Must-read Information for Our Guests

Flights from Manchester to Barbados

Virgin fly Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from November to April.

Air Lingus fly three times weekly up to May 2025 starting early November 2024.

Tui fly November to April.

Flights from Heathrow to Bridgetown, Barbados

Virgin fly twice a day. They fly all year to Barbados

BA fly daily from Heathrow all year to Barbados.

Other UK Airports to Barbados

Flights throughout our winter from Newcastle, Birmingham and Edinburgh and Gatwick.

November to end of March.

Top 10 US and Canada Destinations to Fly to Bridgetown, Barbados.

New York City, USA (JFK) – Approx. 4h 45m
Miami, USA (MIA) – Approx. 3h 40m
London, UK (LHR) – Approx. 8h 45m
Toronto, Canada (YYZ) – Approx. 5h 20m
Atlanta, USA (ATL) – Approx. 4h 35m
Charlotte, USA (CLT) – Approx. 4h 20m
Boston, USA (BOS) – Approx. 4h 50m
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) – Approx. 9h 20m
Los Angeles, USA (LAX) – Approx. 8h 20m
Philadelphia, USA (PHL) – Approx. 4h 50m

GETTING “FREE” FLIGHTS TO BARBADOS

Get the American Express British Airways credit card. This will give you 1.5 points for every £1 spent. Tesco now take amex so all groceries and fuel will rack up points for you. With these Avios points you can book flights to Barbados with BA or Aer Lingus. I use the amex card for business purchases too so the Avios soon add up. Amex is taken throughout Barbados for meals.

Get the Virgin Atlantic credit card for those suppliers who do not take Amex. Virgin gives 1 Point for every £1 spent so good for flights to Barbados. They are also linked to Delta and Air France. Once you start collecting Avios and virgin points two essential web sites are :-

Headforpoints.com
seatspy.com

Good Facebook groups to join

Barbados For Travellers ( 77,000 members )
Travelers To Barbados. 39,000 members
Friends from Barbados
Barbados Hiking Association ( 11k members)
Explore BARBADOS
Barbados _ Forever on my mind
BARBADOS ISLAND MAGIC BIM
BARBADOS BOARDWALK
Barbados TravelAdvisor

On the above Facebook sites you will find cheap car rentals, tours by taxi, taxi companies, best restaurants etc.

Before leaving for apartment 204, Waterside, Payne’s Bay, Barbados.

Order “Avon skin so soft” from Amazon. This is really good against sandflies and
mosquitoes. Get the green one, not the pink.
Go on line and check in for Barbados airport. Google “Travel Form Barbados” This will get
you through the immigration queues quickly. Sometimes four or five UK aircraft land in quick
succession which delays processing.https://travelform.gov.bb
Bring Nespresso pods for the Nespresso machine.
Bring digital/fire stick for TV if you have one.
Because apartment has a washing machine and dryer you really don’t need to bring alot of
clothes !! Just my opinion which my wife disagrees with but most people bring far too many
clothes when all you need is shorts and tee shirts all year round.
Currency. The Bajan dollar is tied to the US dollar and is half the value. So $US10 equals $BD
US dollars can be used for all purchases BUT BE CAREFUL. All prices in Barbados are in
Bajan dollars so make sure you do not give them twice as much as they are asking for. For
instance looking below your taxi from the airport to Waterside is $122 BAJAN DOLLARS. So
give them that or, if you only have US dollars give them $61 US. Often, when getting off the
aircraft after 9 hours, tired and hungry it’s easy to get confused. And if you give the taxi man
$122 US he will just take it and drive off !!!!

Arriving at Bridgetown airport Barbados.

Once you have cleared immigration with your sanity intact the best way to get to the apartment is
by taxi.

As you leave the arrivals hall you will see a taxi organiser on your left with a yellow jacket with a
podium in front of him. This is the official taxi rank and prices are government controlled so are
fair. Do not wander off and get accosted by unofficial taxi operators or you will get ripped off.

