7) Tourist Attractions: There are numerous tourist attractions like the Harrison Caves, Animal Flower Cave, sporting events (cricket, polo, horse racing), Rihanna’s House, rum distillery tastings and tours, catamaran cruises, snorkel tours, a wildlife reserve, botanical gardens, a plantation tour, Brighton Farmer’s Market and downtown Bridgetown to keep you busy if the beach is not your things.

Tip: If you are planning on visiting a rum distillery, we recommend skipping Mt Gay and visiting Foursquare Rum Distillery due to the quality of the rum, the unique setting on an old plantation, and they do not charge for the tour.

8) Food Scene: Yes, we also listed food scene in the “Cons” section of this post and please let us explain. We often plan entire trips around eat-ineraries, and well, as much as we enjoy some things in Barbados, it did not offer up the same beach vacation vibes like places in Mexico or Indonesia, where the dining scene rivals places like Brooklyn. That being said, throughout the years, we have many places we enjoy in Barbados, and in the last few years, there are more diverse options. For example, on our last visit, we were impressed with the stunning views and food at Zemi Cafe on the east coast in Bathsheba, the scrumptious roasted chicken and jerk sauce at Rock’n Roosters in the Sheraton Mall, and our experience at Deia Beach on Maxwell Beach. We still have our steady favorites too: Lisa’s Rotis and Doubles, Cuzz’s Fish Cutters, Sahara Arabic Grill and Falafel, Dreadhop Brewing for craft beer and pub food, and more. We will keep updating our dining guide to help people find places to eat in Barbados!

Cons:

No place is perfect though, so here are things we don’t like as much.

1) Airport: The airport can’t absorb all the passengers who arrive and depart within a 3 hour time frame and so there can be long waits to go through customs/immigration and security. You can speed up the process and avoid waiting at a kiosk to fill out a bunch of information by completing the arrival form online beginning at 72 hours before your arrival. Spoiler: We’ve had issues filling out forms online like this, as the website is often unavailable due to maintenance.

It is a very small airport for the number of large wide-bodied aircraft that arrive and so dining options in the airport are limited and there are often long waits. The lounge is also always busy and crowded, and has limited food options. The Chefette pre-security is a good spot to grab food to take with you.

Tip: If you can, fly on the JetBlue red-eye flight from JFK to arrive in the morning and avoid the long lineups.

Tip: Make sure to fill out the arrival form online up to 72 hours before your arrival.

2) Budget: You can travel to Barbados on a budget but it’s not as easy as other places. Barbados is definitely not a cheap all inclusive place. The local currency, the Barbadian Dollar (Bds$) is pegged to the US$. This makes it a lot more expensive for food, accommodations and car rental than other places. There are definitely deals to be had but they’re not as easy to come by. That being said, we have noticed some destinations that affordable destinations become increasingly expensive and things have more or less stabilized in Barbados. It is hard to believe a time when we found Hawaii much more affordable than Barbados, but yes, there was a time! Similar trends seemed to have happened too, with prices in place like Cabo and Cancun in Mexico and many spots in Costa Rica becoming ridiculously expensive. Places that used to cost us $200USD a night are now $600USD-$1,200++ per night.

Tip: If you have Hilton points, we recommend using them at the Hilton Barbados. The Hilton Barbados is a 9 story high-rise hotel on a nice stretch of beach and conveniently located to bars, restaurants, and other beaches. If you stay here, you don’t need to rent a car as long as you are comfortable taking a bus or minivan bus. It is also easy to find vacation rentals with kitchenettes in Barbados to eat out less.

3) Infrastructure: Infrastructure is better here than other places in the Caribbean but it’s not perfect, I.e recycling, sewage, and potholed roads. There was also an incident with sewage on the beach that prompted travel advisories from the governments in the UK, USD, Germany and Canada.

4) Service: Generally, people are friendly but things run at a different pace here, it’s very slow and don’t expect a lot. In some cases, people aren’t rude but they’re not nice either, i.e. I went back to the grocery store the following day to purchase the item and noticed it was out of stock and asked a store employee if they had anymore and her response was “If you don’t see it, we don’t have it”. Things are supposed to be open and they are not so you just have to go with the flow.

5) Food Scene: Barbados is knows at the culinary capital of the Caribbean and while it is possible to find good food there, we wouldn’t call it a foodie destination. We often find you pay a lot for what you get with varying degrees of quality and consistency, i.e. you can visit the same place 2 days in a row and be charged a different price for the exact same meal that was better the first day. It is also common for things to run out fast because it is a small island and many things need to be imported. Things have gotten much better in the last few years, but the options are either super casual and basic to fancy and expensive. Options that fall in the middle are few and far between.

Tip: Make sure to have Barbados Dollars to pay in cash as not all places accept credit card and if they do, often the machine doesn’t work. Most places will also accept USD, but be prepared to get change back in BBD.

6) Tourist Attractions: While there are tourist attractions for those who aren’t into the beach, it’s not a place with lots of hikes or where you can road cycle easily like other destinations. If you don’t rent a car, it will be more difficult to get around depending where you are staying.

7) Beaches: Most beaches in Barbados are fine but some do experience Sargassum seaweed so be mindful of where you choose to stay. Avoid these areas: Crane Beach, Enterprise Beach, Miami Beach and Welches Beach. Stick to beaches north of Dover Beach and especially the West Coast of Barbados.

Overall:

Of all the Caribbean islands we’ve visited, Barbados is our favorite and we’ve been really lucky to visit often. As you can see in this post, there are definitely pros and cons, like most places. You really cannot beat the beaches and that is always something we miss when we travel to Mexico and Costa Rica. The food scene has improved but you do need to go out to find things and be patient as things vary day to day. If all-inclusive isn’t your thing, then Barbados would be a good choice for you as you can explore freely and it is easy to go to a grocery store to buy things to make a meal yourself.

Have you been to Barbados? If so, do you agree or disagree with these perspectives? What is the most important factor for you when you’re looking for a tropical vacation? Are there any other questions we can answer about Barbados?

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