On Our Own or a Tour Guide? Mr. Barbados?

[rjscott]

joniellen, on our first visit to Barbados, we went into town and walked around for a bit, shopped some and then sat along the waterfront and had a drink and had a very nice time. There is a bit of a historical walking tour you can take if that interests you. If there are specific sights you'd like to see outside Bridgetown, but don't want to spend all your time touring, you can hire a driver to take you to just those few sights and then back to town.

 

Becki

[joniellen]

Thanks RJScott- good advice. Sounds low key and doable.

[siyuewu]

Hi, our cruise will stop at 9am and leave at 5:30pm. We are considering hiring a car to go around. Here's the list we want to hit:

 

Wild Life Reserve

 

Bathsheba

 

Scenic East Coast

 

Cherry Tree Hill

 

Orchid World

 

Farley Hill

 

North Point

 

Is it possible that we finish all of them in the morning and go back to the west coast at noon? If not, which ones you'd suggest to cut off? We wanna do snorkeling at the ship wreck and with the turtles in the afternoon. Do we need to join some tour and take a boat out of the sea for the snorkeling? Or the sites are close to the beaches, we could just park our car and swim to the sites?

 

Thank you very much!

[SqueakyDust]

Oh my! thats a lot of things you want to do in only a morning!

 

We hired a car and only managed The Wildlife Reserve (we could have spent more time here too), Bathsheba & Harrisons Caves (and of coure a little detour here and there ;) )

You'd perhaps manage your list if you were taking all day, and not spending much time at each destination.

I'd suggest you pick 2 to 3 places, and ones that are close to each-other. Also remember to allow time for traffic jams as Bridgetown gets very busy and traffic comes to a standstill.

You may be better going on a taxi tour for the half day, as your driver will know the best roads (and won't get lost) and the cost may be more viable.

 

Just return to Barbados at a later date to do all the things you want to do :)

[Capebreck]

Hi, our cruise will stop at 9am and leave at 5:30pm. We are considering hiring a car to go around. Here's the list we want to hit:

 

Wild Life Reserve

 

Bathsheba

 

Scenic East Coast

 

Cherry Tree Hill

 

Orchid World

 

Farley Hill

 

North Point

 

Is it possible that we finish all of them in the morning and go back to the west coast at noon? If not, which ones you'd suggest to cut off? We wanna do snorkeling at the ship wreck and with the turtles in the afternoon. Do we need to join some tour and take a boat out of the sea for the snorkeling? Or the sites are close to the beaches, we could just park our car and swim to the sites?

 

Thank you very much!

 

I'm not certain I'm allowed to recommend someone personally but on our recent cruise on the Spirit, we were fortunate to meet "Ali," Alliston Clarke, by simply walking out and talking to him and arranging to hire him for the full day.

 

He took us completely around the island: it was the best day of our eleven day cruise.

 

He was knowledgeable, friendly and courteous. We invited him to have lunch with us and we spoke of many things about life on his island.

 

Anyway, he was the highlight of our trip, the fare was very reasonable, and I would hire him again and recommend anyone else to do the same.

 

Just yell for "Ali," like Muhammad Ali, when you get outside the terminal and you may get lucky.

 

We saw it all and he was responsible for it.

 

If you're on the Spirit now, tell him the family from two weeks ago recommended him

 

Good luck.

 

You can't go wrong with Ali.

 

D

[rjscott]

Siyuewu, I agree that you are trying to pack way too much into a morning. You have to allow travel time to each point of interest, and then time to enjoy the sights. Just a couple of the stops you've indicated would take up your morning. We've been to Barbados three times now and haven't seen all we want to see or do a lot of the things I've wanted to, just because of time constraints. As Squeaky Dust says, you'll just have to plan to return! :) Here's a good map of the points of interest on Barbados: http://www.barbados.org/points.htm Maybe pinpointing the location of a couple of island highlights for you would help you narrow down those things that are a "must-see" for you. If the snorkeling trip is really high on your agenda, plan that first and then see how much spare time you'll have to sightsee.

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Siyuewu, also meant to say, you might want to contact Cameron Reid at http://www.scenicbarbados.com. We used him last April for an island tour. He and I corresponded several times via email to discuss the sights I wanted to see versus the amount of time needed. One of the things I wanted to do was go to Folkstone Marine Park to do some snorkeling. As it turned out, we didn't do that, but he can build a stop at a beach into your tour. He'll know a good spot to go, and how many other things you can do in the time remaining.

