See full story... - Atlantis Submarines Barbados

Sept/Oct 2014 Travel News
44 BARBADOS
Bajan hospitality
makes you feel
right at home...
Contributor LYNSEY LAMONT headed off to Barbados
recently on an eagerly awaited travel agent ‘Fam’ trip
ISITING the Caribbean has always
been on my travel wish list - suffice
to say, I was ecstatic when I found
out I was getting to opportunity to go to
Barbados! I was invited to spend five
fantastic days on the island alongside 100
travel agents across the UK for the
Gimmie5 And Fly Mega Fam Trip
organised by the Barbados Tourism
Authority (BTA).
Familiarisation (Fam) trips allow for
travel agents to experience the
destinations they sell - an excellent way to
share knowledge with their customers. I
won’t lie, the itinerary was jam-packed but
it enabled me to see a great deal of the
island and all the attractions it had to
offer.
Situated between the Caribbean and
the North Atlantic Ocean, Barbados is
one of the most popular Caribbean
islands. The name Barbados means
‘Bearded ones’ - this was the name given
due to the ‘bearded trees’ that grew in
abundance across the island - and it is also
well known for its sugar cane industry.
Barbados boasts a well-developed
infrastructure and a good transportation
network to get you around the island.
Enjoying a tropical climate all year
round, and more affordable than you
think, it is no surprise that Barbados is
becoming even more popular among UK
holidaymakers. Sue Springer, Executive
Vice President of the Barbados Hotel and
Tourism Association, explains that “the
UK is an extremely important source
market, UK travellers make up around 40
per cent of the tourists to the island each
year and there has been an eight per cent
increase on agent bookings”.
It was great to see travel agents from
Northern Ireland who I already knew on
the trip, as we all like a bit of familiarity,
however that said, the welcoming Bajan
hospitality will make you feel right at
home. In fact Cedric Lynch, Business
Development Manager for the BTA in
London and originally from Barbados
believes the personalities of the Bajan
people and ourselves are quite similar and
share many of the same qualities, with one
of them being “laid back”. He had
obviously got me on a good day! Jokes
aside, the people of Barbados are
extremely friendly and do appear to have a
V
laid-back, chilled-out attitude, which I
love.
After a short flight with easyJet to
London, we flew with British Airways
direct from London Gatwick. The flight
duration is eight hours but surprisingly it
didn’t seem that long. Barbados however
is five hours behind UK time and when
we arrived at around three in the
afternoon we all felt slightly drained from
the flight, although we soon found a way
to fix that - Rum Punch!
On arrival at the Almond Beach
Resort, which was our base for the
duration of our stay, we were greeted with
a copious amount of rum punch and
canapes, after all the travelling it was
delightful to say the least.
Rum is the island’s national drink and if
I didn’t like it before I like it now. We
went to visit the Mount Gay Rum Visitor
Centre, learning the history of this well
renowned Barbados rum brand and
taking part in a tasting session followed
by a nice lunch makes for a great
excursion while visiting the island.
The first couple of days of our trip
consisted of several hotel visits which gave
a good insight to the accommodation that
is available. From luxury five star resorts
to quaint boutique type hotels, Barbados
seems to cater for all tastes and budgets. I
will admit that some of the hotels where
definitely more impressive than others,
however depending on what you are
looking
for
family
friendly,
honeymooners, etc, there is something for
everyone. I was really impressed by the
all-inclusive Turtle Beach Resort, part of
the Elegant Hotel Group’s collection of
luxury hotels in Barbados. Situated on the
south coast it perfect for families, with a
choice of pools and three restaurants
including a buffet. Out of all the other
hotels I had visited, I would definitely
recommend - The Crane, Ocean2, Colony
Club and Mango Bay.
Our host hotel - Almond Beach Resort
is situated in a quieter part on the west
coast of the island, it catered for
everything we needed and I enjoyed my
stay here, admittedly it was not as
impressive as some of the other hotels we
visited, although saying that it would have
been more within my budget and I would
certainly stay here again. It would be
A taste of paradise - Crane Bay in Barbados
ABOVE: Beautiful
palm-fringed
Bottom Bay in
Barbados
LEFT: The writer,
Lynsey Lamont,
third right of
picture, and her
travel agent
companions enjoy
an Atlantis
Submarine ride
perfect for couples or adults travelling
alone, I wouldn’t recommend it for
children as there wouldn’t be that much
for them to do. Rooms at the hotel are
spacious and clean and the staff are all
extremely friendly, and of course Almond
Beach is just what it says - on the beach!
