Drive around the island?

[jnk619]

Hi - we are interested in visiting Bathsheba beach from the cruise dock, with very short stops at Cranes beach, bottom bay / harrismith bay / Martin bay. I'm guessing it would take an hour to get to Bathsheba, another 1-2hrs for the various beach stops, and another hour to head back to the dock.

 

Can anyone recommend a route back to the cruise dock? Should we just back track on the coast the way we came, or cut through the rainforest? Are there interesting things to see if we took the rainforest route? Or would it be more worth while to continue up the coast and around the island to see Speighstown / holetown beach? How long would the drive around the entire island take?

 

As of now, we're hiring a taxi (don't want to stress over getting lost, etc), but if we change our mind and rent a car, how safe is it to drive to the remote beaches on the east coast (just my husband and I).

 

Thanks for your help!

[bee-ess]

We have driven to the East Coast a couple of times by hiring a car right outside the cruise terminal. My advice would be to get a good map - it is not the best place for signage, although you never get very lost.

We have driven through the middle of the island up to beyond Bathsheba to Belleplaine (good views from Cherry Tree Hill) to approach Bathsheba from the North along the coast road, there are some good stopoffs along the coast before you get to Bathsheba. We have had a nice lunch sitting outside at the Roundhouse in Bathsheba.

After Bathsheba there are some good views by going up high to St John's Church. Then it is an easy drive along the coast to Bottom Bay. We haven't stopped at Crane with the car.

We have always returned along the coast stopping at Oistins for the Fish Fry if it is a Friday. The drive from Oistins back to the Port is not very scenic, just functional.

There's some photos here that have Bathsheba/ Bottom Bay on them.

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/1076935...Carib10Photos#

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/1076935...Carib11Photos#

[jnk619]

bee-ess,

 

thank you for the info and for sharing your photos! I looked at all 300+ photos - they are great!! makes me look forward to our trip even more :). I contacted a driver who has agreed to take us to Bathsheba / the east coast for $20/hr. I will ask him to take us on the route you recommended.

 

Thanks again!

j&k

[MrSchwump]

I would highly recommend a driving tour of the island. My wife and I rented a Moke and saw just about everything. Do get a good map or a car with GPS. The roads in the rural areas are marked but not like we're used to in the US. Not much advance notice of what's coming up. We did lots of backing up or turning around. Navigating in Bridgetown was especially frustrating. I could see the ship but still had to stop 3 times for directions on how to get to the harbor.

[beachhouse]

Jnk619

 

What company is the driver with?

[ricks2047]

My wife and I were on a land only trip and we rented a car for the week. We drove around and through the entire island (many times), got lost (most of the time) visited almost every beach and at all times felt that if we stopped the car and walked up to a house, they would invite us in for dinner. We encountered nothing but simply wonderful people the entire week. Some of our favorite beaches on the east side were River Bay, Little Cove Bay and Cove Bay (good luck getting there without a guide) and Bathsheba. Hiking the east side of the island from North Point along the cliffs was pretty impressive as well. Of course, your milage may vary.

[Nick welch]

Fully recommend the road trip.

 

Here is a map of all the beaches:

 

http://Www.beachesofbarbados.com