Tag Archives: Barbados

Win A Trip For 2 To Barbados, Boston, Miami or LA- Four Winners!

Contest, Sweepstakes, , , ,

BarbadosTripadvisor is currently running the Mount Gay Rum Getaway to Give Back Sweepstakes!

In the sweepstakes, one grand prize winner will win a trip for two to Barbados. Three other winners will win a trip to either Boston, Miami or Los Angeles! Continue reading Win A Trip For 2 To Barbados, Boston, Miami or LA- Four Winners! →

Win A Trip For 2 To Barbados

Contest, Sweepstakes,

barbados
Barbados was the first trip we went on after Lucas was born. At the time he was a week shy of 3 months old. We had a great time, enjoying sites all over the island. This trip was the start of over three years (and counting) of amazing travel with our little third wheel!

For those of you that would like to go back or haven’t yet visited, CBS Radio is giving away a trip for 2 in the Barbados Escape sweepstakes!

I entered the contest and so should you! Continue reading Win A Trip For 2 To Barbados →

Jumping by South Point Lighthouse- South Coast, Barbados

Jumping, Trip Reports,
a man jumping in front of a lighthouse
When I read that there were some lighthouses in Barbados, I wanted to try to check a couple out. There were two close to areas we would be visiting and I figured we could try to fit them in.
a red and white lighthouse
South Point Lighthouse is a close drive from the fishing village Oistins, known for it’s
Friday Night Fish Fry. After visiting the Fish Fry, Kim and I figured it would be worth seeing what Oistins was like during the day. We stopped by for a quick visit and then went to find the lighthouse.
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Getting to the lighthouse was a bit difficult. To reach it, you need to drive through a residential area which was very confusing. We tried figuring it out on our own but had to pull over to ask a police officer where to go. It did not help that some roads were closed near Oistins.
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After missing a few turns along the way, we finally found the lighthouse. The South Point Lighthouse could definitely use some TLC and looks like it’s been neglected for a long time. It is located on government property and it’s doubtful that many tourists come by for a visit. There isn’t much to see or do once you get to the lighthouse so I figured it was the perfect place for a jump!
a side mirror of a car

Friday Night Fish Fry- Oistins, Barbados

Food, Trip Reports, ,
a man cooking food in a kitchen
I first read about Oistins Fish Fry a few years back when considering a visit to Barbados.
We decided to go elsewhere that time but I never forgot about this weekly event.
When we decided to go to Barbados in April, it was at the top of my list for things to do!
a fish shaped light decorations over a street
Traffic in Oistins
Oistins is a fishing village in the southern part of Barbados. It also has some beaches and is well known to locals and tourists alike for it’s Friday night Fish Fry. The fish fry gets really crowded and stalls sell all types of fish (grilled or fried) like tuna, swordfish, mahi-mahi- flying fish, shrimps and many others. There is also music blasting, booths selling various crafts and locals hanging out and playing dominoes.

Continue reading Friday Night Fish Fry- Oistins, Barbados →

Hotel Review: Pirate’s Inn- Browne’s Gap, Barbados

Hotel Reviews,
a man holding a baby
Awesomely Cheesy Sign
While traveling, my favorite places to stay are hostels, inns, guesthouses and simple hotels. I don’t want to break the bank on a room when I won’t be spending much time there. I am not saying that I don’t like fancy hotels but to me they are just not worth the money.
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I like that these kind of properties are often in prime locations offering affordable and fair prices. The rooms are pretty basic but we always take private rooms, not shared dorms. I also feel that when I ask for info like where to eat, the staff is usually pretty honest and won’t just point us to the hotel restaurant.
a building with a round tower
Pirate’s Inn

For our first time traveling with our baby Lucas, Kim and I initially considered staying in a resort style hotel. Since we were using our Capital One points to pay for the trip, we thought it would be a good time to splurge a little.

About a month in advance we started looking online and making calls. Many of the places in our price range were sold out for the dates needed. We even considered staying at the island’s most popular all-inclusive (they had babysitters available!) but we couldn’t justify spending what we would normally pay for a week’s stay, on just one night (we also didn’t really think we’d actually be able to leave Lucas with a stranger.)  Continue reading Hotel Review: Pirate’s Inn- Browne’s Gap, Barbados →

A Beautiful Beach: Rockley Beach- Barbados

Jumping, Trip Reports,
a beach with blue water and blue sky

I am not really a beach person or the type to lay out to get a tan. While traveling I think there are much better things that can be done with your time.

