The first thing you need to know is that activities for Crop Over usually starts the second week of July with the the grand Kadooment parade taking place this year on Monday August 6th. Most visitors for Crop Over stay for at least a week, but if you are pressed for time I personally recommend staying from Thursday August 2nd to Tuesday August 7th, that way you can still enjoy the fetes and events leading up to the big parade.
The best website for information is Kadooment.com, here you will find an events calender as well as information on costumed bands. Note that costumed bands for Crop Over usually launch in June/ July but you can have a look at last year's costumes at Kadooment.com.
Some popular costumed bands for Crop over are:
Secondly you need to know that the BEST place to stay is on the South Coast; look for accommodation in Christ Church, Worthing or St Lawrence Gap (if you don't like to sleep). Reason being it gives you easy access to all the fetes as most of the action happens on the South Coast, even if you are not partying there are many bars and pubs in St Lawrence Gap, Worthing and Rockley to keep you entertained. We were walking distance from Bubba's Sports Bar which was always a good lime. The other thing is that the mini buses ply the South Coast running from Oistins to Bridgetown and are a cheap and easy means of transportation. After fetes there are always taxis lined up outside to get you back to your hotel in one piece. One piece of advice for those of us in the Caribbean is to always email hotels your self and ask about their Caricom rate, usually the discount is between 10 - 15% on the room rate per night which comes up to a good savings if you are staying for a week!
For accommodation these sites are useful:
Visit Barbados - There is a section specifically for Caribbean residents where you can take advantage of hotel specials in the Bajan Bonanza.
VRBO Vacation Rentals by Owner - A good site if you are looking for a guest house for a group of friends.
Intimate Hotels of Barbados - An excellent listing of small hotels, apartments and guest houses. be warned several of the properties listed are quite popular and are sold out early.
Accra/Rockley Beach
Some of my recommended hotels on the South Coast are:
Yellow Bird Hotel - it is close enough to the Gap that you can walk to all the action and stumble back to your room after a night of partying, yet it is not IN the Gap so you can sleep at night. Transportation is just outside your door and the price is right for clean, comfortable accommodations.
Southern Surf - Ok, this one is a BIG secret that I am almost upset to share for fear of it being sold out! The location is perfect; opposite Rockely Beach,walking distance to Bubbas and Cheffette's as well as there is a pool and the studios come equipped with a kitchenette. The price is excellent and it gets consistently good ratings on Trip Advisor.
Worthing Court - Close to one of the best beaches on the South Coast, recently refurbished and very close to The Gap.
Blue Horizon - Very small hotel opposite Rockely Beach, somewhat basic amenities but really good location and some rooms do have a kitchenette. Breakfast is included in the rate as well.
Anthurium Suites - Not a hotel, but these apartments are well located and equipped for a group of friends. They tend to book up fairly early so if you need group accommodation send them an email now.
Coral Mist/Blue Orchid - Sister hotels that are a bit more expensive than the ones I listed before; this is the place to stay for those looking for something more than basic accommodation but not willing to pay too much of a premium price. The hotels are located on Worthing Beach (spectacular), share two pools an a restaurant.
Worthing Beach
Thirdly it would be shame to go to go to Barbados and not see more of the island than just fetes and the beach. Rent a car and explore!The last land visit I made to Barbados (I also went by cruise ship) the hubby and I took our rental jeep and drove all the way around the island stopping at Holetown, Farley Hill and Bathsheba, of course we got lost at least once but it was all in good fun. Next time I visit Barbados I am making Crane Beach one of my must see spots. We also went to Oistins for the Friday Fish fry which was the "tourist" thing to do but very good! The shrimp was excellent. And seeing as you will be spending so much time on the South Coast a visit to the West Coast beaches is a must. I like Paynes Bay which is quiet and beautiful but also enjoyed Mullins where I went on a jet ski and on a tour to swim with the turtles.
Fourthly, Triniscene.com has been offering a Crop Over package for the past three years called "Destination Crop Over". The package includes airfare, accomodation, costume in the "Trini" section of Baje International and fete tickets, however there are several options where you can customise your package depending on what you need. My friend took only their fete package where she got tickets to Baje fete, Glo, Caution and the Booze Cruise. The package will be offered from April and it is advised to book early. You can contact Triniscene through their website or call 1-868-622-6221 for more information.
And lastly with Cricket World Cup taking place at the moment and the union of Liat and Caribbean Star bringing an end to "fare wars", airfare prices to Barbados have been holding at over $250.00US from since December of 2006. Normally prices would have declined within the first quarter of the year but that does not seem to be the case for 2007. Therefore if you can book early for your airline tickets for Crop Over or you can hold out until the end of April/May for any fare specials that might arise after Cricket World Cup sees a drop in the demand for airfare, though I am not keeping the faith that prices will drop significantly.
I will be doing updates for Crop Over as the information becomes available so all those planning on visit Barbados this year keep checking back!
15 comments:
A friend of mine stayed at Worthing Court last month and checked out early. He didn't like the hotel at all, but said that the location was super. May wish to check the other options first before going with this one.