I had a perfect few hours chilling out
on the sand, then going in for a swim
when it got too hot. The water was warm
and refreshing and I have to say, the
beach was probably one of the best I have
ever been on...
Bright blue sea and golden sands
usually portray the postcard image of
Barbados and while this is not untrue,
visiting the Atlantis Hotel on the east
coast had shown the island from a
different perspective; I was pleasantly
surprised at the ruggedness of the
shoreline and the choppiness of the sea.
Overlooking the Atlantic as opposed to
the Caribbean, it is almost like you are on
a another island, the east coast is great for
surfing and walking and lets tourists
experience a different side of Barbados.
There is no shortage of nightlife popular spots include St Lawrence Gap
which is home to a number of restaurants,
bars and nightclubs and at weekends the
fishing town of Oistins is the place to be,
especially on a Friday night for the
‘Oistins Fish Fry’.
After a lovely evening meeting up with
the second group of travel agents to arrive
on the island, we all went to Oistin’s to
continue the party. I absolutely loved it…
At the weekend, this active fishing village
lends itself as an open air nightspot where
tourists and locals of all ages come
together to enjoy a variety of music and
food, there is also an array of stalls set up
selling authentic arts and crafts which
includes jewellery, clothes, ceramics and
much more. If you do go, make sure you
try the fish from one of the many food
stalls, it’s what the area is famous for.
On the Saturday evening of our stay we
dined at Daphne’s Restaurant, known for
being one of Barbados’ top eating places
it did not disappoint. Serving mouthwatering Italian cuisine, the restaurant is
positioned right on the beach which is
perfect for after-dinner drinks and
socialising, celebrities including Simon
Cowell and Rhianna have eaten here on a
number of occasions, even though it was
rumoured that Simon was in town, I
wasn’t lucky enough to bump into him
but you never know who you might run
into!
We had a busy day of adventure
activities while on the trip which started
with an 8am breakfast cruise on a
catamaran. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash
browns, and a variety of fruit were on the
menu and not surprisingly - rum punch!
The breakfast cruise led us to the next
stop which was Atlantis Submarines to
take part in a submarine dive. At first I
was a bit apprehensive as I am not
comnfortable in confined spaces, however
with a few reassuring words from the
others I decided to give it a go.
The submarine lets you experience the
underwater life of the island and you even
get to see a shipwreck so I am glad I
conquered my apprehensions.
Later that same day we visited
Harrison’s Cave. We took a tram ride
through the cave which lasted about an
hour. Not unlike the Marble Arch Caves
in Fermanagh, the tour was quite
interesting and at the same time we had a
great tour guide, I am glad we chose the
tram tour rather than the walking tour; for
I was worn out by this stage.
We attended the Barbados Tourism
Authority Marketplace which gave the
agents and myself the opportunity to talk
to many of the hoteliers and attraction
providers, and showed off exactly what
the island had to offer holidaymakers. The
marketplace had taken place in the
Barbados Concorde Experience Centre,
home to the British Airways Concorde
G-BOAE, As part of the experience you
will get to learn the history of Concorde
and even board the aircraft itself.
Before going on the fam trip I was told
that I needed to learn the words to a song,
I had no idea why, turns out nobody did…
so we were all intrigued, then it all
became clear. The song which is called
‘This is how I enjoy meh life’ turned out to
be the theme tune for our time spent in
Barbados, we even got the chance to meet
the famous Bajan song artist Mikey, who
is responsible for the catchy tune.
During one of the organised party
nights we had to dance in music videostyle alongside Mikey, we thought we
were superstars but it was great fun.
Maybe it won’t be so funny when the
video is released. The night before going
home, Cedric from the BTA gave us a
CD including all the songs we loved
while on the trip - I thought this was a
lovely touch.
I had a brilliant time in Barbados and
met some great people. I will remember
the warm Bajan hospitality, the near
perfect climate, fantastic beaches and the
sheer amount of things to see and do
while there.
I would definitely recommend the
island as a great holiday destination - I
know that I will without doubt go back
again... Lynsey (centre) and her travel companions get acquainted with the local marine life