Sunken Wonders: Dive Barbados’ Underwater Realms

Looking into a dive trip to Barbados? One of the top things to do in Barbados is to enjoy the amazing Barbados beaches and Barbados diving. Check out some of the best scuba diving in the Caribbean and answer the question of what to do in Barbados!

Barbados is an independent British Commonwealth, located in the western part of the Caribbean. The destination is a growing attraction as the capital, Bridgetown, is a popular cruise port destination. Learn more about one of the great experiences of diving in Barbados.

Quick Trip Overview

• Location: Barbados
• Closest Airport: Grantley Adams International Airport BGI
• Time of Year of Trip: Year Round

Dive Information

• Wet Suit: 3mm / Shortie
• Water Temperature: Average 30 surface, 28 bottom
• Current: Calm
• Average Depths: 10m – you will find that Barbados is filled with a lot of shallow dives making this a great location for beginners!

Dive Season in Barbados

One of the reasons that Barbados is the best diving in the Caribbean is due to the wonderful weather year round. The temperatures are pretty consistent between 28 to 30 degrees Celsius. So, it is always fairly warm on the Island.

The one time of year to not travel to Barbados is between the period of June to October. This is the prime hurricane season in the Caribbean. While the area of Barbados is not as notorious as the northern islands of the Caribbean, there is still always a threat.

While the area may not be completely destroyed by a hurricane, except during the time period of June to October for waters to be rougher as stronger winds are around that time.

Otherwise, for a majority part of the year: November to May, Barbados makes for a wonderful location to take a dive vacation to. This can be a perfect trip for the Christmas time period – enjoy some drinks with umbrellas on the beach after a day of diving.

What to see at Barbados

Expect small ocean life when doing a dive trip to Barbados. The area of Barbados is most known for the wrecks – you will find a lot of easily accessible wreck dives right off the popular beaches of Barbados.

The shallow diving is why diving makes diving one of the top things to do at Barbados. You can easily do long one tank dives – upwards of 75 minutes if you have great air consumption – due to the fact that some dives are as shallow as 10m.

Most likely on a dive tour at Barbados, you will be taken to see the wrecks that are scattered about the island. Within the wrecks, you will find a lot of the little ocean life that is notorious in the area. Expect to see parrotfish, lionfish, and little garden eels peeking out to quickly disappear.

Occasionally you can find an octopus hiding in the wreck portholes.

The best thing to spot on a dive in Barbados? Seahorses! Barbados is one of the best locations to be able to see a seahorse. You will find them hidden at the bottom of grassy formations holding onto the roots with their tails. Keep an eye out as the little seahorses stay well hidden in nooks and crannies.

Some of the bigger ocean life that you can spot occasionally while at Barbados is the hawksbill turtle and groups of barracuda.

Dive Spots at Barbados

Barbados is known as an island of wreck diving. Partake in the numerous wrecks scattered around the island to spot the little ocean life that have made their home in the abandoned human wreckage.

Diving at Barbados is also ideal for those that are just beginning their diving hobby. Barbados most popular dive locations are typically shallow dives with most depths being around 10m. This means that new open water divers can experience ocean life without going too far from the beach or too deep!

• Carlisle Bay Marine Park – more than likely you will be taken to this marine park by a local dive shop. The reason is that it is conveniently located in shallow and protected waters – so it is a guaranteed calm dive almost year-round. Additionally, the marine park is made up of numerous wrecks. It is a man-made reef but is entertaining nonetheless. You will most likely enter at one portion of the marine park near a wreck and swim a circle around to all the various wrecks and end back at your dive boat. Given the easy access, this location can be very busy with divers and snorkelers. However, the various wrecks hold a large collection of ocean life.
• SS Stavronikita – If you are a more experienced diver then request diving at the SS Stavroknikita – another purpose sunken wreck – but this one is at depths of 36m which means only advanced divers can participate in this dive. Experience the exciting ocean life that makes their home in wrecks but enjoys the minimal traffic of the more challenging dive. This deep dive wreck is one of the most famous dives on the Island.
• Barracuda Junction – If you are more interested in spotting a certain ocean life then this may be the best location for you. As the name states, this reef is where you can find barracuda on the hunt. If you are interested in seeing one of the native large fish to the area then request this dive from your shop.
• Arawak Cement Factory Pier – If you want to enjoy a unique experience during your dive trip to Barbados then partake in a night dive at the Arawak Cement Factory Pier. At this dive location, you can witness bioluminescent. This dive is a shallow dive not really going deeper than 10-12m. However, what makes this a great night dive is bioluminescent. Turn off your light, allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then move your hand, or your light around in the water. You will see little specks that will begin to “light up”. These little sparks are bioluminescent plankton. This process is caused by chemiluminescence. Ultimately there is a chemical reaction taking place in the plankton that is causing the glowing.

