Yo Ho Ho and a Week in Barbados
By Mike Holmes, Chief Explorer and Blogger for Compass Rose
With just a week to grab some time with our daughter between the end of her first year of medical school (yes, I’m bragging) and her six-week research trip to Ghana (bragging again…), we decided to get away for a family trip to the easternmost island in the Caribbean at the end of May.
Barbados is an island of history - settled in the 1600’s and home to the oldest rum distilleries in the world. With that in mind, Carol arranged a two-bedroom condo for us at The Crane Resort - the oldest continuously operating resort in the Caribbean, founded in 1887.
Five restaurants, three bars and five swimming pools mean there are plenty of opportunities to relax and unwind. But for many, it’s the pink-sand, cliffside beach that’s the real draw. With breezes and rolling surf coming unchecked across the Atlantic, it’s a dramatic panorama and led to it being named one of the 10 best beaches in the world by a host of travel publcations.
Crane Beach from the balcony of L’Azure restaurant. An elevator from the hotel’s central village makes descending the lush cliffs a snap!
Our adventure started with an easy JetBlue Boston-New York (JFK)-Bridgetown flight. While we had to get up a little earlier than we (and the dog) would have liked to catch our 7:15 flight out of Logan, the direct, 4 1/2 hour flight from New York to Barbados is definitely a win for travelers from the Eastern Seaboard. We’d filled out our customs forms online before departure, so immigration was a breeze, and even with a 20-minute ride from the airport to the resort, we were in our room, rum punches in hand, within 90 minutes of landing.
The two-bedroom unit in the private residences was ideal for our family — a full kitchen with breakfast bar, king-sized beds, comfortable living area, and an enormous outdoor patio with two lounge chairs and an eight-person dining table. The ground floor units below ours also offered private plunge pools that several families with younger kids enjoyed. Other amenities included a jetted tub in the master bath, a washer and dryer (made packing so much easier!) and remarkably powerful air conditioning.
Carol enjoying the afternoon sun at the adult pool
We spent Monday and Tuesday sampling the best the resort had to offer. The cliffside, adults-only pool was by far our favorite, though those with younger kids will appreciate the extensive family pools. While the summer months can be sticky, the steady trade winds kept things comfortable, and the poolside lunch and beverage service provided some extra relief throughout the afternoon. And when things got a little drowsy late in the day, a frozen iced coffee from the bakery provided a perfect pick me up.
On Tuesday, we took the elevator down to the beach, and spent the day lounging under umbrellas. Compared to the Western side of the island, the waves were much larger at the Crane, and we watched people boogie board and body surf throughout the day. The rollers were fun for all of us to splash around in, though those families with younger children may want to stick to the pool or spend a day visiting one of the many beach clubs on the Caribbean side of the island. A highlight of the morning was a walk out to the point beneath the cliffside pool, where Elizabeth made the 10-foot leap off the rocks into the ocean.
Overall, we found the food to be slightly above average for on-site dining in the Caribbean. The morning’s breakfast buffet changed daily and was served overlooking the ocean - definitely worth opting for to start the day right. Our first night’s seafood dinner at L’Azure was solid, as we enjoyed flying fish and snapper, but we definitely preferred our second night’s dinner at Zen. The Asian menu (Thai, Japanese and sushi) was well-rounded but not so large as to be unmanageable, and the drinks were on point - Thai basil mojito, coconut martini and a Mai Tai. Perched on a cliff, we watched the surf break against the cliffs at the far end of the beach while we enjoyed our meal. In fact, we enjoyed Zen so much, we returned on our last night to round out some dishes we hadn’t had the chance to try! Our other on-site dinner was a beach barbecue - while the atmosphere was great, the food was only so-so.
Scenes from Mike’s tour of the island. Clockwise from top left: Animal Flower Cave (the northernmost point on Barbados), the ruins of Grenade Hall at Farley Hill National Park, the view from Farley Hill, the best fish cutter on Barbados (and maybe the best sandwich in the world) at Caboose, the steam train at St. Nicholas Abbey, and the view from the deck at the Round House in Bathsheba.
