The Case for Barbados with a Toddler

A handful of weeks ago my wife asked if I wanted to go to Barbados with her as she wrapped up a trip for work. My immediate reaction was an obvious yes. It wasn’t until I was deep down a daydream of relaxation and drinks on the beach before I realized I would be traveling many hours on a plane with a toddler. Here is why it turned out better than expected and why I encourage you to do same. 

Get Ready

Leading up to the day of departure I did my due diligence of research. I have learned through other solo traveling parents there are specifics that come along with this excursion. 

For starters in order to travel international with your kiddo, without your better half, most of the time you will need a notarized letter from the non traveling parent saying you have their permission to do so. For those of you, like me, who are wondering why you need permission to take your own kid on vacation, it’s because sometimes people kidnap their own kids and flee the country. Hadn’t thought of that before but everyone has their own story. 

Get Set

Next is the currency issue. How much do I need? Do my credit cards have an international fee? Did I tell my credit card company I was leaving and they should expect to see weird charges? That sometimes I just need to try the beer in each island bar because maybe they taste different? 

Barbados is pretty easy in this regard. You can use your credit card most everywhere and when you can’t you can still use US cash. You may get Barbadian dollars in return but hey what is an international trip without bringing home a little foreign currency. 

Take a look at the exchange rate before you go and get a basic idea of what it is while you are there. Most everyone will do the exchange for you but sometimes you stop at a road side stand for fresh sugarcane or coconut water and its easier to dicker and deal when you know what you are dealing with to begin with. 

Go!

Now where are we staying once we get there? Until recently I had never really considered anything outside hotels or the occasional Air B&B. Now that my wife has started working in the travel industry my eyes have been open to a new world of traveling like a celebrity without the cost I assumed came with it. Renting a villa, internationally or not, has a ton of perks for a very comparable price.

For example, we stayed in a house called Porters Great House Cottage. This place could easily sleep a couple families and with the endless amount of property you could potentially never see the people you brought with you. Bonus, many of these properties also come with a staff so anything you could need could be handled for you. And if you want to really live it up while you there you can get call ahead and have the kitchen stocked when you arrive and have a cook right at the house waiting for you. 

Home is Where You Make it

This leads me to my next favorite part about Barbados, the people. To the average American you may head out of the airport toward your villa and notice housing that looks a little under par for what you are used to. You may see a lot of vehicles that look like a little like that first car you had in high school that you had to cross your fingers and hope it would start every time you got in. But what you will also notice is the smile on everyones face. These are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

The other thing you may notice as you venture further into the country is the English influence in the architecture, the number of English people wandering the streets, and the longer you talk to a local you may even catch a hint of English influence buried in the Caribbean accent. 

Getting Around

Getting around Barbados has many options. Because of the circumstances of this trip we opted to go the rental car route. However, after being there for as long as we were and seeing the ease of public transit I would not shy away from this option either. The country is pretty small and you can get pretty much anywhere on the island in a relatively short amount of time. Extra bonus for the fact there are no tricky bus routes to memorize. The bus stops simply have a sign that either says “To city” or “Out of City”. So if you ever feel like you are lost just keep following the signs that lead “To City” and soon enough you will arrive back to familiar territory. 

Do All of the Things

Leaving all of the other general travel item off because we can cover those another time, the next thing on the list was to figure to what we wanted to do once we got there. I am happy to report that whether you are traveling with a kid or not Barbados is an endless supply of entertainment. For the sake of this trip and my knowledge of the country from a toddler toting parent perspective here are my tips.

Art Splash Cafe:

We had heard about this one from someone else before we went as a place we should go for the breakfast. When we got there, it was so much more than just good food. For starters there is a playground the back which is awesome! There is a farmers market every Saturday morning for the fresh produce and some local art. Of corse there is the super bonus of being across the street from the ocean.

Animal Flowers Cave:

One thing I found fascinating about the island is how different each coast is from the one across the island. Animal Flowers Cave is at the northern most peak of the island and comes with incredible views and stunning landscape. This is one of the more accessible caves for the little ones and even has an option for swimming inside the cave. Pretty cool experience. 

Welchman Hall Gully

For what started out as a place to go see the monkeys and get into the jungle a little bit this turned into a much cooler place than expected. When we got there we were greeted by about 20 roosters which became the star of the show to our 2 year old. Next we headed to the monkey feeding. They essentially have a playground for monkey and at 10:30 everyday they put out a ton of fruit for them and they come flooding in for feeding time. There is also a great walking trail that comes with a guide book to explain everything you see along the way. 

St. Nicholas’ Abbey (Rum Tour)

We really lucked out on this one and the little one slept all the way through the tour. It’s amazing how far you can carry a sleeping toddler when there is also complimentary rum being handed to you. The house and property tour are very cool and if you are into history there are some pieces of this you will find interesting. There is a movie you watch as past of the tour and it has some footage from very early on in Barbados culture. 

Carlisle Beach

Just outside of Bridgetown there is a beach attached to the Radisson called Carlisle Beach. Although this is slightly more touristy its barely noticeable. Because this is on the West coast the water is blue and clear and the swimming and snorkeling are great! Depending what time of the day you go, you are also likely to have the sea turtles swimming right along side of you. If you are a family who is looking for something a little more than hanging at the beach, there are also shops right on the beach where you can go out on a boat diving or snorkeling, you can rent standup paddle boards and personal sailboats. Overall this is a great place to spend a day. 

Beans and Bagels

When you head out looking for breakfast, unless you have sprung for a chef in your villa there is really no better place to go than Beans and Bagels. We ended up back here multiple times for the food, the coffee and the people working. Just like the rest of the country the people here were among the nicest you will ever meet. The only downside to this place was that it wrecked coffee for me. I had coffee so good I haven’t been able appreciate coffee the same since I got back to the states. It was worth every drop. 

This is just scratching the surface of the great things this country has to offer. Between the incredible beaches and the adventurous hikes through jungles and caves this country is an endless supplier of entertainment for all. So maybe on your next vacation you take another look at the Caribbean and maybe even go a little bigger and swing for a fully staffed villa. You won’t be sorry you did. So grab some rum from a local distillery and settle in for the most incredible sunset you’ll ever find. 

Cheers!