Barbados Chose Us

Several months ago, we were trying to decide where to celebrate our 45th anniversary. After careful consideration, we decided to travel somewhere we had never been before in the Caribbean. We chose Barbados, or rather Barbados chose us. Our accommodations were at the Sandals Royal Barbados, one of Sandal's newest resorts in the Caribbean.

Barbados is very special; Barbadians are extraordinary people with many stories to tell. We arranged through the Barbados Office of Tourism resort property visits. We met Shane who was our private tour guide for two days while in Barbados. Shane was able to talk to us about several significant cultural events, such as Crop Over, Friday Fish, and the Rum and Food Festival.

We wanted to experience the island as if we were locals. It's always great to immerse yourself in the culture of those destinations you visit.

Besides taking us to four resort and hotel properties, Shane took us around the entire island for an extraordinary experience of how everyday people live in Barbados. Our tour took us about six hours to encircle the whole island. We stopped in several districts; the first stop was at a Cigar-making factory in the Pelican Village Craft Centre.

We visited the Green Monkey Golf Course. Did you know this was the country club where Tiger Woods was married?

On the island's North Point, we saw the huge rocks that had rolled down the mountainside many years ago and landed in the ocean. We also visited the Animal Flower Cave.

Bathsheba Park is where we stopped to have lunch at Dina's Bar & Cafe. The food was fabulous!

In a tiny village outside of Bridgetown, we saw Rihanna's homeplace.

Each place in Barbados had a story, every meal was a celebration, and each day bought us new experiences, discoveries, and memories to last our lifetime.

We are so glad we visited Barbados!