Touring the South Coast of Barbados
This self-guided tour takes you through the most developed area of the island along the south coast of Barbados.
This attraction-packed drive is an excellent balance of sights to show you that Barbados has more than just beautiful beaches. There are lots of things to see and do.
There are some beaches on this tour but bear in mind that many of these attractions will take time, so plan accordingly, dress appropriately, and enjoy!
This Barbados tour does take you through Bridgetown, so keep in mind peak traffic hours.
» Cockspur Beach Club
» Brighton Beach
» Mount Gay Rum Distillery
» Kensington Oval
» Bridgetown
» St.Patrick’s Cathedral
» Brownes Beach
» George Washington House
» Barbados Museum
» Garrison Historic Area and Tours
» St.Ann’s Fort
» Mallalieu Motor Collection
» Accra Beach
» Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary
» St.Lawrence Gap
» Dover Beach
» Oistins Fish Market
» Miami Beach
» Silver Sands Recreational Park
» Surfer’s Point
Start at Frank Worrell’s roundabout at the top of the Spring Garden Highway to start your tour heading south on the highway.
Take the second right turn you come to; you will pass the sign to Cockspur Beach Club a few hundred yards before the turning.
At the T junction, turn right to Brighton Beach Rd. North. You will see the Cockspur Beach Club on your left. Come back out the way you came to return to the Spring Garden Highway. You cannot turn right out of this junction, so you will have to go left and make a circle around the roundabout to come back down and head south.
On your right, you will see Brighton Beach, a long stretch of beach where the band ends on Kadooment day.
To go to Mount Gay Rum Distilleries, turn left into Exmouth Gap. Open Monday to Friday, the distillery tour tells the story of the world’s oldest and finest rum.
Get back on the highway to continue and come down to the lights. Directly in front of you is the home of the West Indies cricket in Barbados, Kensington Oval.
One of the Caribbean’s oldest cricket grounds, the stadium has been rebuilt for the Cricket World Cup into a modern stadium that seats 28,000 spectators and is the venue for the Cricket World Cup final.
Turn right at these lights, then at the Elsie Payne roundabout, turn left. The sizeable triangular building on your right is the old sugar barn, anything more to say, the country’s main export.
You will turn left onto the Princess Alice Highway; the Pelican Craft Centre will be on your left.
Entering Bridgetown, you will take a left onto Prince Alfred Street by the KFC. Keep in the right lane and turn at the second street on your right, which will take you up Bridgetown’s main street, Broad street.
This was the main market thoroughfare back in the late 1600s and still retains its market appeal with the island’s leading duty-free shops located here.
Follow Broad Street past the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson in Trafalgar Square on your right. This statue was erected here in 1813, thirty years before the monument to Nelson was erected in London’s Trafalgar Square.
You will also pass the Parliament buildings on your left, the 3rd oldest parliament in the world. Stay in the middle lane, which will become the left lane, and the middle road again to turn right and go over the bridge.
You’ll see the Fairchild Street bus terminal on your left as you go over the bridge. Continue straight through the lights and stay in the left lane, passing Bridgetown’s fire station on your left.
Follow the road left, and you will pass the Boatyard complex. You will soon have your first view of beautiful Carlisle Bay, a haven for scuba divers with several shipwrecks.
Go straight through the lights; you are now on the central south coast road of Barbados, which is the road you will follow for the duration of the tour.
You will pass St. Patrick’s Cathedral on your left. The Cathedral was originally built in 1848 but destroyed in 1897 by a fire. The new Cathedral that stands today was completed in 1899.
Soon Harbour Lights, the famous nightspot among young locals and tourists, will be on your right. Shortly after you pass Harbour Lights, the parking lot for Brown’s Beach will appear on your right.
You will pass the Prime Minister’s office and Cabinet Office on your left through the lights. Just opposite is the Bay Street Esplanade and Band House.
Take the left opposite Texaco station signposted “Bush hill.” You are now entering the Garrison Historic Area. On your left is George Washington House, where George Washington stayed in Barbados. You can take tours of the old house, which has been renovated.
