Harrison Cave ?

[CFD130]

We will be on the Caribbean Princesss in a couple of weeks and we were thinking of doing the caves. What is the best way to get from the pier to the caves? How about getting back? Also how long does the tour take?

Costs?

Anyone just getting home from a Princess Cruise?

Thanks

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[jff50]

We've only done it as part of a ship's shore excursion, but really enjoyed it. You might want to look at the ports of call threads to see if there is any information there on doing the caves on your own.

[Roses2]

We have been able to use a taxi to tour in Barbados for $25 per hour for private tours and it works out very well. We did Harrison's cave and then other highlights in a four hour time span.

 

Harrison's Cave was a highlight of one of our stops in Barbados.

 

On our last stop there we used Drayton's Transport and the owner's son was our driver guide.

 

P&J

[DrivesLikeMario]

We also hired a taxi to take us there. We all really enjoyed it! We've never been to other caves before, so this was a totally new experience for us. I don't remember what we paid the taxi driver, but he did wait for us while we did the cave tram tour. On the drive, the taxi driver told us about his country and pointed out sites to us.

 

In the cruise terminal building, make sure you go into the Barbados Tourism office and ask them what the going rate is to the caves for the number of passengers you'll have in your group. Otherwise, the taxi drivers outside the terminal building may charge you WAY too much. We asked 3 drivers outside what their rate was and it ranged between $18-$20 more than it was supposed to be (they have regulated charges). We went back into the tourism office, explained the situation to them and a representative actually walked back outside with us and negotiated the fare for us. He was pretty ticked that the taxi drivers were quoting ridiculous prices.

[danacline]

If you enjoy rum, you should be aware that the Mount Gay 12-yr old rum was voted the best in the world by rum afficionados. You can get a bottle in the port shopping area for $20US - highly recommended. And Mount Gay is the oldest rum distillery in the world. The visitor center is near the dock - you can see it from your ship but it's a long walk around. And they're only open Monday-Friday.

[binzer2604]

I believe Harrison Caves are still closed for refurbishment

[Doug R.]

I believe Harrison Caves are still closed for refurbishment

 

Checked thier website and they are open for business:

 

http://harrisonscave.com/

 

We spent a week in Barbados in 2008 and the caves were a highlight!

 

[Maraprince]

I believe Harrison Caves are still closed for refurbishment

 

 

Wrong! They are open and in better shape than ever! Not to be missed!

 

We did a private tour with a local guide who picked us up just outside the gate of the cruise terminal. They are not allowed to come into the terminal because of the ship's tours.

 

We reserved ahead of time using a credit card but only paid in US dollars (cash) at the end of the tour. We had a nine passenger air conditioned van while the ship's tour was done in an open air vehicle with a bar down the middle that you had to hold on to. We did the same tour as the ship's excursion but paid way less. We waited about 20-25 minutes for the them to show up at the caves and we had time to browse the shop, use the restroom and take some photos until they arrived. At the end of the tour our driver asked if we wanted to see more of the island, and he did a mini tour for us and explained and showed us around. We got out to see the green monkey and use the restroom. He told us he had a tour in the afternoon as well with passengers from our ship.

 

He was very pleasant and interesting and we really enjoyed it. He was well worth the tip and the cost of the tour (far less than the ship's price).

 

Go over to the destination boards and look for "Glory Tours" to get their contact information. They are a .org which means that are government connected somehow.

 

You will really enjoy the caves.

 

MARAPRINCE

[kendon]

I believe Harrison Caves are still closed for refurbishment

 

Still closed? Must be two years by now...

[kendon]

Still closed? Must be two years by now...

 

Oops...didn't read the last two posts. Guess it's open.

[Doug R.]

Wrong! They are open and in better shape than ever! Not to be missed!

 

We did a private tour with a local guide who picked us up just outside the gate of the cruise terminal. They are not allowed to come into the terminal because of the ship's tours.

 

We reserved ahead of time using a credit card but only paid in US dollars (cash) at the end of the tour. We had a nine passenger air conditioned van while the ship's tour was done in an open air vehicle with a bar down the middle that you had to hold on to. We did the same tour as the ship's excursion but paid way less. We waited about 20-25 minutes for the them to show up at the caves and we had time to browse the shop, use the restroom and take some photos until they arrived. At the end of the tour our driver asked if we wanted to see more of the island, and he did a mini tour for us and explained and showed us around. We got out to see the green monkey and use the restroom. He told us he had a tour in the afternoon as well with passengers from our ship.

 

He was very pleasant and interesting and we really enjoyed it. He was well worth the tip and the cost of the tour (far less than the ship's price).

 

Go over to the destination boards and look for "Glory Tours" to get their contact information. They are a .org which means that are government connected somehow.

 

You will really enjoy the caves.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

We toured the caves via Glory tours highly recommend them. They are not government as the .org usually indicates a non-profit, don't understand that either.

[CFD130]

Thanks for the info

[trevgbb]

If you are a bit more adventorous or on a budget you can get there by bus;

http://harrisonscave.com/location-directions.html

We did this a few years ago when we were staying on the Island, the journey took about 1 hr and there was a 20 min. walk to the caves, might be a bit more difficult when you only have few hours before departure.

[Doug R.]

If you are a bit more adventorous or on a budget you can get there by bus;

http://harrisonscave.com/location-directions.html

We did this a few years ago when we were staying on the Island, the journey took about 1 hr and there was a 20 min. walk to the caves, might be a bit more difficult when you only have few hours before departure.

 

The buses on Barbados are reliable and plentiful. Keep in mind there are two kinds, government run blue and yellow buses and minivans. Bus stops are clearly marked directionally if they are going to or away from Bridgeton, which helps catching one going in the wrong direction at departure.

[KSCPA]

They are definately open now...but check the web page for days they are closed. They were closed while I was there Good Friday...missed it again!! The buses are great.... 75 cents!! Never waited to get to Beach.

Dont know if you can get there by bus. A local said that the Cave is GREAT since they refurbished it recently!!

I went to Paynes Bay last year to see the turtles...and Turtles you will see...it seems all the shore excursions go there for snorkeling!!

Have fun!!

Kris

[lrtjs5]

I have been to several caves here in the US. Is there anything different to see than the usual????

[gypsy mom]

I saw someone advised that the Mt. Gay rum tour was only operating M-F. This is NOT true, we took a tour on Sat. April 10th. We stopped at the tourist info at the pier shopping mall and had them call to confirm they were still open. Get a brochure from them at the same time, as it has a coupon for a free mini bottle of rum! We took a taxi to Mt. Gay for $3 pp one way. The tour cost $3 pp, as they are currently doing renovations. Normal charge is $7. They gave us a small rum punch to drink as we watched the video, and then we got two SMALL samples of the rum after. We shared a taxi with another couple on the way back.

[Aplmac]

I have been to several caves here in the US. Is there anything different to see than the usual????

Harrison's Cave is a 'living' cave(still being formed) with running water thru the cave, in parts.

 

Most commercial caves are 'dead' caves (no running water still carving them).

It's quite scenic -it's not popular fer nuthin! ;)

.