What to do in Barbados

Outdoor activities for adventurous couples, include…

Snorkelling & scuba diving

With clear shallow waters providing visibility of up to more than 30m most of the year, Barbados is a great island to snorkel and scuba dive. By day, look out for the many hawksbill turtles, and on night dives spot sleeping fish, night anemones, moray eels and octopuses.

Most diving is concentrated on the leeward west and south coasts, where coral gardens teem with more than 50 species of tropical fish and are thick with sea fans, orange elephant ear, gorgonians, barrel and rope sponge.

Check out Asta Reef, with a drop of 24m, as well as the 2km-long coral reef near Sandy Beach, and Dottins, a stunning 8km-long reef on the west coast complete with 30m drop-offs and dive sites averaging 12m in depth.

Shallow wreck dives include the JR, the Berwyn and the SS Stavronikita; the latter now forms an artificial reef in Folkestone Underwater Park, north of Holetown, where you can dive among barracuda, moray eels and colourful sponges.

The Park also features an underwater snorkel trail and glass-bottom boat rides, making it a firm family favourite.

Choose from several certified dive operators who also offer NAUI- and PADI-certified courses. Other companies operate snorkelling cruises to scenic areas around the island.

Submersibles

Discover an underwater world in air-conditioned comfort without getting wet: the Atlantis submarine based in Bridgetown features wide viewing ports for sightseeing cruises to wrecks and coral reefs along the west coast.

Windsurfing

For the best windsurfing on Barbados, head to Silver Sands Beach where the combination of a shallow offshore reef and shifting trade winds between November and May create unique wind and wave conditions.

Here, advanced windsurfers can do complete loops and reach speeds of up to 50kn; Silver Sands is rated the best spot in the Caribbean for advanced windsurfing. Visit the beachfront Club Mistral Windsurfing Club for lessons and equipment rentals.

Hiking

For the island’s most scenic hiking region, head to the rugged and dramatic Atlantic east coast between the Ragged Point lighthouse to Bathsheba and Pico Teneriffe – a 25km-long stretch of rough, stony hiking trails.

Walk the entire length or alternatively, try the 6km section from Ragged Point to Consett Bay.

The Barbados National Trust offers free Sunday morning hikes throughout the year, covering a different area of the island each week. Most hikes take only 3 hours, with knowledgeable guides offering interesting details about fauna and flora along the way.

Or follow the marked 8km-long trail along the Arbib Nature and Heritage Trail, which explores the region around the bustling fishing town of Speightstown.

This trail leads to a mysterious gully, through a colonial-era plantation to historic 18th century Dover Fort while crossing several white-sand beaches.

Horseback riding

For some of the best riding experiences, choose from a 1- to 2-hour ride (or longer) to explore the verdant region around St Andrew parish, know locally as Scotland.

Here, from Cattlewash stretching north to Pico Teneriffe, you can enjoy some of the most panoramic hilly areas of Barbados, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Golf

The best courses on the island include the championship Ron Kirby-designed, 18-hole par-72 course at the Barbados Golf Club, located on the south coast, and the Tom Fazio-designed 18-hole championship golf course at Sandy Lane Hotel, situated on the west coast and famous for its ‘Old Nine’ holes.

Tee-off from the Royal Westmoreland Golf and Country Club – the island's premier golf course: designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr, this 18-hole course spreads across 200ha overlooking the west coast beaches and Caribbean Sea.

Although part of a private residential community, the course is open for use by any non-member for a fee.

Latest update Barbados honeymoon destination: 12 May, 2022