Central Eastern Barbados is the least developed and most scenic part of Barbados, and comprises the parishes of Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph and Saint Thomas. It's hilly with lush tropical gardens such as Andromeda, plantation houses (e.g., Sunbury), green monkeys skittering about in the shrubs, and Harrison's Cave in the underlying limestone. The east coast is exposed to the full fury of the Atlantic, with big surf, and is too hazardous for casual beach and water sports. There is little accommodation, so it's more often an area to visit than to stay. Nevertheless if you do stay, you'll get the real feeling of a Caribbean retreat, a world away from the brash south and west coast hotel strips.
Get in
[edit]
Map of Central Eastern Barbados
This is one area of Barbados where you need a car (which you can hire at the airport or in Bridgetown). Buses are slow and mostly serve radial routes from the city, with not much running cross-district. Bus # 6 runs from Bridgetown Fairchild St to Bathsheba, and Bus # 3 runs from Bridgetown Princess Alice to Belleplaine and St Andrews Church, both routes hourly, daily. Bus # 1E crosses the top of the island every couple of hours daily from Speightstown on the west coast to Belleplaine and Bathsheba.
Get around
[edit]As above.
See
[edit]- 1 St Nicholas Abbey, Cherry Tree Hill, Saint Peter, ☏ +1 246 422 5357. Su-F 9AM-5PM. Never religious, this is a plantation house built in 1658, authentically Jacobean and still an active rum distillery. You can pay extra for the supposedly Victorian railway - Loco 5 hauled sugar cane in Java from 1914 but the verandah coaches are modern retro. Adult $35, child $12.
- 2 Farley Hill: see Western Barbados for this wildlife reserve on the region's boundary.
- 3 Morgan Lewis Windmill, Cherry Tree Hill, Saint Andrew, ☏ +1 246 248 0190. Tu-Sa 11AM-4PM. A 17th century sugar mill, no longer in working order. Adult B$15.
- Long Pond is a river estuary in Belleplaine, Saint Andrew, cut off from the sea by a sandbank to form a brackish lagoon with bird life. In dry season it's a mud flat.
- 4 Andromeda Botanic Gardens, Foster Hall, Bathsheba, ☏ +1 246 248 0190. Daily 9:30AM-4.30PM. Attractive garden ranged over the hillside, created from the 1950s by Iris Bannochie, and gifted to the Barbados National Trust. With pleasant cafe. Adult B$40, child free.
- 5 Clifton Hall and plantation in Saint John is a venue for events such as weddings, and can only be toured by special arrangement.
- 6 Saint Joseph Church: the original Anglican church (built circa 1640) was a casualty of the hurricane of 1831. The present building is from 1839 but is now a sad ruin.
- 7 Hunte's Gardens, Coffee Gully, Hwy 3A, Saint Joseph, ☏ +1 246 417 3700. Daily 9AM-4PM. Lush tropical gardens. Not suitable for limited mobility. Adult B$50, child B$20.
- 8 Flower Forest, Richmond Rd, Saint Joseph, ☏ +1 246 433 8152. Daily 8AM-4PM. Tropical gardens ranged over a hillside. Step-free trail but some gradients. Adult B$40, child B$20.
- Green monkeys (Chlorocebus) are often seen in this region. They're an Old World species, native to sub-Saharan Africa but introduced to the Caribbean during the slave-trading and colonial eras. They spend their days on the ground and sleep at night in the trees. Don't feed them, they're cute from a distance but pesky up close, they damage crops, and one of them blacked out the whole island in 2006 by shorting a power line.
- 9 Harrison's Cave: see Western Barbados for this very touristy show cave, and for nearby Coles Cave and Welchman Hall Gully.
- 10 Gun Hill Signal Station, Fusilier Road, Gun Hill, ☏ +1 246 429 1358. Daily 9AM-5PM. The station was built in 1818 as a lookout, with signals to let the rest of the island know of friendly vessels approaching, godamm French, rebellious slaves or hurricane. Well restored, the tower provides a panorama of the west side of the island. Gardens and a statue of a lion carved out of a single block of stone sits below. Adult B$15, child B$10.