You can see it is very transparent with all the prices laid out. You can see above that there is a
price for Holetown/Porters of $122 BD. That is $61 US dollars .

The main guy will now give you a ticket for the taxi driver. You keep the white copy and he gives
the pink to the driver. That is the price. End of.

DIRECTIONS

Tell the driver that 204, Waterside is on the west coast just past the Cliff Restaurant. It is on
Payne’s Bay.

Go past the Cliff, Payne’s beach is then on your left. Waterside is the second large property block
on the left after the beach. A large set of gates says WATERSIDE on it (look on google earth).

Pull up at the gates and security will open the gates for you.

The security office is facing the gate The keys to the apartment will be with security. There are two
entrance doors to the apartment. Take the second one. The door code is the same as the front
gate. Ask security to show you to apartment 204. It is up the lift, press 2 in the lift or take one
set of stairs. It is on the first floor up. Exit lift and it is on your left.

Apartment 204, Waterside, Payne’s bay, Barbados

Welcome to your new vacation home at Waterside, Payne’s bay. We hope you have a lovely stay
here and I will highlight below things you need to know within the apartment.

Wi-Fi connection in the apartment.

Air conditioning. Each bedroom has its own controller in the bedroom. In the kitchen and
lounge there’s one controller which controls the two units. Stand beneath each one and press
the middle, Green button. Wait 30 seconds ( remember this is Barbados) and it will start. Then
repeat underneath the other one.
Safe is in the hallway in the small room which holds the water cistern. It is on the left hand
side, fixed to the wall.
Washer & Dryer in the kitchen area.
Most importantly for coffee addicts there is a Nespresso machine.

KITCHEN

Fully equipped kitchen. Clothes Washer and dryer is in this area. Full size fridge and freezer.
The Nespresso machine is the new Vertuo and it is better if you bring coffee capsules with you if
you are a coffee fan. The price over here is very expensive ( $36 BDS for 10 capsules ). If you do
need to order capsules use the house phone and ring 234- 4237. They will deliver to Holetown.

BATHROOMS

In the main bedroom is a bath, separate shower and toilet and washbasin.
In the second bedroom is a shower and toilet, and washbasin.
In the hall is a toilet and washbasin.

LOUNGE

The large lounge has a new 53″ TV installed in 2024. If you have a fire stick at home bring it with
you so you can watch all your favourite sport Chanels . Netflix, Disney etc can be viewed if you
have an account with them.

Board games are in the lounge to keep children, and adults, entertained.

Gymnasium

There is a gymnasium in the basement. Take the lift down to floor 0 and it is at the far end of the
garage.

When returning from the garage up to the apartment the elevator lift code is

Garage

Garage is underneath the apartment. Bit tight down there so watch the pillars. Good idea to park
down here, keeps the car out of the sun and is handy if you have lots of heavy shopping (beer is
very heavy). Just jump into the lift in the garage and it takes you straight to the apartment on 2.

CLEANING

Cleaner if required.

Pool Area

Pool area is on the sea side overlooking Payne’s Bay.

Towels. Please use the coloured towels rather than the white ones.

The guy in charge of the pool is Troy who cleans it daily and looks after the grounds surrounding
Waterside.

Pool is not supervised so please be careful with infants and children.

Security

There is a security guard on duty every day and night. He patrols all night around the outside of
the apartments at Waterside. The security lady during the day is called Judy.

