Best of Barbados

Our Barbados Vacation Planning Guide

Barbados is a renowned and cultural significant Caribbean island that is among the most popular travel destinations in the world. The 166 square mile island boasts a heavy British influence that pervades the island along with a spirited Bajan spirit that belies the roots of the island. The island is famous for its stunning landscapes, rich heritage and fabulous villas. The villas on Barbados put a particular attention on staffing and service. The upper villas will include a full staff with butler, chef, housekeeper and laundress.

There are several famed country club neighborhoods on Barbados: Sandy Lane, Royal Westmoreland and Sugar Hill Estates each distinct with its own amenities.

Our Barbados guide provides our best suggestions of what to do on the island and where to eat. Whether you wish to decompress and seek a relaxing and pampered vacation or an adventure filled vacation, the island of Barbados offers it all.

Must Do Experiences

Here is our advice on what to do when on Barbados.

Charter a boat

Our must do recommendation is to explore the island and it’s renowned beaches and coves by sea. Private charters deliver lifelong memories and are certainly worth the splurge.

Barbados Charter

Schedule a massage at the villa

How do you get to immediate decompression mode? Book a spa service at your villa. Combine the beautiful views of your villa with a decadent massage. Indulge in a massage or beauty treatment.

Barbados Spa Services

Barbados Sightseeing & Tours - Feed the Monkeys

Barbados offers a host of tours from botanical gardens, history of rum or even a monkey feeding tour.

Here are some of the highlight tours:

Where to Dine

Barbados is a wonderful dining destination. Here are some of the best restaurants:

Fusion Rooftop
Lone Star
The Tides
Local and Co
QP Bistro
Coral Reef Club

Find our full list of recommended restaurants by visiting our Barbados restaurant guide.

Getting Around Barbados

Isle Blue highly recommends renting a car for several reasons. Renting a car allows you to fully explore and experience the island. Barbados is a small and easy to get around island with one main highway that circles the island. Please note that Barbados follow the British rules of the road so a quick adjustment to driving on the left side of the road makes your first day on island interesting.

Secondly, rental cars are affordable and offer a very good value versus other transportation means.

Isle Blue offers a large selection of rental car models that can be delivered to your villa or picked up at the airport.

Barbados Rental Cars

If you do not wish to rent a car, you can book an airport transfer to your villa online.

Barbados Airport Transfers

Expert Tips

Lastly, here are our expert tips to optimize your vacation experience on Barbados.

Fast Track Service

Barbados (BGI) Airport is known for long queues and wait times when arriving. Flights into and out of Barbados tend to occur during tight time windows with a huge influx of travelers all at once. We highly recommend the Barbados Fast Track Service to expedite you through the arrivals and departures process saving you considerable time and headache.

Pre-stocking

Arrange pre-stocking at your villa for the first few days. Arriving to a villa stocked with your favorite food and beverages allows you to immediately relax and jump into the pool. Air travel can be tedious these days and the last thing you will want to do is to go food shopping. Please contact our concierge to set up that service.

Ensuring Proper Travel & Entry Documents

Check your passport expiration date and if you need a visa to enter the country. US, Canada and Schengen area residents do not need a visa. Please verify that you meet the Barbados entry protocols.

Travel Insurance

We have all witnessed the wreckage that COVID brought about in the way we live our lives. We highly recommend securing trip insurance to protect against the unexpected. Guests are welcome to use any travel insurance company. Isle Blue has selectively and exclusively partnered with Travelex to provide our guests top rated trip insurance coverage. To learn more please visit our travel insurance options.

Observe a Caribbean Sunset

Dedicate time to fully witness a Caribbean sunset. Prime sunset locations are located along the west coast beaches such as Mullins or Gibbs beach. Consider booking a Barbados sunset cruise.

Just Relax

Barbados is renowned for its beautiful landscapes and slower pace. It’s a destination that mixes country club living with utter relaxation. It’s perfectly okay to spend most of your time at your fabulous villa with friends and family around. Allow yourself to decompress and enjoy the blissful weather and offerings this exotic island has to offer without the fear of missing out on some crucial experience, restaurant or adventure that most destinations require.

WHAT OUR GUESTS ARE SAYING

"I wanted to say a huge thank you to you both for all your help with booking our recent stay at Forest Hills 25 Royal Westmoreland. We had a fabulous holiday and this was due to a huge extent by the quality of the villa. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the options available and we chose Forest Hills 25 due to location , facilities and based on the photos. There was a slight concern before we arrived whether the villa would live up to the photos but it’s fair to say the villa in real life exceeded our expectations. The villa is beautifully decorated and all the furnishings are of a very high standard. The villa is very well equipped (blender for home made pina coladas!). The bathrooms are very modern and all beds bedding linen etc very high quality. Everything was provided that we needed - down to beach towels for the pool, all kitchen equipment and great storage space for unpacking all our holiday wardrobes. One of the aspects that really made it for us in particular was the separate apartment which our 15 year old son loved as having his own space meant he could maintain his love of a long lie! And my husband still can’t stop talking about the TV package - on the few nights we stayed in there was plenty available to keep us entertained. We made use of all the facilities at Royal Westmoreland- great rum sours at the Rum Shack. And the boys loved having their own private pool just outside the villa! The weather was hot and on a few days a bit stormy so having a lovely villa to come home to really made a difference. We only saw Anne the housekeeper twice during our visit but she was very helpful and helped keep everything clean and tidy. Sally's welcome and farewell service was much appreciated and even though we only had 1 query Sally responded so quickly with an offer to help. The service from Barbados Blue before arriving was exceptional with lots of helpful information and answers to all our questions. We last visited Barbados 15 years ago but we are not intending to wait that long again to return to Barbados and fully intend to book Forest Hills 25 again. We have already recommended it to lots of friends. If I was going to provide any constructive feedback it would be to the owners in relation to their Royal Westmoreland membership. I imagine that few people like us bring tennis racquets on holiday and the rental they charge for racquets is very expensive for an hour. We did also make use of the facilities at the Beach Club and while the beach is beautiful and we had some lovely days there, the service is not the most friendly and efficient compared to other places. I would love it if you could pass on our feedback to the villa owners so they know what a great time we had. Thank you again for all your help."

Sunila M.
Forest Hills 25