Snorkeling in Barbados

On the second stop of our 7-day Carnival Caribbean cruise, we went snorkeling in Barbados. We signed up for an excursion through Carnival to swim with sea turtles, check out some shipwrecks, and lounge on the beach.

Getting There

When we first got off the ship we were taken by bus to a small harbor to find our tour boat. We boarded The Thriller and were on our way. Gina and I had started to second guess our decision to go on this tour because all we could see around us was an industrial part of the island. Large buildings and factories was not the relaxing island day we were anticipating.

Once we turned a corner and arrived at our beach all our questionable thoughts went away. The water was the gorgeous light blue where you could see right to the bottom. The sand was also picturesque and soft.

Swimming with Sea Turtles

The first activity lined up for us was snorkeling with sea turtles. We were a little nervous we weren’t going to see any because of how many other boats and snorkelers there were in the area to scare them away.

Despite the dozens of snorkelers in the water, there were several turtles gliding effortlessly below us. We followed a couple of turtles for a little bit as they made their way back and forth from the surface to the bottom.

At some point Gina and I got separated following different turtles. Unfortunately for me, Gina had the GoPro at the time so when one of the turtles came up right behind me I couldn’t take a picture of it.

Exploring Shipwrecks

After we had our fill of turtle watching, we headed a little farther offshore to the site of a sunken boat. The ocean bottom was only about 20’ deep which provided a great opportunity to check out a shipwreck without having to use any scuba gear.

There were a few different sites to see with lots of different fish at each.

Beach Lounging

After our sea adventures, we headed back to the boat for some rum punch and beach time. For the next hour or so we lounged on one of the best beaches with perfect water and sand.

We met a couple of local sisters, ages 9 and 7, who came up to ask us about our GoPro. They had never seen one before so we showed them what it was and how it worked.

We told them we were from California but they had never heard of it or the United States. The only other places they knew were the other island nations immediately surrounding Barbados. This was very eye-opening for us.

Caribbean Never Disappoints

We were a bit nervous about Barbados because there was a travel advisory about crime and we were warned not to stray off on our own. It turned out to be an awesome stop and that beach was one of the best from our trip. It was great getting to meet some locals on the beach as well as chat with the captain and the crew.

Do you have a favorite beach in the Caribbean? Leave us a comment and let us know!

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