FOOD

Daily Fresh Fish is available . Turn right leaving Waterside on the main road side or left out of
the beach gate. Walk about 50 yards and there is an amazing little fish market. The lady in
charge is called Miss Young. I asked her what her first name was and she said “Forever” !!!Her
accomplice is Melissa King. She is very funny, loves to dance whilst filleting the fish.
To watch her fillet the fresh fish as you order is a real treat. She is a marvel with a knife. Don’t
argue with her.
Fish only arrives about 1pm so don’t go before then. We always buy Maui Maui for breakfast. Also
flying fish good for breakfast also. Kingfish steaks good for dinner.
Great variety of fish.
Across the road, to the right of Waterside, is a pizza restaurant. Pizza are good but the rest is
rubbish. Why they choose to sell frozen,cardboard fish when they can buy fresh fish daily
across the road is beyond belief.
The petrol station across the road also serves snacks and sells food. However does seem to
attract some dodgy people.
Just alongside the petrol station is the road leading up to Holders Hill. They have a farmers
market there every Saturday.
The best and most expensive supermarket is Massey’s in Holetown. Jordans supermarkets
are better value. Jordans is a couple of miles south of the apartment on the main road on the
left.

DRINK

Good little bar directly opposite Wateside called KARIBU. On arrival on the first day you are
probably too tired to go into Holetown so try KARIBU. Lovely staff, rum puches, beers and a small
delicious menu. Mutton and rice, prawns in garlic. Good limited local menu.

Owned by lady called Sonia who is lovely.

Happy Hour at Surf Inn on the beach in Holetown every evening. Surf side is good for watching
football and rugby. Multiple screens, magnificent location, rubbish staff, poor food, but good for
sport and drinks when they decide to acknowledge you. An education in how not to look after
customers.

Happy hour at Zachio’s on the beach every evening.This is next door to Surf Inn. Happy hours are
different for both places so that is a plus. Efficient staff. Need to spend over $20 BD to use a
credit card. No problem there then !!!Great location to watch the sun go down.

SPORTS BARS

Surf Side in Holetown has several large TV’s showing sport daily. It is opposite Massey
supermarket in Holetown and behind the police station.

Also new bar opened called ” Tipsy Monkey” on 1st Street , Holetown. It is a bit more upmarket
than Surf Side with good cocktails and large TV’s. Definitely alot friendlier than Surf Side and my
choice for watching. However, Surf Side is in a much better location on the beach.

Restaurants

Restaurants come and go but the best list is :-

– CARIZMA in chattel village Holetown for breakfast. Nice little cafe during the day for
breakfast and coffee. Owned by Anita from Leeds. Living here must be better than Yorkshire.
They have UK daily papers there just to spoil your day and WiFi. Password is CHILLIPEPPERS
for WiFi. Book on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the Tapas evenings with a great little band
playing. It’s always full and excellent value for money.It’s a 2-3 stop trip on the Reggae buses
from Waterside to Holetown. Chattel village is at the start of Holetown.
Tides. Poor meal ( frozen fish ) in December 2023. Avoid.
QP Bistro. Very very good.
Lone Star. Great position on the beach. Good for Sunday lunch. Expensive.
Next door to Lonestar going north of Juma’s. Good for curries. On the beach so good views.
Sandy Lane for Sunday Lunch. All you can eat, magnificent buffet, but very expensive ( about
£420B per head). Ouch.
Good restaurant in Speightstown called “Local”. On Main Street. Our favourite.
Sea View is on the east coast. Been recommended by a local. Not tried it.
La Cabane. Really good restaurant on the beach. Near Batts Rock. Google it. It’s about 10
minutes away by car heading south. Tables are on the beach.
Our favourite is Paul Owen’s in Holetown. Brilliant place. Better than Tides or Cliff.