 

Becki

[Sunniebgi]

Hi, our cruise will stop at 9am and leave at 5:30pm. We are considering hiring a car to go around. Here's the list we want to hit:

 

Wild Life Reserve

 

Bathsheba

 

Scenic East Coast

 

Cherry Tree Hill

 

Orchid World

 

Farley Hill

 

North Point

 

Is it possible that we finish all of them in the morning and go back to the west coast at noon? If not, which ones you'd suggest to cut off? We wanna do snorkeling at the ship wreck and with the turtles in the afternoon. Do we need to join some tour and take a boat out of the sea for the snorkeling? Or the sites are close to the beaches, we could just park our car and swim to the sites?

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

Well It's doable, but it will take a good 4 hours to do all that you want to do and thats with minimal stopping time in each. Make sure you have a plan. for me I would do the following. Go to Orchid World First. Drive to the east coast via St. John's church (just have a quick look, it's a very nice place and a great photo stop). Drive through Bathsheba and up and over to Cattlewash and the Scenic Drive of the East Coast. you will have to choose between Farley Hill and Cherry Tree Hill, cause I don't think you can do both. Farley Hill is accross from the Wildlife Reserve so that might be your best bet. Not alot to see at North Point except Animal Flower Cave and some pretty rough cliffs and seas.

 

From Farley Hill you can drive either along Highway 2A back to the port or head to the West Coast Road, Highway 1 down to Spring Garden and back to the port.

 

Or better yet.. have someone else do the driving for you.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Enjoy

[Sunniebgi]

Hi, our cruise will stop at 9am and leave at 5:30pm. We are considering hiring a car to go around. Here's the list we want to hit:

 

Wild Life Reserve

 

Bathsheba

 

Scenic East Coast

 

Cherry Tree Hill

 

Orchid World

 

Farley Hill

 

North Point

 

Is it possible that we finish all of them in the morning and go back to the west coast at noon? If not, which ones you'd suggest to cut off? We wanna do snorkeling at the ship wreck and with the turtles in the afternoon. Do we need to join some tour and take a boat out of the sea for the snorkeling? Or the sites are close to the beaches, we could just park our car and swim to the sites?

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

Well It's doable, but it will take a good 4 hours to do all that you want to do and thats with minimal stopping time in each. Make sure you have a plan. for me I would do the following. Go to Orchid World First. Drive to the east coast via St. John's church (just have a quick look, it's a very nice place and a great photo stop). Drive through Bathsheba and up and over to Cattlewash and the Scenic Drive of the East Coast. you will have to choose between Farley Hill and Cherry Tree Hill, cause I don't think you can do both. Farley Hill is accross from the Wildlife Reserve so that might be your best bet. Not alot to see at North Point except Animal Flower Cave and some pretty rough cliffs and seas.

 

From Farley Hill you can drive either along Highway 2A back to the port or head to the West Coast Road, Highway 1 down to Spring Garden and back to the port.

 

Take a look at the maps mentioned earlier and plan a route..

 

Or better yet.. have someone else do the driving for you.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Enjoy

[siyuewu]

Thank you SqueakyDust, Capebreck, rjscott and Sunnibgi for your suggestions!

 

Now my new plan:

 

St. John's church

Bathsheba

Cattlewash

Scenic Drive of the East Coast

Farley Hill

Wildlife Reserve

 

back to the west coast by 1pm.

 

Can anybody help me with the shipwreck and turtle snorkeling? Do we need to book some tour in advance for that? Or we can just bring our snorkeling gears and drive to the sites?

 

Thanks again! Happy new year!

[Capebreck]

Thank you SqueakyDust, Capebreck, rjscott and Sunnibgi for your suggestions!

 

Now my new plan:

 

St. John's church

Bathsheba

Cattlewash

Scenic Drive of the East Coast

Farley Hill

Wildlife Reserve

 

back to the west coast by 1pm.

 

Can anybody help me with the shipwreck and turtle snorkeling? Do we need to book some tour in advance for that? Or we can just bring our snorkeling gears and drive to the sites?

 

Thanks again! Happy new year!

 

Trust me: ask for Ali and, as Pedro says in Napoleon Dynamite, "All your dreams will come true."

[Capebreck]

FWIW: I have been all over the Caribbean but first time to Barbados.

 

This has become my favorite place. I will definitely return.

