A Guide To Visiting Barbados With Children

 

Planning a family holiday can be hard work; if there are big age gaps (which there often are) in your family then it can be a challenge to find a holiday that will suit everyone, especially with children in tow.

Despite being a small island, Barbados is the ideal family holiday destination as it calls itself home to a wide variety of activities and amenities to suit people of all ages.

From delving into the island’s culture and history, along with being able to engage in exciting activities, Barbados leaves nothing to be desired for all of its visitors, so here’s a guide to visiting the island with children.

 

Activities

Barbados isn’t just your average beach holiday where kids eventually get bored of making sandcastles and catching crabs. The island is packed full of things for every member of the family to enjoy, regardless of age, including little ones.

Along with boasting fascinating galleries such as the Military Gallery and the Social History Gallery, The Barbados Museum is also home to a Children’s Gallery, an interactive gallery where children can immerse themselves in the Barbados culture through dress up and play.

If you have a child who is a particularly early riser and you’re unsure of how to occupy them during the early mornings, Barbados has quite the solution: every morning between 5.30 am – 7 am, the Garrison Savannah Race Track horses are exercised and bathed in the waters of Pebbles Beach.

This spectacle is bound to keep little ones awestruck for some time and is a sight that is probably unique to Barbados – a once in a lifetime opportunity!

For children who like to blow off a little bit of steam, there’s the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, which provides its visitors with plenty of open space to explore. However, the main attraction of the reserve is the abundance of animals who call it home.

The Barbados Green Monkeys are particularly popular at the reserve, swarming the location at feeding time, amongst others such as tortoises, flamingos, and parrots.

For adults and children over the age of five, a great way to explore the island by land or by sea is to go on an Island Safari Tour, where you will have a tailor made experience, allowing you to see a different side to Barbados.

You can opt for an adventurous or laid back tour in either a 4×4 Jeep or a Catamaran (or both!) to see the stunning views, landscape, and wildlife that Barbados has to offer.

 

Dining

Not only does Barbados boast some family friendly restaurants which come fully equipped with children’s menus, changing tables, and highchairs, it also hosts restaurants which will keep children entertained with new experiences.

Oistins Fish Fry is a restaurant which holds a lively atmosphere, particularly on Friday nights where, not only is your food cooked right in front of your eyes, but there’s also live music and dancing for everyone to enjoy.

Other family friendly restaurants include Mullins Beach Bar and Grill, Ju Ju’s Beach Bar, and Cutters of Barbados.

 

Child care

Even on family holidays, adult time is important. We all love our kids, but sometimes a bit of peace and quiet goes a long way and Barbados provides high-quality child care which allows both the adults and the children to enjoy themselves.

Island Sitters provide families with fully qualified nannies, babysitters, house sitters, tutors, and pet sitters, which are utilised by locals and visitors alike.

So, regardless of whether you want a quiet night in without the kids, or you want to go out to delight in the nightlife Barbados has to offer, you can rest assured that your little ones will be in safe hands.

 

Beaches

Barbados has plenty of child-friendly beaches which feature moderate waves and tidal pools in which your kids can play.

Accra Beach: the south end of this beach is perfect for younger children as it features an area of pool-like water protected by rocks so that the force of the high waves are broken.

Colony Club Beach: for older children and adults, Colony Club Beach – also known as Heron Bay – is great for watersports like jet skiing, catamaran sailing, and kayaking.

Paynes Bay Beach: this beach has no current and the waters are extremely calm which makes in a safer place in which children can swim.

Interested in playing sports when you visit Barbados? Check out our post which takes you Around Barbados In Your Favourite Sports.