Please help us select the best beach near the cruise port

[scomar]

Hello all,

 

We will be in Barbados during a cruise stop in mid-December. We are on a tour to swim with the turtles until 1:00pm, so we are looking for a beach close to the cruise port to go to after our tour for an hour or two. We have narrowed it down to the beaches listed below. For those that have been to these beaches, which one would you recommend and what was your favorite thing about the beach?

 

Brandon's Beach

Paradise Beach

Batts Rock Beach

Paynes Bay

Rockley Beach

Dover Beach

 

Thanks

 

Scomar

Edited November 16, 2013 by scomar

[aimodels]

It all depends on what you want. Some have better facilites, places to eat, etc. Some have none.

 

Some are quieter, some are busier.

 

All the beaches you listed are within a 15-20 minute cab ride from port. You could always check out a couple of different beaches and stay longer at the one you like the best.

 

The south beaches, like Rockley and Dover, have a little more wave action. The west coast beaches are more calm.

 

If you want snorkel to with turtles, I'd recommend Brownes Beach (Carlisle Bay) or Paynes. Rockley can have turtles at the reef near the Tiki Bar also.

 

Here's a good website with some information on beaches:

 

http://www.beachesofbarbados.com/

 

 

Cheers, P:)

[GotRum?]

Hello all,

 

We will be in Barbados during a cruise stop in mid-December. We are on a tour to swim with the turtles until 1:00pm, so we are looking for a beach close to the cruise port to go to after our tour for an hour or two. We have narrowed it down to the beaches listed below. For those that have been to these beaches, which one would you recommend and what was your favorite thing about the beach?

 

Brandon's Beach

Paradise Beach

Batts Rock Beach

Paynes Bay

Rockley Beach

Dover Beach

 

Thanks

 

Scomar

 

Here's another link to Barbados beaches: http://www.barbados.org/barbados-beaches-map.htm

[scomar]

Thanks for the input. I think we are going to go to Rockley for an hour or two and then end up at Brighton close to the ship.

[barbados]

Please don't forget that our busses cover Hwy 1 (the west coast Highway) every 15-20 minutes (or less) with ZRs (vans in between) and they will cost you US$1.00 for a ride.

 

You could hit all of the beaches from Almond to Miami until you found the one you liked for very little cash. If you got pinched for time, cabs are thick on the West Coast Highway.

 

So, don't limit yourselves. The West Coast is easy, safe and cheap to navigate.

 

Have a grand holiday! :)

 

[Aplmac]

.

 

I think we are going to go to Rockley for an hour or two

and then end up at Brighton close to the ship.

Brighton Beach is crap after you've been doing Rockley!

 

 

If you must move beaches and get closer to the ship..

do Rockley first -then on to Carlisle Bay -then back to the ship.

 

Trust me, I live here 24/7/365

(except for cruising to get off the island).

 

.

[Aplmac]

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Aplmac]

..these are the only two shots of Brandons/Brighton beach

that I ever bothered to take!

 

 

 

 

 

I mean... Brandons/Brighton is Okay...but Carlisle Bay is better.

 

Brandons/Brighton tends to be rocky underfoot, when you're in the water.

 

.

[Kevin Hort]

.

 

Brighton Beach is crap after you've been doing Rockley!

 

 

If you must move beaches and get closer to the ship..

do Rockley first -then on to Carlisle Bay -then back to the ship.

 

Trust me, I live here 24/7/365

(except for cruising to get off the island).

 

.

 

Aplmac,

 

I was wondering if you could answer a couple of questions for me. My wife and I will be in Barbados on a Saturday in February and we are definitely planning on spending the day at a beach. We want to be able to rent beach chairs and would like access to other services, such as restrooms.

 

Rockley looks great, but I am wondering how quickly the chairs get filled on a Saturday. Do you have a feel for how crowded it might be on average? I have also been looking at Miami Beach as well. Can you offer any thoughts on this location?

 

Really, we would like to go to one nice beach and basically spend the entire day there. We don't mind taking a cab to get us where we want to go. We would like to be able to swim/snorkel, so we probably want to stay away from the beaches that tend to have a bit more surf.

 

Thank you so much!

[scomar]

..these are the only two shots of Brandons/Brighton beach

that I ever bothered to take!

 

 

 

 

 

I mean... Brandons/Brighton is Okay...but Carlisle Bay is better.

 

Brandons/Brighton tends to be rocky underfoot, when you're in the water.

 

.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, as they say, and it couldn't be more true from these examples you have shown. Without a doubt Carlisle is much better choice. Thank you so much for your suggestion!!! We will be going to Carlisle after Rockley. If I see you on the beach I will buy you a cold one;)

[Aplmac]

.

 

My wife and I will be in Barbados on a Saturday in February and we are definitely planning on spending the day at a beach. We want to be able to rent beach chairs and would like access to other services, such as restrooms.

 

Rockley looks great, but I am wondering how quickly the chairs get filled on a Saturday.

Do you have a feel for how crowded it might be on average? ===> Not more than any other day?

I have also been looking at Miami Beach as well.===> A good second choice but a bit farther away, at Oistins.

Really, we would like to go to one nice beach and basically spend the entire day there.

I think Rockley will satisfy most of your needs.

 

Rockley can be a bit surfy, depending on wind conditions the previous few days

but by and large Rockley Beach caters to most needs, with amenities like

shower and restrooms nearby, snack shacks on the beach,

Chefette fast-food and pizza right across the road,

a bus stop between the beach and Chefette..

beach chairs and umbrellas we don't even need to mention

-maybe Boogie Boards for rent too..maybe..

 

 

..AND some measure of snorkelling along the man-made barrier reef about 100 yds. offshore if you can make it out to that.

See the black "bar" underwater/offshore at upper left?