 

The Batsheba area is remarkable, Orchid World was cool, Cherry Hill was a kick, and the drive back along the west coast from the north was very entertaining. We went to a little restaurant on the beach and had flying fish for lunch with Ali. I can't tell you how good that lunch was.

 

Oh, yeah, Earthworks Pottery was a great shooping place along the way. Nice little art shop next door as well.

 

Barbados is way cool.

[seaboy]

Hi siyuewu

I am happy to know that you are going to Barbados.If you are taking a taxi, just tell them what time you have to reach back at the ship, and tell the driver to take you to Folkestone Marine Park, where you can get a glass bottom boat to snorkel at the shipwreck and with the turtles.There is a nice guy there as much as we did. There are reputable taxi drivers there, and it is not necessary to book a formal tour, which may be inflexible with many other folks.

[seaboy]

Hi at Folkestone, there is a nice guy by the name of Michael who will assist you with you snorkelling need. Trust you enjoy as we did.

[siyuewu]

Thank you Capebreck! I'm just wondering if you have Ali's number, or any other way that I can contact him before we go? You know, our ship has almost 2000 guests, what if someone gets off the ship earlier than us and finds him first?

Also, you mind telling me the price for a full day tour?

Thank you again.

[siyuewu]

Thank you seaboy. Sounds like Michael doesn't have a fixed schedule? We can sail to the snorkeling sites right off our car? Do we need to wait till the boat filled (or they require a minimum number of people?), or till the scheduled departure time? How much does it cost? Thank you.

[habby]

If someone asked me where to find heaven on earth, it's Barbados!!

 

Does anybody know if the snack bar at the Animal Flower Cave has been torn down and rebuilt yet? We had been there in 1988 and had a blast with Manuel. I heard he has a restaurant on the west coast now. In 2004 when we were there, it was Hero's Day and the snack bar was closed. Last year we went up and saw Maritza (Manuel's mother). She was such a delightful lady. We're going back in April and if the snack bar isn't open, we'll make other plans instead of going up to the North Point.

[seaboy]

Hi, As far as I can remember his boat leaves every 2 hours. If you call him, 2328157 he will be able to tell you a time to meet him in Folkestone. His cost is US$35 per person, if there are a lot of you, he will negotiate a favourable price.Many taxi drivers know him.

Enjoy Barbados.

[siyuewu]

seaboy, thanks! Does he has email, or website?

[Capebreck]

Thank you Capebreck! I'm just wondering if you have Ali's number, or any other way that I can contact him before we go? You know, our ship has almost 2000 guests, what if someone gets off the ship earlier than us and finds him first?

Also, you mind telling me the price for a full day tour?

Thank you again.

 

Ali: family of four - all day - 0900-1630 for $125.

 

We bought him lunch and it was a thoroughly enjoyable, memorable day.

 

To go all the places we went on ship tours would have been over $400 and then with loads of people dictating when to leave. We went to the church as well - forget the name.

 

I'm telling you, it was a day we will always remember.

[Capebreck]

Thank you Capebreck! I'm just wondering if you have Ali's number, or any other way that I can contact him before we go? You know, our ship has almost 2000 guests, what if someone gets off the ship earlier than us and finds him first?

Also, you mind telling me the price for a full day tour?

Thank you again.

 

Ali: family of four - all day - 0900-1630 for $125.

 

We bought him lunch and it was a thoroughly enjoyable, memorable day.

 

To go all the places we went on ship tours would have been over $400 and then with loads of people dictating when to leave. We went to the church as well - forget the name.

 

I'm telling you, it was a day we will always remember.

 

That's what he asked for and would have been happy for. We tipped him more as well but that was totally unnecessary.

[seaboy]

Siyuewu

Info on site re Michael's is http://westwater-adventures-barbados.com.

Enjoy

[siyuewu]

Capebreck, thanks! So you spent the whole day with Ali going around the island, didn't do the turtle/shipwreck snorkeling, or spent some time on some beaches?

 

seaboy, Thanks for the website.

[hobbycruiser]

Hi Barbados. Will you be there 3/29? I am at the Hilton. Give me a ring. Maybe we can have a drink together

 

Fred

[Plant]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know how far the old synagogue is from the pier? Is it in walking distance?

 

Also, do you know when they do tours? We'll be there on a Saturday. If it is still an operating synagogue will there be services?

 

I've searched for a website with this information, but couldn't find one.

 

Thank you for any help,

 

Plant