Barbados - Caves, Monkeys and History

[traciemarie]

We're making our first trip to the Caribbean in a few weeks for New Years, and we haven't found the "perfect" tour for Barbados yet.

 

We've decided we *must* see Harrison's Cave, go the wildlife reserve to see the monkeys, and would really like to see some historic stuff, Bridgetown or maybe a rum distillery. Without taking a private car/tour, I'm not sure we can get all these in.

 

Glory's Best of Barbados tour looks like it covers most of it, and we can skip the glass bottom boat, but then how far is the beach from Bridgetown/the port?

 

Johnson's "Caves and Critters" tour looks pretty good, as well as shoretrips.com's "Natural Wonders of Barbados" tour, but neither of them seem to capture the history portion we were looking for.

 

In short (ha!) I guess my question is this - if we did a 1/2 day tour to cover the nature stuff, could we walk into Bridgetown and cover some of the history stuff on our own? Or do you know of any tours that do both?

 

Replies are most appreciated. I'm sure we'll have a magnificent time no matter what we decide!

[barbados]

I am unable to recommend an organised tour for you, but will encourage you to leave a visit of Bridgetown proper for a longer stay.

 

Most that venture to town on such a short day would have preferred to use their time elsewhere.

 

IMHO, there is no "tour" better than a taxi tour. Your driver has all the answers to your questions, knows the best spots, knows most of the vendors and, best of all, is at your command.

 

There is a wealth of history on the island that dates back to the mid 1600's. If you cannot see it within your short stay, please return for a longer visit so we can show you what you missed. On your second time to Barbados we say that you're 'coming home', not visiting.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday! :) :)

[ricko1]

I am unable to recommend an organised tour for you, but will encourage you to leave a visit of Bridgetown proper for a longer stay.

 

Most that venture to town on such a short day would have preferred to use their time elsewhere.

 

IMHO, there is no "tour" better than a taxi tour. Your driver has all the answers to your questions, knows the best spots, knows most of the vendors and, best of all, is at your command.

 

There is a wealth of history on the island that dates back to the mid 1600's. If you cannot see it within your short stay, please return for a longer visit so we can show you what you missed. On your second time to Barbados we say that you're 'coming home', not visiting.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday! :) :)

 

Hoping you can answer a question for me..

 

Does the Pelican shopping center have a resturant in the area??. Thanks

[Aplmac]

Does the Pelican shopping center have a restaurant in the area??.

I'm fairly sure it does, but it's not touristy.

Last I was there (some years ago, admittedly) it seemed to cater to local tastes,mostly

but I'm sure they'll gladly serve tourists/cruisers,too.

 

Don't expect frills...unless it's been upgraded bigtime from when last I was there.

[mehartys]

Hi Traciemarie, I agree with "Barbados"..wait until you have more time to tour Bridgetown. I believe that Harrisons Caves are closed right now. A tour with a personal driver is great, we were fortunate to find a great guy at our hotel. I highly recommend the Wildlife Reserve, the drive there was beautiful and the reserve is filled with huge tortoises and rabbits, birds and very friendly monkey's. We also did an off road island tour by Range Rover which took us over to the Atlantic side of the island to Bathsheba...absolutely breathtaking. Our tour included lunch and the guides were very friendly and informative. You can find out more about all sorts of tours on this website http://www.barbados.org . We have also taken a Tiami Catamaran cruise twice and it was excellent...5 hours long, with a great buffet and anything you want to drink..I thought 5 hours would drag, but the time passed very quickly, we loved it. Have a wonderful time, Barbados is high on our list of favourite places.