Barbados Holiday Reviews

The resort was a little way from the beach - but the beach was private, and the club had a bus that went backwards and forwards with a party spirit throughout.

If you wanted to go anywhere else on the island, you only had to put your hand up and a bus would stop and ask where you wanted to go. How can people all be so friendly? You need to go to Barbados to see for yourself!

My wife and I have recently returned from a cruise on Ocean Village and I have to say it was a great experience and probably the most enjoyable holiday we have had for many years. Basically there was nothing negative to say about the ship, the food or the staff. Our cabin, C7, was small but adequate and the important things, for example, a good shower and sufficient storage space were in place. It was good to see that there was a safe in the cabin which unlike many hotels we have stayed in was free of charge.

The food was excellent especially that in “The Waterfront” I found it rather odd that on each table was a notice informing us that we could “Experience Heaven on a Plate” by paying a supplement and eating in “The Bistro” the implication being that “The Waterfront” was not up to the same standard which was completely wrong.

Our major gripes were related to the shore excursions which did not represent particularly good value for money. In hindsight and with some preparation it was possible to make all the excursions that we undertook at a fraction of the cost that we paid Ocean Village. What was especially annoying was that a number of the trips we took included a lunch and since on those days we were not having lunch on the ship, which we had already paid for, it would have been a nice gesture that instead of paying again for a lunch as part of the excursion cost we were given a decent packed lunch and not the nasty chargeable option that was available from the ships reception desk.

One especially flagrant “rip-off “was when we docked in Palma. The daily newsletter stated that Ocean Village would operate a shuttle bus from the ship to Palma Cathedral at a cost of £8 per adult. The map in the newsletter showed a single bus stop in the centre of Palma giving the impression that bus stops were few and far between. My wife and I decided to walk the, according to the newsletter, one and a half miles, into Palma. After over an hour of swift walking on an extremely hot day and being no nearer the town centre – the average walking pace being 4 miles an hour, we decided to give up and turnaround. Perhaps you can understand our annoyance that as we entered the security post at the port on our right we saw a bus stop and a bus that went through the city centre to the airport the cost of this being just over a Euro. Why this vital piece of information could not be included in the newsletter was clearly obvious – the £8 per adult shuttle bus. Fortunately we encountered a group of people who were just setting off on the journey we had attempted and were able to tell them where the bus stop was, much to their delight. Strangely the only free shuttle bus was that available in Palamos when the walk into the city was about 10 minutes.

Having now discovered the delights of cruising we were especially disappointed to hear that Ocean Village would cease operation next year therefore we may try to take another cruise with Ocean Village before the end of this year.

Again, apart from the points regarding the shore excursions, we thought the overall cruise was excellent value for money made more enjoyable by a hardworking and very attentive staff.

Finally a question that even Charlie Carr the captain of Ocean Village was unable to answer and that is what does the large OC painted on the front of the ship mean? If anyone knows the answer to this I would be interested to know what it is.

Barbados is beautiful. but as we were allinclusive we didnt go out much. we did do a tour of the island which was good.

we visited tunisia, rome, naples, pisa, corsica, st raphel, villefranche, genoa and barcalona. we did organised trips to rome and pisa and just explored the other places ourselves.

St Lawrence Gap (or The Gap as it is known locally) is the liveliest resort in Barbados, situated to the south west of the island approximately 10 minutes away from the airport and 15 minutes away from the capital, Bridgetown.

For the "liveliest" resort, The Gap is actually pretty quiet and was almost deserted when we went in June 2009. The area consists of a mixture of hotels, apartments and restaurants with a few shops thrown in - although not very many. Street traders are more common than shops, but there are a couple of supermarkets in the area, as well as a couple of gift shops.

Restaurants range from cheaper burger and chips places (such as St Lawrence's Steakhouse) to classy fish food restaurants such as Pisces. The food was good in all the restaurants that we went into with the two mentioned above being our favourites. Price-wise it's quite expensive, at around $20 Barbadian for burger and chips at the Steakhouse to around $90 Barbadian for a meal at Pisces (each).

If you want to save a few quid, head out for tea early and take advantage of the 2-for-1 drinks offer that they have on in many of the restaurants between 6-7pm.