Turn left out of the entrance, at the monument, turn right at the fork in the road, and immediately go into the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.
The monument you just passed was erected in memory of the officers and soldiers of the Royal York Rangers. They fell in the Army at the Reduction of the French colonies of Martinique, the Saintes, and Guadaloupe in 1809 and 1810.
The Barbados Museum and Historical Society is a genuinely fascinating institution that depicts its unique history and rich cultural heritage through its many galleries.
Turn left out of the museum and follow the road around the race track. You will arrive back to the south coast road with St.Ann’s Fort just to your right across the street. St.Ann’s Fort has recently been converted into an exciting museum and tours of this, and the cannons are arranged by Tall Ships Cruises 430-0900. Turn left onto the south coast road.
Most of these buildings along this stretch of road are still part of the Garrison Historic Area and renovated into offices.
Drive for about half a mile until you come to a sign for the Pavilion Court Mallalieu Motor Collection, where you can take a look at an exciting collection of automobilia and vintage cars.
When it’s time to leave, turn left out of the entrance. Continue on this road, and you will soon pass Quayside Centre, a great shopping center. The beach on your right is Accra Beach, a popular spot amongst locals and tourists with a bit of a place to have snacks or a beachside drink.
Continue along the south coast road through the lights; Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary will be on your left. Turn left out of the entrance to Graeme Hall.
The entrance to the St.Lawrence Gap with a stone wall will appear on your right; turn in here. “The Gap” is one of the most happening nightlife spots on the island, lined with bars and restaurants intermingled with street-side vendors and punctuated with an old Anglican Church.
Winding your way along this one-way street, you will pass Dover Beach and the Walkers’ World on your right. The road will veer to the left; follow the road to the stop sign at the main road where you will turn right.
After a few minutes, you will see many colorful fishing boats in their cradles. You are now in the island’s fishing capital, Oistins, the site of an independence clash between Royalists and Roundhead supporters in 1639.
Oistins is home to the annual Oistins Fish Festival in April and the nightly “Fish Fries,” especially popular on Fridays. Although fish is available in most supermarkets, many Barbadians still travel to fish markets such as here to buy all types of fresh fish.
As you exit Oistins, keep right signposted “Enterprise / Atlantic Shores and Silver Sands.” Turn right at the “Southpoint Depot Atlantic shores and Lighthouse.” Turn right at the T-junction signposted “Enterprise Beach Rd.” Miami Beach will appear on your left, a great shady spot for a picnic or refreshing drink from the colorful food van.
From Miami Beach, turn back the way you came and continue straight along the coastal road instead of turning left where you came down.
Turn right onto Seaside Drive, and keep right to stay on the coastal road through Atlantic Shores. You’ll see the red and white South Point lighthouse on your left.
Turn left and follow the road uphill at the end of the road. At the stop sign, you will turn right follow the road along to another stop sign at a T-junction to turn right and go downhill.
Take a left by a ridged wall, at another T-junction, you turn left then right at the stop sign to past Silver Sands Recreational Park, a popular kite surfing spot.
Continue along the road to pass Silver Rock on your right. At the stop sign, you will turn right. You will start seeing signs at Surfer’s Point at the next stop sign. To follow these signs, turn left at the T-junction, take the 1st right, turn right again, and turn left.
The road will curve left and back right again. Follow the road right to the end at Surfer’s Point. This beautiful hidden spot is a popular surfing spot, hence its name; you can take lessons here with Zed’s surfing adventures.
When you’ve had your fill of the scenery and are ready to head home, go back the way you came up the hill and follow the road back around to the stop sign where you will turn right then left to another stop sign.
Turn right and continue straight to a stop sign. Turn left signposted “Bridgetown via Oistins” and follow the junction with the bit of black and white roundabout.
Take the second exit – to your right as you come to the junction, this road goes along the wall directly in front of you – continue straight to a stop sign where you will continue straight on, you will pass back through Oistins from here it is pretty easy to return to the south coast or head up to the ABC Highway.
This now ends the tour of Barbados’s south coast.
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