Speightstown
The old merchant port of northern Barbados, once called Little Bristol: a three-storey house from about 1750, cannons along the shore, and the St James coast running south from its boardwalk.
- Arrival
- Grantley Adams International · BGI
- To the town
- About 45 minutes by car
- Private jets
- Round-the-clock FBO at BGI
- Best time
- December to May
The city
Little Bristol, on the north-west shore.
Speightstown takes its name from a seventeenth-century merchant who owned the land, and for a time it was the first port and trading centre of Barbados. So many cargoes sailed to and from Bristol that the town became known as Little Bristol. Its forts turned back Cromwell's forces in the 1650s, and old cannons still point out to sea near the Esplanade.
The second town of the island has a fish market, a boardwalk and a rum-shop pub on stilts over the water; the parishes to the south are busier. December to May is the drier half of the year; the rain builds from June and peaks in October and November.
Arriving
South to the airport, north to the town.
Grantley Adams, on the south coast, is the island's only airport, with a runway of 3,353 metres open at all hours. Speightstown lies about 25 kilometres away on the north-west coast, a drive of around 45 minutes.
- San Juan 1 h 30
- Punta Cana 1 h 45
- Palm Beach 3 h 40
- Washington 4 h 40
- London 9 h 00 long-range jet
When to go
December to May.
The north-west coast stays between 28 and 31 °C, with the sea at 26 to 29 °C. From December to May monthly rain stays under 100 mm, and March is the driest month at about 40 mm. The wet season follows, from June to November, reaching nearly 190 mm in November.
- 28° J 69 27°
- 28° F 49 26°
- 29° M 40 26°
- 30° A 48 27°
- 31° M 62 27°
- 30° J 110 28°
- 30° J 135 28°
- 30° A 159 28°
- 30° S 174 29°
- 30° O 179 29°
- 29° N 188 28°
- 29° D 97 28°
What to see and do
Days in and around Speightstown.
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Landmark
Arlington House
A merchant's house of about 1750, built in the single-house style later carried to Charleston, now a museum over three floors.
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Landmark
St Peter's Parish Church
On a site used for worship since 1629, the present limestone church of 1837 was restored after a fire in 1983.
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Landmark
The boardwalk mural
An 80-foot trompe l'oeil wall, finished in 2012, whose painted openings look out onto scenes of island life.
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Culture
St Nicholas Abbey
A Jacobean great house of 1658 in St Peter, with gardens, a small museum, a working rum distillery and a Victorian steam railway.
Official site -
Wildlife
Barbados Wildlife Reserve
Green monkeys, iguanas, tortoises, caimans and maras roam the grounds beside Farley Hill, with parrot feeding around 2 pm.
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Nature
Farley Hill National Park
Mahogany woods to walk or picnic in, with views of the east coast and the ruins of the old Farley Hill house.
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Nature
Harrison's Cave
A coral limestone cave in the Barbadian interior, toured by tram, with an eco-adventure park of trails and an aviary around it.
Official site -
Culture
Gun Hill Signal Station
A signal station of 1818 to 1819 on a hill in St George, with its tower, magazine and ruined barracks, restored by the Barbados National Trust.
Where to stay
From Speightstown down the platinum coast.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Sandy Lane First opened in 1961 and reopened in 2001, with three golf courses, among them the Green Monkey by Tom Fazio.
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Fairmont Royal Pavilion A short drive down the coast from the town, with all of its seventy-two rooms and suites facing the sand.
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Coral Reef Club Twelve acres of shoreline garden, still in the hands of the O'Hara family who have long run it.
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The Sandpiper A boutique beach hotel on the Holetown shore, the sister of Coral Reef Club and run by the same family.
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Cobblers Cove A Relais & Châteaux house of forty suites at the edge of the town, holding a MICHELIN Key, with dinner at its Camelot restaurant.
Where to dine
Tables up and down the coast.
No MICHELIN guide covers Barbados. Four of these tables are in Fodor’s guide, two of them Fodor’s Choice; the fifth is the restaurant of Cobblers Cove.
- Lone Star Fodor’s Choice International $$$$ St James coast, between Holetown and Speightstown
- The Tides Fodor’s Choice Seafood and steak $$$$ Holetown, about 7 km south
- The Cliff Fodor’s Fine dining, prix fixe $$$$ Derricks, about 10 km south
- The Fish Pot Fodor’s Modern Caribbean $$$$ Just north of Speightstown
- Cobblers Cove restaurant Signature restaurant, Cobblers Cove Seafood and local produce Cobblers Cove, Road View, Speightstown
Flying to Speightstown?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.