The people of Barbados are a friendly bunch, often asking if you've had a nice day... and then trying to sell you something! This is no different in The Gap, but a pleasant "no thank you" will send them on their way. There also seems to be a rule in Barbados that if you have a car, you have to be a taxi driver! At night, you'll get asked for a taxi every couple of yards!

My wife and I enjoyed our visit to The Gap, and look forward to going back someday soon. We'd recommend it to anyone!

There is very little to do in the area, only a couple of small bars around, and that's about it. A bus ride or car journey is needed to really eat out or try out Barbados' nightlife. Great if you don't like built up areas though. The beach is generally quiet, a few locals may ask if you want to buy drugs, but if you say no they leave you, they don't keep bugging you. The sea is far to rough to swim in, hence the beach is usuall empty.

Be carefull going out at night as their is a lot of mugging and shootings going on, if you do go out get taxi's

We booked this day trip through our cruise line four our family of 4. Wow, what a great day. The crew was fantastic and went out of their day to make sure everyone on board had a great time. ?Our first stop was the sea turtles. You snorkel off the boat in water that is quite deep but everyone wears a life vest. Our 8 year old is not a strong swimmer but did just fine. We went further along the coast towards our next stop and had a wonderful lunch along the way. Everything was delicious, make sure to try the flying fish. Our next stop was a beach that had a great snorkel spot. Here you could snorkel, relax on the sand or lounge around on the cat. There was an open bar for the sail back with a wide assortment of beverages. This was a perfect day sailing the coast of Barbados....blue skies, blue water, great food what more could you want. Tiami is first class all the way, would definitely recommend

A nice town in Barbados, not too exciting, but has everything you need. The little shopping village is sute and the cafe within is very nice, away from the main road

maxwell is a lovely parish of barbados friendly ppl nice shops and friday night at oistins is a must

We sailed with Silver Moon on March 25, 2009. Captain Ben and his crew provided a great experience of sailing, snorkling, swimming with turtles, and relaxing on the beautiful Silver Moon II. They also anchored for a short time in a spot close enough for us to swim to a nice public beach. We chose the cruise option with just 12 passengers, and it was well worth the additional money, as the extra room provided for a very comfortable ride. The refreshments were great and the food excellent, including a delicious dish of Marlin. Our next trip to Barbados will definitely include a return to Silver Moon. Of the 6 excursions on our 10-day cruise, this was the best.

On a nice beach and within a short distance to SL Gap. Loads of wonderful restaurants closeby. If you are self catering then the supermarket is good value and well stocked.

Visited the island 4 times, last visit August 04. If you are looking for a action packed holiday, loads of night life, this is not the place for you. If you are looking to relax and get away from it you will love it. Avoid the summer hols: try Jan and Feb. lovely and quiet. St Lawrence is the mostly lively, but this only consists of a couple of bars and restaurants which are by the way expensive. Look to stay all inclusive: works out a lot cheaper. Try Oistins on a Friday night: it will blow your mind, great fun. Also use the local mini buses known as Bogey buses, they are well worth the 40p fare. Take a trip to the Atlantic east coast, beautiful.

It was the second time I had visited Barbados and remained as stunning as the first. We stayed in St Lawrence Gap which has a few bars and clubs. All very good, the Ship Inn was always lively having live acts on most nights.The music was typically Bajan and really got you in the holiday mood.

There were lots of places to eat and although nowhere was particularly cheap you could find places if you were on a budget or wanted to splash out. There were Irish bars, mexican restaurants and plenty of other restaurants to choose from. Oistins is a town not too far away and can be reached by bus or taxi.

Every Tuesday and Friday they celebrate in style. It is almost like a markets with shacks selling all sorts of cooked fish and macaroni cheese pie. The atmosphere is electric and after eating you can dance the night away with the locals.

The north east areas of Barbados remind me of Cornwall, rough and craggy. Bathe Sheba is well worth a visit. The Jolly Roger is an amazing excursion on a pitare ship. Be prepared to walk the plank and drink plenty of rum punch. We had a ball in Barbados and would recomend it to anyone.

Been going to Barbados twice a year for the last 5 years. It's the most relaxed place to be and with people who really welcome you there. No need for all inclusive as there are so many places to eat and drink. The inclusive hotels tend to be in the very quiet areas, with not much nightlife. A beautiful island no matter where you stay.