World Country Guide

Sport & Activities

Watersports
Barbados is fringed by coral reefs which host a variety of marine life and offer excellent scuba-diving and snorkelling. Sea horses, frog fish, giant sand eels and the hawksbill turtle are among the creatures to be found around the island. Dive operators will provide equipment, advice and guided tours. Carlisle Bay near Bridgetown has 200 wrecks and is a good venue for beginners. Folkstone Marine Park features the popular wreck of the Stavronikita. The best conditions for windsurfing, jet-skiing, parasailing and water-skiing are on the south and west coasts. Crane Beach on the southeastern side is a pink-tinged stretch of sand that is ideal for bodysurfing but too rough for swimming. There is also good, regular surfing at the Soup Bowl, South Point and Rockley Beach. All watersports are easy to arrange.

Fishing
Boat chartering is available for game fishing, spin fishing and inshore fishing. Game fishing tournaments are held regularly, with the highlight of the deep-sea season being the Mutual/Mount Gay International Tournament in April.

Golf
There are three 18-hole courses (Royal Westmoreland, designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior, Sandy Lane and the Barbados Golf Club) and three 9-hole courses (Rockley, Almond Beach Village and Belair). Reservations are usually required and instruction is available at all levels.

Spectator sports
Cricket is the national obsession and can be enjoyed virtually all year round, both at national and club level. Test matches and the Inter-Caribbean Shield competition are played at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Many of the great names of West Indian cricket are from Barbados, most notably Sir Garfield Sobers. There are 20 horse racing meetings at the Garrison Savannah during the year’s two main seasons (January to March and May to October), the highlight of which is the Sandy Lane Gold Cup Race, held on the first Saturday in March. Polo is played to a high level throughout the year.

Other
Stables and horses are available and horseriding along the beach at sunset can be arranged. The Barbados National Trust organises regular guided hikes, as advertised in their ‘Calendar of Hikes’. The hikes, which last for approximately three hours, begin at 0600, 1530 and 1730. Participants on evening (moonlight) walks need to bring a torch. For further details, contact the tourist board (see Contact Addresses section).