Harrison Caves

[LadieSadie]

Hi

We'll be doing Barbados on our Princess cruise in March. Wondering if anyone has done this tour and if so what your thoughts were.

 

I am definitely claustrophobic and don't know if this is something I should consider or not. DH would like to do it. What I've read on other sites state that the caves are warm/hot, moist and damp and that water is dripping on you from the ceiling throughout the tour. Also, it appears that at some point, you are in complete darkness for a short period of time.

 

Also, there seems to be a discrepancy on the charge. I know it was shut down for renovations, but I understand it is open and operating again.

 

Any ideas, thoughts, reviews would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

JC

[RJHNorthyorks]

Hi

 

We just toured the caves last month whilst staying in Barbados. The caves are massive and very spacious. The tour is conducted on a small open bus like vehicle with a couple of carriages. It is a bit damp but not a major problem ( as someone whose hair doesn't survive humid).

The period of darkness is very short and is to demonstrate how dark the cave really is. The guide ( hyacinth) explained what was to happen, how long we would be in dark and also that we were OK with this before we had the darkness time.

We felt the tour was fascinating , well run and very safety conscious. The gardens and picnic area outside are lovely.

We have photographs which I will attempt to post

[LadieSadie]

Hi

 

We just toured the caves last month whilst staying in Barbados. The caves are massive and very spacious. The tour is conducted on a small open bus like vehicle with a couple of carriages. It is a bit damp but not a major problem ( as someone whose hair doesn't survive humid).

The period of darkness is very short and is to demonstrate how dark the cave really is. The guide ( hyacinth) explained what was to happen, how long we would be in dark and also that we were OK with this before we had the darkness time.

We felt the tour was fascinating , well run and very safety conscious. The gardens and picnic area outside are lovely.

We have photographs which I will attempt to post

 

 

Thanks for your quick response. How damp is damp? Would we need to wear some type of cover for our clothes / hair?

 

How much was this tour? Did you do it on your own or through a tour operator or cruise ship? Did you include this with anything else? We really aren't sure what we should be doing in Barbados so any info will help.

 

Thanks again

JC

[RJHNorthyorks]

Hi JC

We spent a week in Barbados prior to the cruise. We did this half day trip through Virgin travel - our tour company. We did price it with local taxi drivers but in our case Virgin were cheaper. The damp is occassional drips of water we certainly weren't wet. You are probably only in the caves for about an hour max.

Our favourite activity on Barbados was a snorkelling cruise with Tiami. This was 10 - 3pm cruise on a Catamaran up the West Coast with 3 stops for swimming and snorkelling. Equipment provided if needed. Includes bbq lunch, drinks all day, punch etc. There is lots of info about this company on tripadvisor.

[Buffettfan 225]

Hi JC

We spent a week in Barbados prior to the cruise. We did this half day trip through Virgin travel - our tour company. We did price it with local taxi drivers but in our case Virgin were cheaper. The damp is occassional drips of water we certainly weren't wet. You are probably only in the caves for about an hour max.

Our favourite activity on Barbados was a snorkelling cruise with Tiami. This was 10 - 3pm cruise on a Catamaran up the West Coast with 3 stops for swimming and snorkelling. Equipment provided if needed. Includes bbq lunch, drinks all day, punch etc. There is lots of info about this company on tripadvisor.

Just looking at options for Barbados, and cinsidering caves as my sons GF loves taking photos. Since it is 20min minimum by taxi and I heard ship books a lot of the AM time slots for cave..the only option would be ship excursion to see caves. They are asking $80 per person for a 3 hour tour, would you consider this based on price to see caves, or pass and do a private taxi tour of island sights,shop & a beach maybe? ( a day tour for 4 looks like $120 vs $320) Thanks. I have seen caves before living in Indiana, but thought of a Barbados cave is neat, just not sure of price to justify,tour length or ability to see the cave well and get photos. Your or anyone else opinion is greatly appreciated. Can anyone give it a rating based on a 1 to 10 scale?

[RJHNorthyorks]

Hi

We've visited a number of caves in Europe and also Australia.

I'd give these an 8/9. Its an easy trip as you are transported down into the caves and given lots of information. Also lots of photo opportunities -we have loads of photos but I haven't mastered posting yet.

We also liked the garden area - very tranquil. We had a picnic lunch there prior to going down the cave.

We'd spent a week in Barbados prior to joining Victory. Our favourite trips were the caves and west coast catamartan trip, I can't remember the cost but we did compare our tour operator with a taxi and found they were very similar so on this occassion we went with the tour operator.

Ros

[RJHNorthyorks]

Buffetfan 225

Just re read your post. $80 seems very expensive and we definately spent much less than that.

[Buffettfan 225]

Buffetfan 225

Just re read your post. $80 seems very expensive and we definately spent much less than that.

