Barbados

Have you ever found yourself literally counting down the days, hours, and even minutes until a vacation?? This was definitely me before my first trip to Barbados. A small group of us were booked to go to Barbados for an extended weekend to celebrate my parents 35th wedding anniversary, and by the week of the trip I couldn’t tell who was more excited and ready to go between me and them! That is, until a little mishap occurred that I almost let ruin my mood. I have no clue if it was an allergic reaction or bug bite or what but my eye swelled up something serious two days before take off! Liiiike really??! I was trying everything under the sun to get it to go down, cream, ice, etc but nahhhh, just red and swollen. By the time I showed up to the airport it was still there but FINALLY showing signs of going down. I found myself looking in the mirror every second until finally I reminded myself… mind over matter. Whyyyy sweat the small stuff when I’m literally about to catch a flight to an island?? The show must go on, swollen eye or not!!

Bougainvillea Hotel

On day one we checked into Bougainvillea Hotel. This is a beautiful ocean front hotel located on Maxwell Beach and within just a few minutes from some of the top attractions in Barbados. Upon arrival I found out that I had a complimentary upgrade on my room due to travel points I accumulated through Expedia, gotta love those perks! I did not ask any questions, I just gladly took my room key, and welcome beverage! The room was great! Very modern and clean, it had a spacious balcony with a great view of the pool and ocean, and a full kitchen.  There are two restaurants on the property which offer a variety of food and beverages and a pool bar/swim up bar, which food can also be delivered to. The pool bar has a happy hour special everyday that you won’t want to miss! You can’t help but notice the beautiful Bougainvillea flowers planted all around the property, they really give the place a bright and vibrant pop of color. We ended up meeting some really nice staff members who treated us great for the duration of our stay!

Oistins Fish Fry

The ever so popular Oistins Fish Fry! Almost everyone I asked who have frequented Barbados said that I MUST GO to Oistins Fish Fry, some of them got more specific and said when I go ask for Uncle George’s! I was told to think of it as a large BBQ with music, dancing, entertainment and great food! Needless to say, we wasted no time in seeing what all the hype was about. You’ll get a different vibe depending on what night you go. We went on a Wednesday night and it was not very packed at all, just a few locals and tourists quietly enjoying meals. The setup is a large area with a tent covering. There are many different vendors offering all types of fish, including flying fish which is one of Barbados national dishes, lobster, crabs and much more. We stopped at Uncle George’s and they were happy to see us, we got seated right away and did not wait long for our food to be prepared. I went all out and got Lobster and I would definitely give it a thumbs up! We went back on Friday night, which is considered the best night to go and it was as if it was a completely different place! It was jam packed, music was blaring on the street side as a street party was getting started and the chefs were intently over the grills as they worked to fill multiple orders at a time. The wait was obviously muchhhhh longer, but the quality of food was still good! Therefore, my advice is eat a snack before you go on a busy night! After we ate we wandered out to the street to enjoy the multiple parties that were going on. Great music and great vibes!

St. Lawrence Gap

The second most talked about location… St. Lawrence Gap aka The Gap! This is the party strip y’all! Well, it’s famous for its restaurants, nightlife, and shopping. You can find both locals and tourists coming together to enjoy good music and clean fun! I tested out a couple of the spots along the strip and was pretty pleased with each one. McBride’s offered some reggae, calypso, and soca and I was here for all of it! We also had fun at Hal’s, so much fun that we visited twice and he ended up giving my parents complimentary “happy anniversary drinks”. It was a plus that food carts were open by the end of the night, because we all know how that goes…….

The Boatyard

The Boatyard is a family fun type of place. There is a little bit of everything for everyone in your group to enjoy. Restaurant, bar, water activities, and Jet Skis are available next door (not a part of Boatyard). It is located near the center of town so of course I took a stroll to explore.

Private Island Tour

Not everyone is in to taking tours, they can be long, and crowded with many people so you might not feel like you are getting an authentic experience or  you may not even be able to hear or see over the crowd. This is why we decided to do a private island tour with Carson. Carson is someone my parents met when they cruised to Barbados a few months earlier. He runs a taxi and tour service, and offers private small group tours. This was a great decision because he was actually able to cater the tour to us and give us a one on one more personal experience. There was no pressure. We cruised the island and listened to Carson drop some serious knowledge and history, he really knows his stuff! Some stops along the way were:

• Rihanna’s home she grew up in as well as the gated community in which she currently has a house
• Rastafarian Village
• Sea Side Bar
• Rock Hall and visited the Rock Hall monument of freedom
• Bathsheba Beach, one of my favorite stops. This beach is known for its interesting rock formations, and calming effect. You can sit at the top of the hill and look over the beach and literally get lost in peacefulness. Although it is a beach, it is not really recommended to swim there because it is really rocky and the current can be a bit rough. But trust me, just the view is enough!

Be sure to check Carson out if you are ever on the island – Carson’s Taxi Service 1-244-240-5339 hoppa91@hotmail.com.

Cool Runnings Catamaran Cruise

We decided to turn things up a bit on our last day and book a catamaran cruise. I think this is a fun way to spend your afternoon. The package included the boat ride with music, fun, dancing, snorkeling, lunch, and unlimited dranksss! One thing that can make or break the experience is the crew and our crew was definitely lit! After I made everyone promise me I wouldn’t get eaten by a shark I decided to join in on the snorkeling fun, it was hard to resist because the water was beautiful!!

Champers

After a day of immense turn up on the catamaran we ended the night with a nice dinner at one of the classiest restaurants on the island (as we were told by many people). Champers is an upscale restaurant that sits right on the water’s edge. They offer indoor air-conditioned dining as well as dining on the deck by the water. The menu is vast offering food made with local ingredients, a variety with a Caribbean flair. It may have been the sun that wore us out that day combined with it being the last day of vacation but by the time desert rolled around we were fighting to keep our eyes open. Overall, it was a great way to close out a wonderful celebratory trip!

Wine Glass Half Empty: Most people in our group left from the North East Coast USA and we quickly learned that flight options were not good to Barbados. After we sifted through many options and played around with the days and times, the best we could come up with was a layover there and back, in Fort Lauderdale FL and the layover coming back was 9 whole hours!! Not to mention our flight was at the crack of dawn! No bueno after days of partying 🙁

Wine Glass Half Full: Good thing we have family in Fort Lauderdale, I was able to see  my grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins who I haven’t seen in years while we waited out our layover.

Have you ever been to Barbados? If so, how did you like it? If not, is it on your bucket list? Because it sure should be! Tell me below <3