This fourth trip segment got us to briefly experience island living for five nights in Barbados.

2026.02.02 – [BB] Bridgetown ==> Bridgetown

Today, we decided to visit some tourist attractions outside of Bridgetown. We quickly discovered that Barbados offers plenty of options—from rum tastings, to exploring botanic gardens, to riding steam train, to military sites and cave tours—but they all shared one thing in common: hefty entrance fees.

We drove along very pleasant roads to Harrison’s Cave Eco-Adventure Park, but sadly turned around after learning that the basic excursion cost USD $75 per person. Having visited many caves on previous trips, we felt this price was too steep.

We continued driving around the island, realizing that the views themselves were about the only things without a price tag. On our way back to our accommodation, we stopped at two supermarkets to supplement yesterday’s hasty grocery shopping.

2026.02.03 – [BB] Bridgetown ==> Bridgetown

We had a somewhat disappointing day. After breakfast, we drove to our first snorkeling site, but sadly had to give up after 15–20 minutes in the water. The waves were unusually large for our west coast location, and underwater visibility was severely limited.

We tried again farther down the road at Folkestone Marine Park, where the lifeguard had red flags flying. Several explanations were offered for the rough conditions, ranging from the full moon to the lingering effects of a cold front from the mainland.

We eventually returned to our accommodation. Jenny did some laundry, as our snorkeling outings always involve a surprising amount of clothing. Later in the afternoon, we drove out for a stroll along the 1.2-km Richard Haynes Boardwalk, where we could clearly see the powerful waves crashing against the rocks.

2026.02.04 – [BB] Bridgetown ==> Bridgetown

During the night, we discovered that our accommodation had no running water. We contacted our host early in the morning, and they promptly arranged for water to be delivered. Service was restored by 7 a.m.

We had planned a day of sightseeing in the capital, Bridgetown. After driving into the downtown area and parking the car, we set out to explore a few of the tourist sites we had earmarked. Unfortunately, the scenery was very underwhelming and not particularly worth photographing. Cruise ship passengers wandered the streets aimlessly—much like us.

After an hour or so, we decided to return to our accommodation. On the way back, we stopped at a supermarket to buy beer and some fruits. We had hoped to get ice cream as well, but it was simply too expensive.

Overall, we found Barbados difficult to appreciate. While the road network is extensive and in excellent condition, and there appears to be a large population of wealthy retirees, both tourist attractions and groceries are prohibitively expensive. We spent the remainder of the afternoon reading and resting at our accommodation.

Anyone wishing to drive in Barbados needs to be very comfortable navigating roundabouts, as they are everywhere—especially on main roads, where they can become bottlenecks during rush hour.

2026.02.05 – [BB] Bridgetown ==> Bridgetown

Every morning, Jenny takes charge of preparing our substantial breakfasts. Once our morning routine was wrapped up, we drove back to Folkestone Marine Park for our second attempt at snorkeling. We were quite disappointed to see the warning flag flying again, posted by the lifeguards. When we asked about other sites along the coast, they recommended Carlisle Bay, close to downtown Bridgetown, so we decided to give it a try.

It was surprisingly easy to park and access the many beaches along the coast. Once on the beach, we immediately noticed that the waves were much smaller here. We also discovered that the rental cost of sun chairs and umbrellas is a good indicator of how expensive the islands we visit are. In Barbados, beach attendants were charging USD $25, while in St. Kitts we paid only USD $10. Needless to say we settled ourselves under a tree on the beach. This seemed to support our impression that Barbados is relatively expensive.

The snorkeling was decent, and we mingled with cruise ship passengers who were out on a snorkeling excursion in the bay. At one point, we thought we had spotted a small shark—especially after a fellow foreign snorkeler told us he had encountered one earlier. However, after checking with the staff on a tourist snorkeling boat, they were adamant that what we saw was actually a common Caribbean fish called a tarpon.

After about an hour and a half of snorkeling, we returned to our accommodation to do our laundry one last time and enjoy dinner.

2026.02.06 – [SL] Bridgetown ==> Soufriere

We left our comfortable accommodation just before 11 a.m. On the drive to the airport, we stopped at Subway to pick up some takeaway sandwiches and also filled up the car with gas. Upon arriving at the airport’s short-term parking, a car rental agent met us to collect the vehicle.

There was already a short lineup at the interCaribbean check-in desk. After receiving our boarding passes, we had lunch before going through security. We later discovered that the secure area also had a Subway restaurant. It appeared that our airline had several flights departing within a short time of each other.

Upon arriving at St. Lucia’s airport in Castries—the country’s capital, located in the northwest part of the island—we moved quickly through airport formalities. Unfortunately, we then had to wait 35–45 minutes for our car rental representative to arrive with our vehicle.

The 1.5-hour drive from Castries to Soufrière was the most challenging main-road drive we had encountered so far on our trip with countless hair pin turns, steep endless climbs, and unpredictable degraded road surface. We were thankful we didn’t have to navigate it in the dark. Once in Soufrière, we went straight to the supermarket to stock up on food for our stay.

From there, we drove along yet another rough, off-road stretch to reach our hilltop accommodation. After settling in, we had deli chicken and instant noodles for dinner.