Speightstown, Barbados - all you need to know

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

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Nevertheless, Speightstown exudes a sleepy tranquillity and peacefulness – there are significantly fewer people here than in the densely populated area to the south around Bridgetown.

The beaches in Speightstown

Although the local beaches are small, they are peaceful and, compared to southern Barbados, significantly less crowded. The best spot for swimming is Heywoods Beach (location on google.com/maps), situated between the town centre and the private yacht marina.

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 entry into the sea. Furthermore, 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 its strong atmosphere of the colonial era from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The narrow streets are lined with low, colourful wooden houses with a distinct historical charm.

In fact, the town has been nicknamed ‘ Little Bristol ’ for centuries due to the long-standing and substantial presence of the Royal Navy, which operated here from 1630 until the 20th century, when Barbados gained independence.

Take a stroll through the streets of Speightstown, stop off at one of the bars on the seafront promenade, and after an hour, carry on exploring Barbados.

Speightstown

Accommodation in Speightstown

In the town, you’ll find apartment accommodation from as little as 120 usd per night for two people during the high season, which is a very good price for Barbados. We’d recommend these apartments, for example:

In Speightstown, you can also stay in beach resorts at more affordable prices than further south towards Bridgetown. For example, the hotel Port St. Charles **** offers spacious apartments at up to three times lower prices than the better-known resorts in the south.

Getting to Speightstown

There are very fewparking spaces here, but the small shopping centre at the southern entrance to the town centre offers free parking (location on google.com/maps). Although it’s only for customers, nobody actually checks this, provided you don’t stay there all day.

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The town is also easily accessible by public transport. Services along Highway 1 – the road winding through the resorts along the entire west coast – to Bridgetown are frequent, with buses running roughly every 5 to 15 minutes during the day.

In Speightstown, the bus station is located to the north of the town centre (location on google.com/maps). In Bridgetown, all services from Speightstown terminate at the Princess Alice bus station (for large buses) or the adjacent Cheapside stop (for small minibuses). The fare for both buses and minibuses is the same across the whole island and costs 3,50 bbd.

There is no need to list all the services running between Speightstown and Bridgetown. Simply go to the bus station and the staff will direct you to the nearest minibus.

From Speightstown, there are mainly smaller minibuses, but also the No. 1C bus (every 30 minutes) to destinations in the north of Barbados, such as the caves Animal Flower Cave (though you’ll need to walk about 1 km from the bus stop).