What to do in Barbados

If you decided to dive at Carlisle Bay Marine Park, then you are already located at one of the top things to do in Barbados. The Carlisle Bay is a strip of beach that is filled with beach chairs. You can pay a cover fee and rent out a chair and enjoy some shade under an umbrella, eat some snacks, and drink while enjoying the beautiful beach.

If you want to explore another beach then check out Dover Beach, another popular beach attraction in Barbados. But really Barbados is covered in beaches, pick a resort that meets your fancy and there will more than likely be a beach in that area. So do not stress too much about trying to find a destination located next to a particular beach.

If you want to enjoy some more outdoor activities then check out Harrison’s Cave – a limestone cave. Or take a stroll through Huntes Garden.

Ultimately the top attractions to Barbados are the ocean and the beach. Find a place of real estate on the beach, grab a beach chair, and enjoy the calming sounds of the ocean after spending the morning and afternoon exploring it.

Where to stay in Barbados

Dive inclusive Resort:

• Divi Southwinds Beach Resort – if you are looking easily be able to book a stay at a resort, and enjoy diving through the same location then this resort is for you. Located in the southwestern portion of Barbados this resort is conveniently located between the airport and Bridgetown.

Otherwise, there are numerous beach resorts located all across Barbados ranging in amenities and in pricing.  If you one of the top things you want to do in Barbados is dive though, then I recommend booking with the dive inclusive resort for ease of planning purposes and not having to organize transportation to dive shops.

Dive Shops in Barbados

Here are some dive shops that can be found in Barbados that have come recommended from a SCUBA group. There are a lot so even if these ones aren’t what you are looking for, then just research some others.

Bridgetown:

• The Dive Shop Ltd
• Barbados Blue Water Sports – located in Bridgetown and the highest rated dive shop in Barbados. There have been numerous raving reviews of this location in scuba groups.
• Eco Dive BARBADOS

Outside Bridgetown:

• Roger’s Scuba Shack – I used this dive shop and it was a great experience! It is only a short distance outside of Bridgetown to the north.

How to Get to Barbados

Given that Barbados is an island there are really only two means of getting onto the island:

• Plane. Arrive into Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI). There are direct flights to BGI from such locations as: Toronto, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Miami and even direct flights from London (given that it is a commonwealth though this should be no surprise!). Additionally, you can find direct flights from a majority of the islands in the Caribbean.
• Cruise Ship. Barbados is a popular cruise port destination with thousands of cruisers arriving in Barbados every year. Chances are if you are doing a southern part of the Caribbean cruise you will be visiting Barbados for a day. Some of the larger cruise lines that visit Barbados are: Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, and Holland.

If you want to make a longer vacation out of a dive trip to Barbados, and truly embrace some of the top things to do in Barbados, then clearly a flight will be the best option in. However, if you only want to sample the Caribbean and are content with spending eight hours on Barbados then there are plenty of cruise options.

Diving from a Cruise Ship

If you are looking at visiting from a cruise ship to Barbados – which is likely given that Bridgetown has become such a popular destination – then here are some tips for planning a dive trip to Barbados.

• Check the times – check your cruise itinerary and know the times that the boat will be arriving at the port and will be departing from port. This will give you the window to dive. More than likely you will only be on the island for 8 hours so you will not have too much time to dive – most companies will only take you on two dives due to these time restraints and their afternoon dives starting around 1400 which is going to be close to the boarding time back at the boat.
• Find a dive company – Since Barbados is a growing cruise port destination a majority of the dive shops have grown accustomed to catering to cruise ship passenger. Such as Roger’s Scuba Shack. The dive shop will pick you up from the cruise terminal, take you out to the dive center, and then return you to the port all well within the time allotted for the cruise boat.
• Book with the cruise boat – There is a chance that you can book a dive through the cruise boat. Some boats have a dive master on board or have arranged with a dive shop at the destination. This will give you priority departure from the boat, and will also protect you if for some reason the dive company runs late. However typically with tours organized through the boat, you can expect to pay more money $140 for two tank dive whereas you will be able to book a two tank dive for $100 to $120 independently. If you rather keep the peace of mind though then this is a great option to partake in. Just make sure you book far in advan ce as there are typically very few spots for dive tours on the cruise ships.

I have in the past booked dives through the cruise boat and have since learned about booking my own dive trips. A bonus of booking independently is that you typically get more dives in than booking through the boat, and you will save money. However, you are taking a gamble that if something goes wrong with the tour that you will be on your own.

Check Out These Other Caribbean Dive Posts

• Dive Trip to Grenada
• Dive Trip to Sint Maarten
• Dive Trip to Martinique
• A Guide to a Dive Trip in the Caribbean