 

.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Aplmac

[ChristieNJ]

Does anyone know if Malibu Beach is still there, or what's in its place now? Are there any rum factories on the beach anymore?

 

I need a beach close to the ship with all amenities. My mom can't be far from the ship in case of a medical emergency. We went to Malibu back in 1998 and found it was pure heaven!!! Not to mention that Malibu Rum is my MOST favorite drink in the world! Lol

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!!

[ljandiernp]

Hi, going to be on the island Sunday 2/4/14, 7-4. Looking at recommendations on previous posts but can't decide on Rockley vs. Carlisle Bay. Priorities would be calm waters and good snorkeling. Second would be good food, preferably local flavors and a bar (simple needs-good beer would be fine, good rum punch would be better). We would be taking a cab from port and would prefer to be in a place where cabs routinely come by to take passengers back/not a big hassle to get transport to port. Hope I'm not looking for too much, but appreciate suggestions. Kind regards, Laurie

[audcc77]

Hmm. I was hoping Aplmac would come back & answer your questions.

 

This is exactly what I'm looking for as well.

[ljandiernp]

Hmm. I was hoping Aplmac would come back & answer your questions.

 

This is exactly what I'm looking for as well.

 

Hi, when are you traveling? I am going to be home by the 8th of February and I'll report on where we ended up if you like. I am leaning toward Carlisle Bay at the moment. Laurie

[scomar]

Just back form Barbados. We did Carlisle via a cat for swimming with the turtles and snorkeling. We di say a couple of turtles, but the cat guy was throwing food out for them. We also snorkeled over a couple of shipwrecks, which are a ways from shore and down 20 to 30 feet deep. If you can free dive down to the shipwreck it is pretty cool otherwise it was a bit hard to see much. The water was fairly calm. We never landed on the beach itself so I do not know what they had for bars/food. After the cat trip we had just enough time to hit Rockley. OMG what a beautiful beach!!! We only had about an hour of time there so we did not have a chance to snorkel, but we did hit the bar/food area right off the beach. It consisted of about 3 or 4 shacks. Food was decent and the drinks were good. The water is a bit rougher, but there were all sorts of people in the water playing around. We are planning on coming back to this beach for sure. I have attached a couple of photos of Rockley I shot.

[audcc77]

Hi, when are you traveling? I am going to be home by the 8th of February and I'll report on where we ended up if you like. I am leaning toward Carlisle Bay at the moment. Laurie

 

Hi Laurie - That'd be great. We're going mid-March. I'm waffling btwn Carlisle Bay and Rockley Beach. I'm really interested in whether there is shade/umbrellas and restrooms. I'm also wondering about taxi's back to the ship as well. Thanks!

 

Cheers .:)

[gometros]

It all depends on what you want. Some have better facilites, places to eat, etc. Some have none.

 

Some are quieter, some are busier.

 

All the beaches you listed are within a 15-20 minute cab ride from port. You could always check out a couple of different beaches and stay longer at the one you like the best.

 

The south beaches, like Rockley and Dover, have a little more wave action. The west coast beaches are more calm.

 

If you want snorkel to with turtles, I'd recommend Brownes Beach (Carlisle Bay) or Paynes. Rockley can have turtles at the reef near the Tiki Bar also.

 

Here's a good website with some information on beaches:

 

http://www.beachesofbarbados.com/

 

 

Cheers, P:)

 

I loved the interactive nature of this map.

 

Question, where is Bridgetown in relation to these beaches?

[zoiesmom]

Please don't forget that our busses cover Hwy 1 (the west coast Highway) every 15-20 minutes (or less) with ZRs (vans in between) and they will cost you US$1.00 for a ride.

 

You could hit all of the beaches from Almond to Miami until you found the one you liked for very little cash. If you got pinched for time, cabs are thick on the West Coast Highway.

 

So, don't limit yourselves. The West Coast is easy, safe and cheap to navigate.

 

Have a grand holiday! :)

 

 

where is the carnival cruise port in conjunction with this map?

[Aplmac]

where is the carnival cruise port in conjunction with this map?

See Brighton and BRANDONS?

 

The Bridgetown Port is immediately South-of(under) the BRANDONS label.

.

[Aplmac]

Question, where is Bridgetown in relation to these beaches?

The city of Bridgetown is sandwiched between Brandons and Brownes.

.

[beachdiamonds]

Does anyone know if Malibu Beach is still there, or what's in its place now? Are there any rum factories on the beach anymore?

 

I need a beach close to the ship with all amenities. My mom can't be far from the ship in case of a medical emergency. We went to Malibu back in 1998 and found it was pure heaven!!! Not to mention that Malibu Rum is my MOST favorite drink in the world! Lol

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!!

 

I too am wondering if the Cockspur beach club is currently open? I too visited when it was Malibu beach club and enjoyed the day. We stopped at different beaches and I found the water to be so calm.

Does anyone know the status of the beach club. Is it open or permanently closed?

[alwaysfrantic]

How much should I expect a taxi to Rockley Beach be? I have reserved a catamaran tour, and I do want to see the turtles, but a day lounging on the beach sounds a whole lot more relaxing.

[Pumpkincup111]

Does anyone know if Cockspur beach is open? I will be there soon and would love to know before we get there!!

[barbados]

alwaysfrantic: From Deep Water Harbour Rockley should be about US$12-15 one way for up to four (4) in the cab. But government busses and ZR vans run this route every 10-15 minutes for a buck each. Easy deal.

 

pumpkincup111: Cockspur rum distillery is on Brighton Beach just a little north of Deep Water Harbour on Spring Garden Highway. Maybe a US$5-8.00 taxi ride or a buck each on our local busses that run constantly on this route. Please note that all beaches are free to the public on Barbados. :)