Affordable paradise: how to get luxury for less in Barbados

Taking an early-morning walk along talcum powder-soft sands with just a few fishermen and scampering crabs for company. Spotting a troupe of wild green monkeys in the grounds of your hotel over breakfast. Soaking in a bath-warm sea, with tropical fishes appearing around your ankles. Having a rum punch or two in a rickety, old beachfront bar as the sun sets over the horizon. Listening to the cacophonous, nightly chorus of tree frogs…

To my mind, the best things about Barbados are either free or cost very little. If you’ve never been there, that may come as a surprise. For the common perception of the Caribbean island is that it’s all about luxurious hotels and villas and flashy restaurants.

With the cheapest room at Sandy Lane, the swankiest hotel, costing nearly £1,000 a night in low season, and dinner for two at The Cliff, the fanciest restaurant, £230 without drinks, Barbados’s reputation as a playground for the well-heeled (and well-known) is certainly partly true. But it’s definitely not the whole picture. 

You can enjoy a sublime stay on what is for many the perfect holiday island by staying in more modest accommodation, and going where the locals do to eat and drink – just follow my tried-and-tested suggestions below. 

The ultimate guide to Barbados

Is there a cheap time of year to visit?

Yes. From May to mid-December rates for hotels, apartments and villas are 25–50 per cent lower than in the high-season winter months. Prices are generally cheapest in September and October, though statistically that’s the wettest time of year and peak hurricane season in the Caribbean. To keep airfares down, avoid any school holiday period. This month, British Airways has Gatwick-Barbados flights on sale from £461 return – but you can pay at least double that for travel outside term time. It’s similar with Virgin, the other main airline to fly there from the UK. 

Where can I stay affordably? 

The south coast is generally the most economical area to stay. One of its best-value hotels is Coconut Court Beach (0808 238 0051). It backs on to lovely palm-shaded sands, has a reef-protected, lagoon-like swimming area, and good-sized, ocean-facing rooms: from $99 (£70) including continental breakfast. 

The rates at most places to stay on the upmarket west coast are high, but there are notable exceptions such as Legend Garden Condos (001 246 422 8369). It offers quirky, excellent-value self-catering apartments: from $130 room-only. 

Over on the undeveloped east coast, laid-back Sea-U Guest House (001 246 433 9450) has rustic-chic, fan-cooled rooms opening on to wide verandas furnished with hammocks and planters’ chairs: from $138 room-only. (All the rates quoted above are lead-in prices per room per night in low season.) 

Airbnb has lots of positively reviewed, keenly priced rooms to rent, with the average cost of a private room for two £57 a night. 

How about getting around? 

Car hire and organised tours are expensive on Barbados, so stick to using the buses, particularly for getting along the south or west coasts, where services are extremely frequent. There are three types of bus: predominantly blue government buses; private yellow buses; and private white mini vans with a purple stripe, called ZRs (they have ZR on their number plate), which pick up and drop off passengers just about anywhere on their set route. A ride in a ZR can be an intense but fun adventure. On any bus a journey of any length costs BD$2 (70p). 

What about cheap eats?

The wooden huts close to the fish market at Oistins serve up platters of grilled fish with rice and peas or macaroni pie on the side, for around BD$30 (£11). Most people visit for the lively Fish Fry party on Friday. 

Some of the more elaborate rum shops (Barbados’s version of bars) offer cheap, filling local dishes too, particularly at lunchtimes. Bay Tavern, across the road from the sea on the east coast at Martin’s Bay, does curried goat or rabbit as well as fresh fish, for around BD$18-20 (£6.50–7.50). Or head to The Village Bar at Lemon Arbour in the centre of the island. Its dining room is packed out on Saturdays, when the Bajan speciality of pudding and souse – pickled pork with steamed sweet potato – is on offer for BD$13 (£4.50). 

If you want a quick and tasty bite to eat, pop into one of the many branches of Chefette, Barbados’s home-grown fast-food chain. 

And cut-price drinks?

In rum shops, rum is served in bottles of varying sizes, not by the glass. At the magnificently laid-back John Moore Bar, backing right on to a west-coast beach at Weston, a 20ml bottle of local Mount Gay rum costs BD$12 (£4.20), with a bottle of coke to mix BD$3 (£1.05). Beer is also cheap in rum shops: at the often lively Wendy’s Sports Bar, just inland from the west coast at Fitts Village, four bottles of local Banks beer can be had for BD$10 (£3.50). 

For a healthier drink, buy a coconut from a roadside vendor – the going rate is BD$3 (£1.05). 

Is there beach life on a budget?

Very much so. All beaches on Barbados – even Sandy Lane’s – must have free, public access. There’s no need to take an expensive boat tour to spot marine life: just snorkel directly off a west-coast beach and you should see lots of tropical fish. If you want to chill out on the sand, renting an umbrella and couple of sunbeds for the day usually costs around BD$30 (£10.50). 

Delicious, snacks can be had at some beaches. Cuz’s Fish Shack, in the car park behind sandy Pebbles Beach south of Bridgetown, does good fried fish cutters (a cutter is a Bajan sandwich made with a soft bread roll) for BD$9 (£3.20). At Mr Delicious Snack Bar, a converted old bus on the sand at Oistins’ Miami/Enterprise beach, order the very moreish fishcakes: six cost BD$5 (£1.75). 

Any free sightseeing?

I can highly recommend joining one of the free, group-led hikes every Sunday organised by the Barbados Hiking Association. They cover a different, scenic part of the island each week and last for three hours, with groups going at a varying pace, ranging from fairly gentle (Stop ’n’ Stare) to taxing (Grin ’n’ Bear). My enjoyable Stop ’n’ Stare hike traversed sugar-cane fields and skirted plantation houses and old mills. Hikes start at 6am and 3.30pm, and on some days there are moonlit hikes, too. You’ll probably need to take a taxi, or have a hire car, to get to the starting point of the walk. 

And free entertainment?

Find out if there’s a road tennis match happening somewhere. Invented on Barbados in the Thirties, the sport is something like table tennis, but played with a bald tennis ball and wooden bats on a court marked out on a patch of concrete. At the inter-parish match I saw, skill levels were high and the crowd big and passionate. 

Go to the races at the atmospheric Garrison Savannah track. It costs nothing to watch from the rail at the edge of the course, and minimum bets are small. Most races take place on Saturdays, fortnightly through much of the year: check ahead for dates.

More information

Find out more with Telegraph Travel’s expert guide to Barbados.