However, I promised Kim that we would go to the beach while visiting Barbados. We heard that there were lots of beautiful beaches around the island. We planned to use our rental car to visit a few beaches but one of the best ended up being a 10 minute walk from our hotel! Continue reading A Beautiful Beach: Rockley Beach- Barbados →

Jumping By the Parliament Buildings of Barbados

Trip Reports, , ,
a man jumping in front of a building
When we stopped by the Parliament Buildings in Barbados they were already closed for the upcoming holidays. Kim and I weren’t really that interested in taking a tour but the buildings are impossible to miss when visiting Bridgetown so we decided to take a look.
a building with a clock tower and a river
View of Parliament while walking from bus station
We took the bus from our hotel to Bridgetown which took about 20 minutes. While walking from the bus station to the city center, you could see the clock tower of the Parliament Buildings from pretty far away.
a man standing in front of a building
Although the clock tower looked nothing like Big Ben in London, it totally reminded me of it.(Barbados is known as the Little Britain of the Caribbean due to being a former British colony. The even drive on the left and everyone speaks English.)
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After checking out the buildings, looking around from the outside, I decided that it was a great place for a few jumps. The clock tower would serve as a great background for some photos!
a building with a clock tower
View of Parliament from National Heroes Square

Our Flight Home From Barbados: AA Gold Status Pays Off

Uncategorized, ,
a man holding a baby

We had a very nice flight home from Barbados on Lucas’ 3 month birthday.

On our first flight from Barbados to Miami, Kim and I each had an aisle seat. The middle seat on my side ended up being empty so Kim changed seats with me a couple of times to feed the baby. The flight attendants were very nice on the flight as were many other passengers. The only real problem was after landing. Our stroller did not make it to the gate and was sent to the baggage claim area.

a baby lying on a white sheet
After wasting some time waiting for the stroller, we had a long walk to the passport control area. With only a little over 2 hours between flights this did not give us a lot of time to get through passport control, re-check our bags and go through the security screening again.
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It would definitely be nice if people with babies were placed on a fast track line to make things a bit easier.
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We stopped to grab something to eat before heading over to our gate and within 5 minutes of sitting down my name was called to report to the check-in counter.
I couldn’t imagine what they needed. Did they need to check our tickets or ID? Maybe it had something to do with flying with an infant.
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When I showed up at the counter, the friendly American Airlines representative told me that the flight had been oversold and that we were being upgraded to first class! He then said to me “You’re gold right?”
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This was the first time that getting gold status had paid off!
(Check out my post on Reaching Gold Status and )

Sitting upfront in first class was a great way to end our trip. The extra space in the seats and generous recline made for a comfortable, quick flight back from Miami to New York.

The service in first is a big upgrade from coach.
In coach all that is offered on short flights is beverage service- water, juice, soda or coffee.  Anything else you pay for. You can purchase snacks, sandwiches & liquor if you choose to do so.

In first there was no meal service but we did get brought drinks and snacks a few times.
Prior to take-off a flight attendant came around with a tray of juice and water.

Once we got in the air the beverage cart came by. I decided to have a ginger ale with vodka.

a glass of liquid and a can of vodka

The first snack was a small glass of warm, mixed nuts. It was definitely tasty and went well with my drink!

a glass full of nuts

The other snack was a warm English toffee cookie. It was really good and I ended up having seconds.

a fried food on a plate
Thanks to the upgrade, we had a really comfortable final flight home. Lucas slept like a champion and was able to stretch out and get very comfortable.
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I am glad to have had such great experiences so far flying with an infant. After getting through four flights on his first trip, Lucas is a real pro at flying! Too bad lap babies do not earn frequent flyer miles. I can’t wait for our next trip!

Our First Flight With Baby Lucas

Travel with kids, Trip Reports,
a man and woman with a baby
Kim and I were happy to arrive in Barbados after our first time flying with a third wheel- our baby Lucas!
a baby sleeping in a car seat
Asides from dealing with a very nasty American Airlines agent at the ticketing counter, everything went smoothly at the airport. Getting through security was a breeze and the TSA agents were very nice. I had heard stories about trouble with bringing milk, breast pumps and other items through security but we had no issues.

Continue reading Our First Flight With Baby Lucas →

Our Upcoming Trip to Barbados- Thanks Capital One!

Trip Planning, Trip Reports,
a credit card with a blue background
While deciding where to go on our first trip in April with our newborn son Lucas, my wife and I figured it was time to use our Capital One points.
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We each earned 110,000 bonus points from the Venture Card with the mileage match offer last year. To qualify for the offer we had to send in a statement from an airline showing that we had 100,000 miles or more in an account. We received the 100,000 mile match plus 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.