This is my personal view of Barbados, you may not agree with this view but hopefully you will enjoy it.

I have been visiting Barbados for nearly 20 years, sometimes staying for long periods. My first vist was a late package holiday, you know the ones, where your told the destination but not the hotel/apartment. I have to admit it was fairly inexpensive but to be honest once I arrived I felt as if "I was robbed". The accommodation on first sight was not the best I had stayed at on other vacations, I thought give yourself a good night sleep and am sure all will be well in the morning.

Little did I know that things would get worse, even before getting to bed, as I turned down the sheets I was greeted by a cockroach (luckily it was dead). Imagine what was running through my head as I tried sleeping.

Morning arrived, lets get out of this place and go to the beach, oops seems I forgot to pack my hiking boots.  Nobody happened to mention its a good 20 minutes walk from my apartment to the beach, is this a "tropical Caribbean island" well not one I had imagined.

I'm sure your wondering after this first experience, why did he go back for more, year after year, well because my experience was going to be turned totally on its head......

I knew I needed to change accommodation but as this was my first time on the island, I didn't know many hotels to exchange to, but luckily I remembered a friend telling my of their experience a year earlier.  

I contacted the hotel, (here is some other information for you all landline calls to other land lines are free), now thats  a bargain.  Anyway back to my experience, I contacted the hotel hoping against hope that they had vacancies. They did, hooray, so that afternoon I ordered a taxi and drove from the West Coast all the way over to the South East coast.  It was approximaitely 5.30pm and getting dark. Oh yes more information, it gets dark early all year round in the caribbean, so it was getting dark as I arrived.  The taxi dropped me off at this small hotel, which looked a little run down but in better condition than the apartments I had just left.  I checked in and was taken to my room by the manager.  As I entered the room, the curtains were closed, the maid was just opening them.  Well as the curtains opened I realised that now I was in "paradise", the sky was a reddish colour but still lit up the beach below my window.  I stood at the window for what seemed like hours taking in the view, palm trees, sea, sand and the noice of the waves lapping the shore.

After my experience at the first apartment, I checked the beds, the crockery and fridge.  All seemed good, everywhere was nice and clean, I unpacked then headed straight for the bar.  The barman was very friendly, in fact so friendly i stayed from around 6pm till over 11pm and i'm sure he bought most of the drinks after hearing about my time on the west coast. Oh its time for the bar to close, in fact it should of closed over and hour ago, so I need to stumble all the way to my room (wow must be at least 50 strides) and to bed.


I awoke, the sun shining through the window. After breakfast, its baggies (shorts) on and down to the beach.  Although the sea was a little rough it was wonderful diving through the waves, then a group of local boys arrived. They were soon in the sea and chatting to me, asking lots of questions about where I come from etc. For the rest of my vacation most of them became friends and are still friends to this day.

It was noon as i climbed my way up the steps to the hotel. Hmmm I hear a bell, I wonder what thats for? I head to the bar and the same barman is on duty.  As I reach the bar there is a Rum & Coke sat on the bar, I ask the barman for a drink and he points at the rum & coke and says "I guess you haven't changed your drink since last night have you?"  From that moment I never needed to order a drink from him or any of the other barmen, I guess he had told them what I drink and everytime I arrived at the bar a drink would appear.  Oh by the way I did buy them, they weren't free!!

On that lunchtime, I was sitting at the bar, a local man came and sat next to me. He introduced himself as the "in house" taxi driver and if I needed a taxi to contact him.  I did use he a few times on the holiday, dinner trips etc, he also signed me up for an island tour.  That tour was one of the best I had ever had.

We left the hotel at around 9am, picked up another couple at another hotel, then toured the whole of the island. Randy (taxi driver) gave the best running commentary and information, stopped at a number of rum shops (well its thirsty work sitting listening and looking at the views) for a "soda".  At the end of the day he dropped the couple at their hotel and asked if I was hungry, yes I was, he announced he was taking me to "the whole in the wall" for chicken.  We arrived at some back street in  Bridgetown. I looked around for a restaurant,  Randy got out of the car and i followed him to a whole in the wall, full of locals eating plates of chicken. The crowd opened, and I was ushered to one of two tables, as I sat down a plate, knife and fork appeared. The ckicken arrived and was one of the best cooked chicken I have ever tasted. Randy then decided we needed a swim, so we drove to Brighton Beach on Spring Garden Highway.  After a swim we arrived back at the hotel just after 9pm, the most wonderful experience of the island of Barbados in 12 hours. 


From that time Barbados had got her "hooks" in me and I would never vacation anywhere else in the world.  As I board the aeroplane "I leave my heart on the steps" only to pick it up again when I return.