On Wednesday I’d had had all the relaxation I could take so I rented a car at the concierge desk and spent the day touring the island. As a former British colony, driving is on the left-hand side. Surprisingly, adjusting wasn’t that difficult, except for the fact that the windshield wipers and turn signals are reversed on the steering column. More than one turn was signaled with an energetic cleaning of the windshield…
My adventure went counterclockwise around the island, starting with the wilder and less developed Eastern side. While there are some semi-decent “highways” on the island, I decided to take Google Maps’ more scenic route - not recommended. The roads weren’t any closer to the coastline, and featured deep ruts and potholes. Lots of sugarcane fields to be seen, but not much else. A midmorning stop at the Round House in Bathsheba provided some great views and so-so coffee en route to St. Nicholas Abbey.
The grounds, the Jacobean house and the steam train provided an interesting perspective on the history of the island. The thought of living on Barbados in the 1600s with heavy, formal clothing, no air conditioning and the nearest town a full day’s horse and carriage ride away was a daunting one! The history of the railroad on Barbados was especially interesting and worth looking into.
The next stop was the oldest rum distillery on the island - Mount Gay. Hard-won pro tip: you can’t actually buy rum at the distillery. They run two special tours per day at the distillery itself; otherwise, head to Bridgetown to their visitor center if you’re interested in sampling and purchasing. I was disappointed, but glad to have seen the spot.
A 15 minute-drive north brought me to Animal Flower Cave - a rocky cliff at the northernmost point of the island, and named for the sea cave filled with anemones (“animal flowers” - named because of the way they shrink and close in the presence of predators). During calm seas, you can take a steep set of stairs down to the cave and swim in a pool with the anemones, but the waves were too much during my visit. There’s a nice restaurant and bar above the cave - worth checking out.
Coming down the Caribbean side of the island, I made the best stop of the day at Caboose - a roadside stand featuring fish cutters and “beastly cold” local Banks beer. After a quick run to the ATM (cash only!), I had the sandwich of a lifetime - blackened local fish, with an egg, cheese, Bajan hot sauce and other secret condiments, all on a salted bun. I promise you, words can’t do it justice. And with the $2:$1 exchange rate between Barbados and US dollars, it was less than $15 US.
As unpopulated as the East side of Barbados is, the West side is heavily developed and heavily trafficked. Speightstown and Holetown had some great shopping (shout out to Platinum Cigars in Holetown…), but be advised that there is pretty much nowhere to park if you’re driving. Taxis and busses are a much better option.
Scenes from dinner at Tapas (from left): The restaurant is literally feet from the breaking waves; the bread and butter pudding and the tempura banana kebab.
Since I had the car until Thursday morning, I cut my drive down the West coast short (one can only follow busses on two lane roads for so long) and headed back to Crane’s to pick up Elizabeth and Carol for a dinner out. With the help of the concierge, we settled on Tapas in Christ Church, and were definitely not disappointed. About 20 minutes west of Crane’s, Tapas is in a vibrant stretch of hotels, restaurants and bars and sits no more than eight feet from the waves of the Caribbean. While we waited for our table, I sampled some Foursquare Distillery’s Mark XIII rum - aged 11 years in ex-bourbon casks and absolutely delicious. Carol opted for a killer ultimate margarita, and Elizabeth enjoyed a great strawberry margarita.
True to its name, the menu is built around sharing. Chicken liver pate, ham and cheese croquettes (hat tip to our trip to Barcelona back in 2017) and fantastic salt and pepper shrimp started us off, then we shared smaller portions of the Spaghetti Mare and Saffron Risotto with Octopus before closing things out with bread and butter pudding and tempura banana kebabs (and Foursquare’s Shibboleth rum).
Our last day at Crane’s was all about sunning and pool-sitting. We never had a problem finding lounges and umbrellas at the adult pool, and the rum punches provided cooling refreshment throughout the afternoon. After another delicious dinner at Zen, we retreated to our suite where we watched the Panthers dispatch the Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs (boo, Panthers…) and packed up for our Friday departure.
In all, we found Barbados and the Crane to be an accessible, affordable and luxurious option for a quick family getaway. I’d do some more exploring of the southwest corner of the island (and make the trek to Caboose for another fish cutter), but for the most part I don’t see any reason to venture too far beyond the resort. Though the Crane will stock your kitchen, we made the right call packing snacks, coffee and a few other essentials ( I do wish I’d brought a Yeti tumbler to keep my rum punches colder, longer), and making use of the in-room washer and dryer.
Now is a great time to plan your own Caribbean family getaway - whether it’s Barbados, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands (our favorite!) or any of the other tropical islands, Compass Rose Journeys has the experience and resources to help you plan a trip you’ll never forget!