- 11 Codrington College is an Anglican theological college, built 1714-1745, nowadays part of the University of the West Indies. It's twice been wrecked by hurricanes and once by fire but remains a graceful structure, though its history as a college has veered between the shameful and the shambolic. You can visit daily 10AM-5PM (adult B$10, Feb 2026) and are welcome to attend services.
- 12 Conset Bay is an attractive bay and small fishing village.
- 13 Culpepper Island: Trinidad has Tobago, Antigua has Barbuda, and Grenada has Carriacou, but Barbados' best attempt at a sister island is this uninhabited speck on the map. It's all of 40 x 30 yards in extent and 30 yards from shore, so at low tide with a quiet sea you can wade out to it. The Arawak Indians have claimed sovereignty, but to date there's no sign of encampment, casino or other ritzy development.
- 14 Sunbury Plantation House, 6 Cross Road, Bowling Alley Hill, Saint Philip, ☏ +1 246 423 6270. Tu-Su 9AM-4PM. Elegant house dating back to 1660, but refurbished in 2018 as most original fittings had been lost in a fire. It's not large enough to absorb crowds so you need to swerve the cruise tour groups. Adult B$30, child B$15.
Do
[edit]- Surfing: off Bathsheba is the reef-break of Soup Bowl.
- Bathsheba beach, dotted with colossal boulders, is generally too rough for swimming, take local advice before venturing in. And hold onto toddlers with a grip of iron, as the waves can pluck little ones off the beach into the seething foam and undertow.
Buy
[edit]Cleaver's Hill Supermarket is by the junction of Hwy 3 and the east coast road a mile west of Andromeda Gardens, open M-Sa 8AM-7PM, Su 8AM-4PM. But mostly folk head into Bridgetown for their big shop.
Eat
[edit]
- Naniki, off Hwy 3, Surinam (a mile NE of Hunte's Gardens), ☏ +1 246 433 1300. Tu W 10AM-4PM, Th-Sa noon-7PM, Su 12:30–3PM. Bajan food with veggie choices and seafood. Great views.
- Village Bar at Lemon Arbour, 200 yards west of Four Roads, Saint John, ☏ +1 246 433 3162. Tu-Th 11AM-4PM, F Sa 10AM-11PM. An informal lunch spot with Bajan cuisine such as Pudding & Souse, fried or barbecued pork, chicken and fish, and sea cat at reasonable prices.
- Bathsheba has Roundhouse (below), Dina's Bar, Sea View Bar, Zemi East Coast Cafe and De Garage.
- Roundhouse, Hillswick Rd, Bathsheba, ☏ +1 246 433 9678. M-F 11AM-4PM, Sa Su 9AM-4PM. A bar and restaurant with outstanding views of Bathsheba beach and the Atlantic ocean. Caribbean food from local ingredients.
- Sand Dunes, Ermy Bourne Hwy, Belleplaine, St Andrew, ☏ +1 246 422 2497. Daily 10AM-5PM. Roadside Bajan eatery serving reasonably priced and quality food.
Drink
[edit]- Old Brigand Rum Shop on Hwy 3 in Newcastle is open daily 8AM-8PM.
- Bay Tavern in Martins Bay is open daily 11AM-6:30PM.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Eco Lifestyle & Lodge, Tent Bay, Bathsheba, ☏ +1 246 433 9450. Ten rooms in main building & cottage all with Atlantic views, set in a tropical garden. Their Bajan-style restaurant is open to non-residents. B&B double $300.
- Atlantis Historic Inn, Tent Bay, Bathsheba (100 yards east of Eco Lodge), ☏ +1 246 433 9445. Chic relaxing beachfront hotel. B&B double $350.
- 2 Santosha, Ermy Bourne Highway, Belleplaine, ☏ +1 246 422 7999. Peaceful place with 10 self-catering rooms and pool. Upper floors have ocean views and large balconies.
Connect
[edit]This area has patchy 4G from Flow and Digicel. 5G is rolling out in 2026.
Go next
[edit]- Public transport returns you to Bridgetown, where the riverfront promenade and the historic Garrison Savannah are the top attractions.
- Western Barbados has the most sheltered beaches for family bathing.
- Southern Barbados is a built-up resort strip with water sports.