Barbados Things to do

Diving and snorkelling
With miles of coral reef teeming with marine life, wrecks, numerous locations for equipment hire – everything from tanks to underwater cameras - and courses from complete beginner to instructor, Barbados is superb for diving. There’s plenty for snorkellers to see too, including exquisite coral and sea turtles.

Surfing and windsurfing
Facing across the Atlantic with trade winds from the east, Barbados is a paradise for surfers and windsurfers. Beginners and experts will find a suitable challenge.

Sea cruises
Visitors don’t need to be able to swim to enjoy the sea here. Catamarans, yachts, glass-bottomed boats, submarines and even a caribbean pirate ship will take them out to enjoy the sights.

Fishing
Fishing is a way of life and there are plenty of charter boats available for deep-sea trips. Would-be Ernest Hemingways can try their hand at fishing for barracuda, wahoo, dorado, tuna and sailfish.

Horse riding
The British left the islanders with a love of horses, including racing and polo. Visitors can take riding lessons or hire horses to tour the hills, ride to the beach or trek through the sugar cane fields where green monkeys may be seen searching for food.

Golf
Barbados has a number of top-class courses (Tiger Woods chose Sandy Lane as the venue for his wedding ceremony) and caters for all abilities, with professional instruction available at most clubs. Several hotels and resorts offer special golf vacations with everything taken care of.

Cricket
As you’d expect in the home of the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers, the sport is hugely important here and cricket lovers will always find a game to watch, whether it’s an International Test Match at Kensington Oval or a game on the beach.
 
Festivals
There are festivals celebrating local culture, such as Holetown in February, fish festivals, music and drama festivals, but by far the largest is the annual Crop Over festival which lasts from the beginning of July until the costumed carnival parade on Kadooment Day, the first Monday of August.

Sightseeing
A visit to the highlands offers unforgettable views down to the east coast. Farley Hill National Park, once the site of one of the great plantation houses, features landscaped gardens and thirty acres of woodland with ancient Antigua Whitewood and Barbados Mahogany. Harrison’s Cave is a unique tropical phenomenon with large floodlit chambers containing stalagmites, stalactites and crystal blue pools and waterfalls.