The largest city in northern Barbados, Speightstown acts as a major tourist and administrative centre for this part of the island.

Yet Speightstown has a sleepy, laid-back feel to it - it's considerably less crowded than the densely populated belt to the south around Bridgetown.

Beaches in Speightstown

The local beaches are small, but quiet and, compared to southern Barbados, considerably less crowded. Heywoods Beach (location on google.com/maps), between the town centre and the marina for private yachts, offers the best swimming.

This beach is lined with palm trees and other mature trees that provide natural shade. The beach has fine white sand and a very comfortable safe entrance to the sea. In addition, Heywoods Beach is one of the few beaches on the west coast that is easily accessible by car, as there is a relatively spacious free car park right by the sea (location on google.com/maps).

Speightstown

Little Bristol

Speightstown attracts tourists with a strong 17th to 19th century colonial feel. The streets are lined with low colored and wooden houses with a certain historic patina.

Incidentally, the town has been nicknamed Little Bristol for centuries because of the long and large presence of the British Navy, which was stationed here from 1630 until Barbados gained independence in the 20th century.

Wander the streets of Speightstown, stop at a bar on the seafront promenade and after an hour, continue on your exploration of Barbados.

Speightstown

Accommodation in Speightstown

You'll come across apartment accommodation in town from 120 usd per night for 2 in high season, which is a very good price for Barbados. We would recommend these apartments:

In Speightstown you can also stay in beach resorts at more affordable rates than further south towards Bridgetown. For example, the hotel Port St. Charles **** offers spacious suites at up to 3 times the price of the better-known resorts to the south.

Transport to Speightstown

There is very littleparking here, but a small shopping centre at the southern entrance to the centre allows you to park for free (location on google.com/maps). Admittedly only for customers, but no one realistically checks this unless you stand there all day.

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The city is also easily accessible by public transport. Connections along Highway 1, a road winding through resorts all along the West Coast, to Bridgetown are frequent, with the route running about once every 5 to 15 minutes during the day.

There is a bus station in Speightstown, just north of downtown (location on google.com/maps). In Bridgetown, all services from Speightstown terminate at Princess Alice bus station (large buses) or adjacent Cheapside (small vans). The cost for buses and vans is the same across the island and is 3,50 bbd.

It is unnecessary to list the connections of all the services running between Speightstowe and Bridgetown. Just turn up at the bus station and you will be directed by the attendant to the nearest van.

From Speightstown, there are mainly smaller vans, but also a 1C bus (once every 30 minutes) to destinations in the north of Barbados, such as the caves Animal Flower Cave (but you have to walk about 1 km from the bus stop).