Barbados
General
Independent democratic state, part of British Commonwealth. It’s an island 34 kilometres long and 23 wide, population 280,000, in the Lesser Antilles, in the North Atlantic 100 km east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea.
Eight or nine hours of sunshine all year round.
Currency: Barbados dollars.
1BBD = £2.42. = €2.12 = US$ 2.00
Flight time London to Barbados: 8 hrs 20 min.
Time in Bridgetown: UTC - 04.00
Entry requirements: valid passport, return ticket.
According to UK Health authorities, there is a risk of Zika virus transmission. For more advice, check National Travel Health Network and Centre website.
Hurricane season usually runs from June to November. You can see updates from the US National Hurricane Centre.
Visas? Not for US or EU, but needed for certain countries. See http://www.barbados.org/docs_requirements.htm.
(written March 2017)
Climate charts (for Bridgetown)
The wet season runs from June to November, dry season from December to May. Hurricane season June to November.
UK Foreign office warns swimmers to be cautious in the sea as there can be strong currents, especially on east coast.
Sea temperature - 27°C to 29°C all year round (that’s warm).
The waters round Barbados are supposed to be among the most transparent in the Caribbean.
More information - http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/barbados/
Barbados Interview
JS 29 Jan 2017
JS stayed on the south coast in 2017, in Lawrence Gap, 20 mins from airport (near Bridgetown).
Air temp 26 - 30 every day, lots of sunshine.
Rained occasionally but cleared up.
Sea temp - warm.
Sea visibility good, v clear.
It’s the usual island routine - if winds blow from the east, go to the west, as it’s sheltered. Basically, hide from the wind to get the best snorkelling.
Really good snorkelling on southwest coast because the coral reefs are sheltered from the Atlantic (east coast). Travelled round the island a bit, some roads on the east a bit ropey. Eleven different parishes of the island, named after saints, which can be divided into four regions. Bridgetown, the capital, is very small.
Took trips from Brownes Beach (near Bridgetown) . A dive trip from West Side Scuba, guy had good local knowledge, arranged all the dive trips, locations were based on weather
It was windy, so went further south, to Needhams point (south of Bridgetown) . Good dive on the SS Stavronika
Trip? Two full dives - 240 Barbados dollars, about $120 US or £100 sterling. 100 Barbados for snorkelling, which felt a bit steep.
Good idea to do ‘island-hopping’ - one week in Barbados, the next another island.
Would we go there? Yes - the report was very positive. We would probably choose January to May.
Usual warning: we have made every effort to make sure this information is correct and up-to-date, but you need to check it all yourself.
© Garreg Lwyd Ltd 2018
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