The Inside Scoop on Barbados: The Prime Minister’s Office is your Jump-off point to Paradise
Ms. Lilly: LDW’s Cruise Mistress
I’ve taken a break from my vacation for just a few moments to share some travel secrets with my subbies. Barbados is a stunningly beautiful island nation with fantastic food, awesome beaches, amazing shipwrecks, and pretty much everything a water loving Goddess like me could ask for. In fact–it is the PERFECT place for people who simply can’t get enough of the sea. If you really love the ocean, if you want to spend more time exploring the sea than just the 60-90min most excursions allow, if sea turtles, shipwreck reefs, and beautiful beaches are right up your alley…there’s a jump off point to Paradise just 10min away from the cruise port: The Prime Minister’s Office. I’ll be sharing tips for moderate swimmers and advanced swimmers later, but this post is for the beach break newbies 🙂
Pro-Tip for Beginning swimmers:
1st time to Barbados, or simply looking for a DIY option on your vacation? Bring along a mask & snorkel (fins optional), and ask at the taxi stand INSIDE the port to be taken to the Prime Minister’s Office–don’t use the taxis outside the port. The fare is only $5 USD each way per person at the time of this writing. Once you get to the Prime Minister’s Office, turn around, face the beach, cross the street, and walk straight towards the surf.
Watch Your Step
Limestone outcroppings & schools of little fish abound in Barbados’ shallows
The ocean in Barbados is a beautiful topaz blue, the sand is a fine, pale champagne, and even if you don’t want to go in water deeper than your knees, you can still see fish if you’re willing to put your face in the water. There are several types of fish that school along the shore—most are beautifully camouflaged to match the sand, some are transparent teal & blue–you’ll probably need your mask to see them. Watch your step, and try not to put your feet down until you’ve looked first once you’ve started swimming. There are occasional spiny black sea urchins (they look like spike balls–think of them as the porcupines of the sea–DON’T touch). Also, Barbados’ sand is a fairly thin veneer over a limestone shelf; outcroppings or unexpected pits & holes to the shelf below can trip the unwary—and those limestone outcroppings are typically shelter to tiny fish, it would be best if you didn’t hulk smash their home.
From Beach Break to Bon Voyage
Flag down a taxi to head back to the ship. At only $10 out of pocket per person round trip at the time of this writing, it’s a beautiful DIY Barbados beach break where you can spend as time in the water as you want. It also leaves room in your vacation budget to support the local craftsmen, restaurateurs, and businesses if you’d like to grab some souvenirs, eats, or shopping during your visit.
In future trips when you feel more comfortable in the water, check out my Barbados travel tips for Moderate swimmers, & then eventually Strong Swimmers once you’ve achieved the level of fitness and expertise necessary to safely take on more challenging physical adventures–trust me, it’s worth the effort!
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