Barbados

While working in Trinidad during the summer of 2024, my wife came down to visit me for a few weeks. We decided to take advantage of the time together and head off on a quick Caribbean getaway to nearby Barbados. What we didn't realize when we booked the trip was that our visit coincided with Crop Over weekend—Barbados' biggest celebration of the year.

For those unfamiliar (as we were), Crop Over is Barbados' answer to Trinidad’s Carnival—which we know very well—or New Orleans' Mardi Gras, which we’ve also experienced. But Crop Over definitely has its own unique flavor. It’s a high-energy, colorful explosion of music, dancing, and island pride, and we were lucky to stumble into it.

We hopped over to Barbados on a short Caribbean Airlines flight from Port of Spain (Piarco International Airport). Just a quick puddle-jumper, and we were on a new island with a totally different vibe.

We stayed at the Fairmont Royal Pavilion in St. James, a gorgeous beachfront property that gave us the peaceful luxury we were looking for. But when it came to food and drinks, we found ourselves returning more than once to the Lone Star Restaurant and Hotel. Don’t be fooled by the staff dressed in mechanic-style overalls-it's a nod to the building’s roots as an old gas station. The food and cocktails were our absolute favorite on the island. Stylish, relaxed, and delicious—everything you want on a Caribbean escape.

Since we knew relatively little about Barbados before our visit, we hired a driver for the day to take us around the northern part of the island and show us the highlights. Our tour began with a stop in Speightstown, where we explored the historic murals and learned about the town’s past as one of the island’s original seaports for trade.

From there, we continued up the west coast to Pier One Restaurant, where we sampled their world-famous rum punch. By 9:30 AM, my wife was already talking about buying property in Barbados—this vacation was clearly off to a great start.

After the rum punches, we headed further north to the Animal Flower Cave. We spent some time exploring the caves before crossing over to the east side of the island. A stop at Cherry Tree Hill provided sweeping views over the island, followed by lunch at the Round House Restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious meal and a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean.

We wrapped up our northern island tour at the lush and tranquil Hunte’s Garden. It’s truly an amazing place, though unfortunately the lack of breeze that day made the heat quite stifling. Otherwise, we could have spent much more time enjoying the vibrant and carefully curated gardens.

We returned to our hotel for some well-earned time by the sea, followed by drinks and dinner at the Lone Star. The next day, we headed back to Trinidad—and back to our regular lives—but Barbados definitely left an impression and we look forward to returning again in the future.