Barbados Island Tour in Rugged Outback Style!

Today's travel diary is written by Markiesha, my dear cousin and best friend, and co-owner of Baywater Tours. Here's her take on our recent excursion together in Barbados. If you are interested in doing any of the tours mentioned here, visit Baywater Tours for more information. Follow @baywatertours on Twitter.

If you ever plan on visiting the beautiful, tropical island of Barbados there are a couple of tours that you absolutely must consider doing.  There is the Bajan Roots and Rhythms Dinner Show at the Plantation Garden Theatre, the Tiami Catamaran Cruise and the Atlantis Submarine to name a few.

However, today, I will focus on the exciting outback adventure of the open SUV island tours or what we Barbadians refer to as the 4X4 Jeep Tours. The 2 main jeep tours on the island are Adventureland and Island Safari.

Adventureland 4x4 SUVs

Island Safari's 4x4 SUVs

Both tours offer their own unique and fun experience. I have had the privilege of taking both tours and I thoroughly enjoyed them. The most recent tour I’ve taken with FoodTravelDiva, is the Island Safari. This tour combined the historical education of a traditional Bus tour like J.C Williams Tour, with the rugged outback riding of any typical ATV tour.

Historic Windmill as it is today without the blades

The windmill as it stood half a decade ago

Island Safari took us from coast to coast in fine outdoor style, allowing us to absorb some of the most breathtaking views that you will ever see anywhere in the world.   We started on the West Coast/Platinum Coast which has been graced by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Simon Cowell, Prince Harry and Tiger Woods.  Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, educating us on everything Barbadian from historical events to current topics.

One of the quaint shopping houses in Holetown, St. James

The Beautiful Port St. Charles

One of the popular Rum shops on the West Coast, Braddy's Bar

Next we ventured toward the North and East Coast which are the more underdeveloped areas of Barbados.  The North Coast is the most rural of all the coasts and the East Coast is mostly known for surfing. There, we made 3 stops for picture taking and refreshments which included your regular sodas, juices and for those that could handle some extra Bajan flavor… Jungle Juice otherwise known as Rum Punch.

Cow laying peacefully in a field surrounded by Cattle Egrets

The ever popular Black-belly Sheep indigenous to Barbados

The famous Bathsheba rock at the surfer's paradise

This spiral Coconut tree trunk is one of only two of its kind on the island!

This awesome view was taken at Hackleton Cliff

I must admit that the rugged ride is what I enjoy the most about the 4X4 Jeep tours, which is probably why I enjoyed Adventureland’s tour a bit more.  Adventureland’s tour is quite similar to Island Safari’s as it took us coast to coast allowing us to stop for picture taking and refreshments.  

However in Adventureland’s tour, we travelled more off-road, a ride that I will always remember!  Although, our Adventureland driver/tour guide did not go into as much historical depth as Island Safari’s guide, he sure was skilled at driving!

One of the many beautiful beach stops on the North Coast

A mare and her foal grazing peacefully

Palm fringed path to the beach

Both 4X4 Jeep tours offer different options where you can take a tour that is more catered to your taste.  Of course, each tour is subject to your guide, the day, the mood and the company but if you try either of these tours, on any given day, it will be an adventure you will never forget and that’s a promise!

I know some of you may be interested in trying Island Safari's Jungle Juice, and you'll have to take the tour to do that, since they have a special pride in their (top secret) potion. This is not a drink for children nor amateurs. This is the stuff that makes you forget what happened in Vegas! Here's a recipe for Bajan Rum Punch which I estimate is quite close to their recipe. Enjoy!

Bajan Rum Punch

Ingredients
1 cup fresh West Indian lime juice
2 cups simple syrup
3 cups Mount Gay rum
4 cups fruit juice (Orange, Pineapple, Fruit Punch, Cranberry etc)
4 dashes Angostura bitters
freshly grated nutmeg

Method
In a pitcher, combine lime juice, simple syrup, rum and fruit juice. Add a few dashes of bitters and some grated nutmeg to taste. Serve chilled over ice.