I know it is expensive hence asking for opinions. I know the admission has been increased since the renovation, and that is $30 of the $80 through Carnival. Also the transportation cost each way. I'd book a rental car if I knew we'd be able to secure our own reservation spots--I heard Carnival "takes a large block" of the am time slots. Anyone know if we rented a car to cave, if we'd be able to get to Bathsheba on our own (maps and gps with us) and back to ship by 3:30-4pm?

[Buffettfan 225]

:cool:

Hi

We've visited a number of caves in Europe and also Australia.

I'd give these an 8/9. Its an easy trip as you are transported down into the caves and given lots of information. Also lots of photo opportunities -we have loads of photos but I haven't mastered posting yet.

We also liked the garden area - very tranquil. We had a picnic lunch there prior to going down the cave.

We'd spent a week in Barbados prior to joining Victory. Our favourite trips were the caves and west coast catamartan trip, I can't remember the cost but we did compare our tour operator with a taxi and found they were very similar so on this occassion we went with the tour operator.

Ros

Apprecaite the opinion, I just was on website and says they are offering additional tours starting this month--one sounds the same as tram tour but it is walking tour and said see things closer up. Now that would be easier to take photos then. Being that we are going to six islands, caves would be unique, and I am sure we will be getting plenty of sun so a welcome thing to be "out of the sun"

[Ms411]

I mapped the route to the caves on my GPS. I'll try to upload it tonight and post so you can see it. I took a few photos on the way, and they'll also show on the trail.

 

I was able to get a tour reservation when I got there. I think they run tours every 30 minutes or so.

[Buffettfan 225]

I mapped the route to the caves on my GPS. I'll try to upload it tonight and post so you can see it. I took a few photos on the way, and they'll also show on the trail.

 

I was able to get a tour reservation when I got there. I think they run tours every 30 minutes or so.

That would be so helpful. I think with that, may choose to rent a car at pier and I even saw oncave website they take reservations--if I do it early enough may all come together. I just wonder still how far caves is to Bathsheba, or say Holetown (shopping..any comments on that area? we've already been downtown) and to get back to pier.

[RJHNorthyorks]

we went to Bathsheba on another trip- obviously its on the east coast and caves central. The roads were not particularly good ( and this is from a UK resident) so it seemed to take forever to get there.

[Buffettfan 225]

we went to Bathsheba on another trip- obviously its on the east coast and caves central. The roads were not particularly good ( and this is from a UK resident) so it seemed to take forever to get there.

I knew Bathsheba was on a coast, but not sure where caves where (just that they were a 20min ride or so) so the generalization helps. Thanks

[Ms411]

Holetown is fairly close to the cave at least in looking at the map I had, but whether there's a direct road straight there from the caves is another issue. The road to the cave was pretty winding. Oh! Along the way is a gully that you can hike. There are three of them, but I only noticed an entrance to this one on the way to the cave.

 

A group from our ship did the short gully hike, and they loved it. They showed me one of their photos, and it was gorgeous. The cave is actually in one of the three gullies, and you'll learn about them if you read the signs at the cave.

 

Of course, I don't remember the name of the closest gully, but this group walked to the gully from the cave (about 1.5 miles they said), and they should be able to tell you at the cave if you can't find it by googling.

 

I've uploaded the GPS trail with 28 pictures that may or may not be all good - didn't review them before posting. Now to post the link...

[Ms411]

Here's the link. Hope it helps. I haven't had a chance to review it yet, because if I start looking at photos and posting captions, it'll take forever before I finish. I'll probably do more updating of it later this week.

 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1297385

[Buffettfan 225]

Here's the link. Hope it helps. I haven't had a chance to review it yet, because if I start looking at photos and posting captions, it'll take forever before I finish. I'll probably do more updating of it later this week.

 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1297385

Thanks for posting. I know I spent many hours re-reading my Victory Cruise reiview and looking at photos. Now I will go and enjoy link.

[Ms411]

Buffetfan, I found my Barbados info. Welchman Hall gully is the one closest to the cave. Trail is 3/4 mile long. It looks like the road passing this gully is most direct route to Holetown.

 

Get the Barbados In A Nutshell map.

[Buffettfan 225]

Buffetfan, I found my Barbados info. Welchman Hall gully is the one closest to the cave. Trail is 3/4 mile long. It looks like the road passing this gully is most direct route to Holetown.

 

Get the Barbados In A Nutshell map.

Thanks for help, If we can secure cave reservations, I am sure a car rental will be much cheaper and enjoyable than the $320 through ship for excursion. Thanks for tips and name of map to look for.

[nautica34]

The caves sound very interesting and would love to do so. How far are they from the cruise pier (will be on Celebtrity)? Is it public transportation accessible? If not, how much would a cab for 2 be? Are reservations required? It'll be our first time in Barbados and would like also like to see a beach.