Barbados is an
amazing little island. It is a beautiful place with something for everyone, but
its beauty cannot be truly appreciated unless you hit the high seas and take in
the views from a cruise.
Luckily several
operators offer catamaran cruises up the West coast of Barbados, out of
Bridgetown Careenage. These are the best cruising waters as the Atlantic pounds
the East coast making the water rougher.
The catamaran
cruises operate large catamarans that easily take about 30 people and probably
more. As they round the south west point of Barbados it can be a bit choppy but
as soon as you are around that point the bar is open and the rum punch begins
to flow.
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Catamaran cruise, Barbados |
The cruise heads
North along the coast accompanied by a soundtrack of reggae rhythms and stops
in sheltered bays for good snorkeling opportunities at various beaches and in
the Folkestone Marine Park. Just north of Holetown there is a favourite haunt of
the Barbados turtle colony, so it is not uncommon to get the chance to snorkel
with turtles on these tours.
The catamaran
tends to pull into a bay for lunch and guests are given the chance to swim
ashore and roam on the beach if they prefer.
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Lunch on a catamaran cruise, Barbados |
After that the
cruise returns south to Bridgetown as the sun dips in the sky and cocktail hour
approaches. If you can imagine yourself chilling with a rum punch on a gentle
wave and a bit of reggae then taking a cruise on Barbados’s west coast is a
pleasure that you should not miss out on.
