Take a panoramic tour of Barbados’ central sights — from coast to coast — and then enjoy a couple of hours of beach time on this 5-hour island tour. On a round-trip route from Bridgetown, visit the site of the island’s oldest church on the west coast, stop by the Cherry Tree Hill lookout point in the middle of the island for amazing views of the ocean and lush landscape, and have a drink at Barclays Park on the east coast. Then relax on the beach and go for a swim at Carlisle Bay!
Your Barbados island tour starts with hotel pickup by van in Bridgetown, followed by a drive up the west coast of the island — the Caribbean side. This stretch of shoreline is often called the ‘gold coast’ due to its beautiful hotels like the Sandy Lane and large homes, including the house where native daughter Rihanna stays when she’s in Barbados.
When you reach Holetown, make your first stop at St James Parish Church, the site of the oldest church on the island, originally founded in 1628. Take a brief tour of the small church before heading about 20 minutes northeast to Cherry Tree Hill for a photo op. At 850 feet (260 meters) above sea level, Cherry Tree Hill offers a beautiful view of the coast and the lush landscape of St Andrew Parish. Once flanked by cherry trees, the road to the lookout point is now lined with mahogany trees.
Continue your tour east to the Atlantic side of the island, and stop at Barclays Park, a popular, 50-acre (20-hectare) park that climbs up a beachside hill. (Fun fact: It was opened in 1966 by Queen Elizabeth II.) Have a seat with your guide at one of the many picnic tables and enjoy a refreshing beer, glass of rum punch or other provided beverage.
Then head down the east coast about five minutes to Bathsheba for your last stop before hitting the beach. Enjoy a photo opportunity in the picturesque surfing and fishing village, and then make the 30-minute drive back across the island, this time traveling through the sugar cane fields, to Carlisle Bay, where you have two hours of free time on the beach.
Swim, go snorkeling, take a nap on the sand, buy lunch at the beach bar — the time here is yours to do as you wish (any activities, food and drinks at the beach are at your own expense).
Your Barbados island tour ends with hotel or seaport drop-off in Bridgetown.
Eddie, the tour guide was friendly and informative regarding the island's history. Provided ample time for and encouraged photo opts.
Review by: Shaloma M, September 2017
Nice tour guide Eddie, very good history of the island from its beginnings to current state, even gave real estate history and advice. Saw beautiful views of the island and the people. Recommended great spot to stay, eat and party on our next visit.
Review by: Jennifer S, September 2017
The tour was okay. It was raining so we went to the Harrison Cave instead of the beach. The guide was nice and polite, not sure he could be considered more than a driver though. I was a bit disappointed that no specific meetup location was set by viator or the tour company. We had to search for them upon arrival and they were far away. I tried calling the supplier on the morning of the tour, but got no response.
Review by: Nikita, June 2017
I scheduled for Thursday,the company rescheduled to Saturday, resulting in making other immediate adjustments towards my vacation. The tour bus air conditioning was not functional which made it quite uncomfortable. Didn and #39;t allow much time for stopping all the places requested. Tour guide was ok.
Review by: Judy.wood28, April 2017
This was the first time we used Viator, Eddie our guide was waiting for us at the Port Terminal great guide and good value for money. _br/_ Will definitely use Viator again, as we are planning a trip down under!
Review by: Tovah T, March 2017
Tour was amazing our guide was knowledgeable, funny, respectful and accommodating. Would highly recommended.
Review by: rolandhynd, March 2017
Excellent value for money! Picked up outside of the port don't wait inside the port where the other tours go from in a mini bus, there were only four of us. I had a little trouble understanding our guide Eddie due to his accent and my bad hearing but got the gist of most of his commentary. Spent 2-3 hours touring the island with a couple of stops for photos and a drink at a nice bar on the Atlantic coast best side of the island, then a couple of hours on the beach before being taken back to our ship. Only criticism would be that we would have preferred to go to a quite beach rather than one packed with sunbeds, bars, water sports and loud music, we saw some much nicer beaches that Carlisle Bay on our tour. If there were good value tours available like this on every island we would have done one every day but most tours like this would be double the money.
Review by: v.geroe, December 2016
Very scenic drive along the Atlantic Coast and through the interior and then on to Carlisle Beach for an amazing swim which we loved ... This has to be the best beach in the Caribbean!
Review by: brittany.stoffer, December 2016
We loved this excursion! One of the highlights of our vacation. The crew was so nice and friendly, the speedboats were fun and the snorkeling was great. Definitely recommend.
Review by: Colin E, December 2016
This is the best trip for the money i have ever been on. You must try it
Review by: DavidMerrill, December 2016
Eddie was extremely personable and knowledgeable. He was also willing to take extra time or detours wherever we wanted.
Review by: Allana W, September 2016
It was a great trip however, i booked for a Sunday so we could not get access to the Church site.
Review by: Aidan H, September 2016
Fantastic tour for half a day! Our guide Eddy was great we had a minibus just for us on this occasion. Eddy took us everywhere and explained where we were and some of the history of Barbados which made it interesting and fun! _br/_ Well worth the trip!
Review by: Serene H, August 2016
This tour was amazing. Our tour guide Edwin was knowledgable and professional. Highly recommended.
Review by: Sylvia M, May 2016
It was a very worthwhile tour we saw so may things that I missed on my first trip and it was the first time that my husband had been to Barbados so we saw plenty of things and he was very knowledgeable in regard to history.
Review by: Mark C, March 2016
Edwin did a great job taking us around the island. It was a very nice day. Learned some about the economy, but might have had more history.
Review by: stephanie, February 2016
Our tour guide was punctual and friendly. The air conditioning in his van wasn't working and the van was full. It was a bit uncomfortable especially for the kids who were squished in the back row. Over all a good tour, but would have been better if the air conditioning was working.
Review by: Heather D, July 2015
We had an amazing time and our cab driver was absolutely amazing as well. Highly recommend him! Saw some very awesome sights and even had time to relax on the beach for a little while.
Review by: Mohammad Z, March 2015
The tour was very good. The driver was punctual, polite and provided detailed commentary during the trip.
Review by: Camille, October 2014
Saw a lot of Barbados and ended up at the best beach. The tour guide was very prompt and patient with us, recommend for sure
Review by: CHARLES G, September 2014
The tour gave my wife and myself a very good insight of the beauty of the island, driving along the west coast and then crossing the island and seeing a lovely view of the diverse east coast. The drive along the east coast was equally stunning and the final stop for a swim at carlise bay was most enjoyable. However I must commend the driver/guide (Edwin) who was extremely cooperative, kind, curteous and informative throught the tour. Thanks for providing my wife and I with a lovely day.
Review by: Luu N, July 2014
I think it should stop at mushroom rock for photo instead of just drive by. Other than that it was a good tour.
Review by: Karen E, July 2014
This trip is worth doing. We were picked up promptly and the specified time. The tour guide was very laid back, stopped at various points to allow us to take pictures. The beach we spent some time at was gorgeous. Would recommend this tour.
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