Ok thanks CB, I have not stayed there but had friends who stayed there and liked it. The location is great, I have seen where it is, and it is quite convenient to everything in the area. I guess we all have different criteria for hotels and what we like and do not like so I agree to check the reviews, tripadvisor.com is a good site, and look around until you find one to suit your tastes and budget.
Thanks eh saucy!
I must say I am quite impressed with your rapid and very detailed response coupled with humourous experience and great facts. Lord girl! I wish I had you for every event I was interested in... and of course from your accounts I even more excited to go now, not that I thought that possible considering how my friends and I wiling up and Bajans even offering to pay some of my costs. Keep up all the hype!
Still thinking about my BagoInvasion....
If Tribe is consistent with the last 2 years launch dates; then I rather go to Trinidad.
But thanks for the info.
bagogyul, let we go nah?!?!
hotandgroovy said...
bagogyul, let we go nah?!?!
Wait missy, you going?
hi Saucy
Thanks for putting up the weblink for the IHB.
We are more than willing to assist, however your advice was spot on..yuh gotta book early!
Okay, Saucy,
I spoke with my friend who stayed at Worthing Court and got the full scoop, after having him grumble at his rehashing those awful memories. Now he’s going to sound like a true fuddy-duddy after this account, so in his defence:
- He’s a Bajan currently living in the US, and figured he’d have been welcomed home in a more hospitable fashion;
- He got a "special rate" (which was not even that special, truth be told) that required that he pay for his entire stay in advance, so the fact that he had placed so much trust in this establishment where he paid them their money beforehand and to be treated "normally" left him feeling a little slighted; AND (most importantly)
- He did NOT go with the intention of liming, but rather just to get back to the hotel and relax after a long day running around taking care of errands, etc.
Alright, he first had problems with the noise. Apparently, the walls are pretty thin. And as you mentioned, the hotel’s in a very lively neighbourhood. The poor soul expected to get in at the end of the day and rest in front of the TV and whatever. Well, needless to say, that didn’t happen.
Secondly, the dude said that the hotel room amenities were cheap. Now, it took every fibre of my resolve not to steups loud, long and hard at de man at that comment (“We doh need no stinkin’ amenities!”), because who the hell cares!!!!! But again, he had higher expectations. He paid his "special" rate and expected the usual frills and fanfare that goes with a comparable rate. Can’t really say that I blame him too much in that regard.
And lastly, he felt the place had too much of a dormitory atmosphere, where everyone was all casual and nonchalant, even the hotel staff. He would have preferred a more professional approach towards their clientele.
Now, to the defence of Worthing Court, their facilities were clean, and simple. Sounds about perfect for a Crop Over stay, especially if you get a good rate. You're not going to be spending that much time in the room anyways, and that dorm thing sounds more like an advantage to a good lime than a hindrance.
Hope this clarifies my previous post.
CB, I was trying not to comment but i had too, your friend cannot expect to get the hilton treatment while staying at worthing court. he should have realized the difference when he saw their rates. I know alot of people that stay at worthing court and it serves the purpose for just what it is, a reasonable accomdation and a place to lay your hand after roaming the streets all day and night. Worthing court was never and will never be a 5 starhotel, it suits those guest that want to be among all the activity and those people who are not looking for a home away from home. The treatment he was expecting is on par to hotels like Accra, Crane and Hiton which are all hotel, worthing court has apartments.
I just dont want anyone to think negatively about the apartments at worthing court because some people dont want to spend 200US a night on a hotel and not be able to utilize the facilities. Worthing court is convenient, reasonable and desent.
And no i am not their spokesperson but dont knock it unless u have tried it!
Sorry, Bajangal. Hadn't meant to come across as negative.
Hi CB
I don't want it to seem like we are ganging up on you but Bajangirl is right.
Worthing Court is nice for what it is. A Small hotel which offers comfortable clean accommodation at an affordable price; I invite you to take a look at some of their pics on www.intimatehotelsbarbados.com and you will see its not that bad.
Its close to the beach, has a restaurant, a pool and very conveniently located.
If you need any further information on the small hotels in Barbados feel free to contact me; Saucy has my email address
Yellowbird was great (stayed there last year as well), but they're already fully booked for Cropover season. And their new policy is a minimum 10-day stay. There's a really nice lounge right next door as well.
I've also stayed at the Blue Horizon and had an excellent stay...and if I remember correctly (it was a while back) it's right across the street from the beach and down the road from Chefette...:)
I have stayed at Blue Horizon as well; you can walk to Chefette and I saw Accra beach from my window :D
Friends of mine stayed at Yellow Bird and loved it, can't believe they are booked solid already! Geez an, they real popular!
Southern Surf is very good as well!
i can't wait! and i'm playing with the harbour lights band as usual. cropover here i come!
aye quiksilver, how HL costumes lookin this year ? Last year the female costumes looked decent, it reminded me a lil bit of Harts. The fellas on the other hand, oh jeezan ages they needed real help.
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