Barbados/ Grenada

[Tlandcruiser]

Hi all,

I’m looking at booking 14 nights in either Barbados or Grenada next April. I’m not sure how much food and drink costs in either countries, so I’m not sure if booking an all inclusive resort package is worth it.

In bardbaos, I’m looking at the Hilton on the west coast, or south gap hotel by st.lawerence gap.

The all inclusive hotel in Grenada works out about 2k more expensive than the Barbados room only/ BB. But I can’t see myself spending 2k on food and drink.

If the hotel is not all inclusive, it would have to be 5/10 minutes walk to the restaurants and bars because I won’t be willing to hire a car to drive to restaurants and not be able to have a drink.

[GT03ROB]

Grenada is not as developed as Barbados, so your out of hotel options are more limited.

Generally eating out in the Caribbean is not cheap, there is value there if you look, but most stuff aimed at the tourist market is pricey,

[davek_964]

We're going to Barbados in October for 2 weeks, not AI. I fully expect to spend quite a bit more than £2k while we're out there on food / drinks and stuff to do - if that all happens for £2k I'll be very happy!

[djc206]

If it’s Hilton Barbados Resort you’re referring to scratch it off your list. It’s tired and there’s very little around there that you’ll want to see. South Gap would be better, there are some very good restaurants and bars nearby, you just have to pick wisely as there’s some tacky touristy bars too. If you’re not prepared to drive a bit then I wouldn’t choose Barbados, it’s quite spread out so you need to get out and about or just suck it up and go AI. That said 2 weeks is a long time to spend eating and drinking in one place and whilst expensive Barbados does have a really good restaurant scene, it’s just very scattered around the south and west coasts.

[romft123]

having been to both last year, I would pick Grenada everytime

[Bonefish Blues]

romft123 said:

having been to both last year, I would pick Grenada everytime

I've only been to one of them and I wouldn't go to Barbados

[havoc]

Ooh, tough room.

I've not been to Grenada (would love to), but found Barbados to be a lovely (if not cheap) place to be. Admitted both times we stayed on the West Coast and the second time we had a car so we could find quieter beaches and explore a bit.

Given we don't usually go for AI (read: once ever and it felt artificial), what are the benefits of Grenada?

[djc206]

havoc said:

Ooh, tough room.

I've not been to Grenada (would love to), but found Barbados to be a lovely (if not cheap) place to be. Admitted both times we stayed on the West Coast and the second time we had a car so we could find quieter beaches and explore a bit.

Given we don't usually go for AI (read: once ever and it felt artificial), what are the benefits of Grenada?

I wouldn’t go to Barbados without a car. There’s so much to see and as entertaining as the buses can be I’m not sure I fancy two weeks of racing around on a Z bus being deafened. It’s so easy to drive there as well, no reason not to.

[Phooey]

We've stopped at Mango Bay and Crystal Cove and whilst CC was probably a better hotel (mainly because of their Dine Around ticket and water taxi), the position of MB is about as good as you're going to get, IMO. Don't take taxis, use the Reggae busses!

[Bonefish Blues]

djc206 said:

havoc said:

Ooh, tough room.

I've not been to Grenada (would love to), but found Barbados to be a lovely (if not cheap) place to be. Admitted both times we stayed on the West Coast and the second time we had a car so we could find quieter beaches and explore a bit.

Given we don't usually go for AI (read: once ever and it felt artificial), what are the benefits of Grenada?

I wouldn’t go to Barbados without a car. There’s so much to see and as entertaining as the buses can be I’m not sure I fancy two weeks of racing around on a Z bus being deafened. It’s so easy to drive there as well, no reason not to.

When we were there we gave a lift to an elderly lady in her finery who waved us down. Turned out she was going to a funeral, so we diverted and took her. It was only when we went past another church we realised that there'd been some miscommunication and we'd taken her to the wrong church, but she'd been too polite to say, and simply got out of the car when I'd stopped outside.
That was the most memorable thing that happened on our trips there...
(We went back and got her btw )

[davek_964]

We hadn't even considered hiring a car - didn't think we'd really need one.

Maybe we should reconsider.

[TownIdiot]

davek_964 said:

We hadn't even considered hiring a car - didn't think we'd really need one.

Maybe we should reconsider.

I'd definitely recommend it - we went over christmas this year for the first time.

I know what you mean about not wanting to have a night out and not be able to have a drink, but as one who enjoys a drink I didn't find it an issue.

It was good to be able to go and see the racehorses very early, a nice day trip to the Bathsheba and a couple of other drives out.

It's easy to get a cab/bus if you do want a trip out - however the only time we got a cab in the evening was from Oistins and the driver was more pissed/stoned than we were.

Everyone seems to drive at about 20 mph on the minor roads anyway.

[Johnniem]

Phooey said:

We've stopped at Mango Bay and Crystal Cove and whilst CC was probably a better hotel (mainly because of their Dine Around ticket and water taxi), the position of MB is about as good as you're going to get, IMO. Don't take taxis, use the Reggae busses!

Definitely this...I have also stayed at both and enjoyed both. Food not as great in Mango Bay but location's slightly better (close to Turtles etc). South coast is slightly more 'downmarket' (none of it is actually downmarket but couldn't find the right word!) than the west and the sea is not quite as clear and full of wildlife (IMO). Restaurants, however, offer a lot of choice and there is always a bit of fun at the Oistin's fish fry evening every Friday. I also recommend the Reggae bus travel option. Cheap as chips (probably cheaper!).

[reggie82]

romft123 said:

having been to both last year, I would pick Grenada everytime

Agreed! I went to both earlier this year. Grenada I thought was beautiful, Barbados I was underwhelmed and wouldn’t go back.

[otolith]

djc206 said:

I wouldn’t go to Barbados without a car. There’s so much to see and as entertaining as the buses can be I’m not sure I fancy two weeks of racing around on a Z bus being deafened. It’s so easy to drive there as well, no reason not to.

Fruity sounding engines in those buses - spent half the last holiday trying to work out what they’re running.

[havoc]

reggie82 said:

romft123 said:

having been to both last year, I would pick Grenada everytime

Agreed! I went to both earlier this year. Grenada I thought was beautiful, Barbados I was underwhelmed and wouldn’t go back.

Which part of Barbados were you in? It's a fairly big island...

[djc206]

otolith said:

Fruity sounding engines in those buses - spent half the last holiday trying to work out what they’re running.

I’ve no idea but they run at 10/10ths