Barbados pt 2

Tara Larkai
Mar 14, 2016
6 min read

Bottom Bay - Bottom Bay was one of my favorite places to visit while Barbados. Since it is located in the southeast part of the country, it is considered the "country side" by the locals. It can be difficult to get there by public transportation if you do not have the right information. I could not find any valuable information online regarding how to get there by bus but luckily a local who works in the golf club resort where we were staying, was able to point us in the right direction. Obviously, you can drive there or take a taxi to avoid the bus. A taxi could cost you about $80 to $100 bds from the Worthing area. But if you are feeling adventurous like we were well then pay attention. So in order to get there by one bus, take the Sam Lords bus going South. It's either going to be the big yellow or blue bus. Pay attention to the name of the location on the bus, you do not want to end up on the wrong bus. The express buses do not go there. There aren't really schedules for the buses but for the buses that travel into the country areas, it usually run by the hour. The Sam Lords bus goes all the way to the junction of Bottom Bay. The bus does not let you know when you get there so just let the driver know that you are going to bottom bay and he will signal you when he gets to that stop. It was about a 45 minutes ride on the bus to Bottom Bay. Hubby followed the map on his phone so he knew what stop we had to get off at but you can always ask someone or the driver. They are very helpful. It is about a 10 to 15 minutes walk down to Bottom Bay after you get off the bus. It is a straight shot and there are signs everywhere so there is no way you will get lost. Before you walk down to the bay, you will see a couple of vendors set up selling souvenirs and cocktails in a coconut shell. Can't quite remember the name of the guy who sells the cocktails but he's super nice. We rented two beach beds from him as well as bought drinks from him. He went out of his way to go buy us food after we told him we were starving. The steps down to the bay can be a little intimidating but don't worry it's only tiring on the way back up. It's a cardio workout.

This place is absolutely stunning! I was in complete awe when I first saw it. I mean don't get me wrong the sea water is just as beautiful everywhere on the island however the combination of the palm trees, deep blue waters, and rocks makes for a beautiful beach. Additionally, this place is completely secluded to the point that you could have the beach all to yourself. It was somewhat busy when we went because they were about 10 people max there. I know it does not seem like a lot but this place does not get a lot of traffic. It is a good place for private beach session with Bae (wink wink)

St. Lawrence Gap - We ended up here on our second night. St. Lawrence Gap is a mile long strip of restaurants, night clubs, hotels and shopping located in Christ Church parish. It is about a 5 minute ride from Worthing. We actually ended up here because we read that Rude boy restaurant has the best jerk chicken on the island but upon arrival, the restaurant was closed. They do not open on Sundays! What a bummer! We ended up in a square like area with local food vendors lined up sort of like Oistins bay Garden (within the gap). There were lots of tourists sitting and eating awaiting the nightly event of "Karaoke". We joined in and had a sample of foods. Karaoke is life to the locals but at some point it gets annoying or at least to us. After our karoake overload the first night, we were not in the mood of sitting through several hours of it again. It was an early night for us. This is not the only nightly event in the Gap. There are lots of fine dining restaurants and night clubs so definitely check it out because this is not an experience to be missed.

Animal Flower Cave - We rented a car to go to the Animal flower cave at the north point. After trolling the web, I could not find any useful information on taking the bus up there so we opted for a rental car. I later realized that the Cornelltown bus goes there. We were lucky to have gotten a car that morning because we did not reserve it ahead of time. I suggest you reserve your car ahead of time if you plan to get a rental. And oh the best thing about renting a car is that they deliver it to your location. Wherever you are they bring the car to you. We left for the north point around 9 am-ish. The drive was pretty smooth. Once you get over driving on the right side, it is not so bad. They do have a lot of roundabouts which could throw you off in going the other direction but it's safe to just follow the other cars. We used our google maps for directions and it was very easy to find. We read a lot of blogs saying that it's not easy to find but we did not have any issues plus there were signs everywhere leading to the direction. We arrived right when they opened so there were only a few people there. We got there the perfect time to get our own personal guide to take us down into the caves. The steps down the cave are very steep so careful while you go down.

The caves are pretty spectacular. Absolutely amazing site! God is wonderful to have created all of this. The guide did show us the animal flowers but I was not really impressed as they were only a few of them. There is a pool within the cave that you are allowed to swim in. One more thing off my bucketlist.

Make sure to walk around the property to catch the entire beauty of this place. Watch the waves crash against the rocks and pet the house goats. Do not foget to check out the restaurant there. They have some really good food.

Scenic Drive- Take a drive along the coast on your way back south from the north point and I promise you it will not disappoint. Going up north, we went through town but we decided to drive along the coast back to see Speightstown, Sandy lane etc. Make sure to stop at Sandy lane beach. The Sandy lane hotel is one of the top 5 star hotels in Barbados so it is very exclusive. You cannot get in to use any of their facilities unless you have a reservation. We were trying to go to their restaurant but couldn't get through the giant gates without a reservation. If you really want to see what the hype is all about, park a couple blocks up from the hotel by the Tropical Escape hotel and walk down to the nearest beach then walk along the beach to the Sandy lane beach. All beaches in Barbados are public even hotel beaches so even though we could not get through the Sandy lane hotel, we were still able to get to their beach. Rihana's home is also located in Sandy lane which is probably why it is so exclusive. There is nothing special about Sandy lane beach. It is just the name.

Bathsheba- Majority of tourists in Barbados tend to stay on the west side of the island during their visit but the east side is just as beautiful. It is just as beautiful but less touristy. If you are really looking for some good local dishes. Drive over to Round house restaurant in Bathsheba. The drive is very scenic with mountain and sea views. The Round House restaurant serves delicious local meals and they have the best rum punch.