GETTING AROUND THE ISLAND

Yellow and blue buses stop outside Waterside at the bus stop on the left.. No they don’t.
Yellow buses stop anywhere. Just turn around and they will stop. Private enterprise at its best.
$3:50 will take you anywhere. Stay on the bus all day There is a bus stop to the left of the
apartment. This side of the road will take you to Holetown and Speighstown. At Speightstown
you can connect with buses to take you north or to the east coast. On the opposite side of
the road the bus goes to the capital Bridgetown, the airport, and Oistins Oistins is a great
place to go on a Friday night for the weekly fish fry with reggie bands to entertain you. There is
a difference between the yellow buses and the blue buses. The yellow buses are called
“reggie buses” and are a bit chaotic in that they tear around the island playing loud reggie
music. Forget the bus stop as they will stop anywhere and will attract your attention with
Colonel Bogey air horns whenever they can. They are a lot of fun but not for the faint hearted.
The blue buses, on the other hand, are government run, drive slower, no music and more
civilised. On the blue bus you need to put the exact money into the box as no change is given.
The cost per person on yellow bus is now $3.50 Bajan each. $7.00 BD for two. This fare takes
you anywhere.
The blue bus is same price but no change given. A lot of the blue buses are now electric.
Courtesy of the Chinese. They are getting a toe hold into Barbados and are lending the
country millions of dollars. They did the same in Zimbabwe and now own most of the country.
Very clever. Lend millions which you know country can never repay, then take all the main
assets, airports, ports etc. I bet America will be made up when Chinese warships are in the
port here, their port.
Taxi’s. Plenty of taxi firms to take you anywhere. Very strange, though, that the taxi from the
airport to Waterside is always cheaper than the one home.
Walking
CAR HIRE. Expensive as it is a very short season.
Getting to airport. Best by taxi but there is a bus for $3.50pp but check times.

PLACES TO VISIT

Holetown.
Speightstown
Bridgetown
East coast.
St Nicholas Abbey.

CHURCHES AND MASS TIMES.

Nearest Catholic Church is St Francis of Assisi at Stanfest. About 15 minutes on the bus heading
north. Lovely setting as the ocean is behind the altar. Mass is 10;30 am on Sundays. Every day at
6am…. yikes bit early that! The Church is a few yards north of Lone Star so it fits in well. Mass at
10:30 then lunch at Lone Star. Then ambulance home about 4:00pm.

Out and About.

Places of interest

Hire a car for a couple of days and get around the island. Just explore and have fun. It’s a small
island so you won’t get lost……,,,Famous last words.
Harrisons cave – very good fun and well organised.
St Nicholas Abbey – you must go there and see the film from the 1930’s of old Barbados – very
interesting. New passenger steam train has been added which is great.
Oystin’s Fish Fry. Every Friday Evening. A must. Make sure you don’t sit on the edge of the
market but go in the middle as the food is better and cheaper
Bridgetown – Not much to see. Worth a morning but nothing more unless you want to see what
Bridgetown was like 70 years ago. It’s not changed.
Diving – lots of diving boats based on wharf side in Bridgetown.

ADVANTAGES OF RENTING OUR 5 STAR APARTMENT AT WATERSIDE V HOTEL

Our apartment has two large bedrooms en suite. Hotel only gives you one bedroom. Large
apartment of 1,450 sq ft as opposed to hotel room.
Our apartment is on the beach with a sea view and balcony. Hotel rooms are a lottery with
garden or road views if not careful.
Our apartment has laundry facilities with washer and dryer to save on hotel laundry prices.
Because of our laundry you only need carry- on luggage for the cabin. Just bring two of
everything and so only a small bag is needed. Shorts and tee shirts is all you need, even for
good restaurants.
Come and go as you please. No need to vacate room for cleaners.
Full large kitchen in the apartment so you can save a fortune by not dining out as much.
Barbados restaurant prices have gone through the roof. Buy fresh fish next door on the beach
from Miss Young. A portion of fresh fish is about $30 Bajan dollars and this does three large
portions so the cost is $10BD per head which is about £4 in English money per head.
Restaurants are charging about about £40 per head and chance are it will be frozen !! ( as we
found out in Tides in November 2023)
Quiet and large fresh water swimming pool right under your balcony.
24/7 security.
Gymnasium.
Parking outside and in garage below.
Lifts to all floors and garage.
Bus stop outside the apartment to all areas.
One hour to the airport.
On the West Coast, the Platinum coast, which is the best coast with calm Caribbean Sea.
Watch the sun go down every evening from the balcony. The East coast is the Atlantic sea and
very rough.
Most of the best restaurants are on the west coast