The south coast of Barbados, on the outskirts of Bridgetown, boasts a beautiful promenade running alongside small sandy beaches and is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the whole island.

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The wooden promenade, named after former Prime Minister Richard Haynes, stretches for over 1.5 miles and is lined with a large number of luxury restaurants and street-side bistros; on the adjacent street, you’ll also find plenty of fast-food outlets and high-street shops, including supermarkets.

Popular both day and night

The Richard Hanyes Boardwalk it is a popular spot for sport, walks and lively evenings in the local bars with live music.

Tourists from the resorts and holiday flats often spend time here, but the place is also very popular with locals, who enjoy having picnics here or celebrating various special occasions. There’s something for everyone here.

Whilst the central and eastern sections of the promenade are livelier, with plenty of entertainment and people, the western end is noticeably quieter.

Beaches and swimming

The promenade is lined with relatively narrow sandy beaches, ranging in width from 2 to 10 metres; nevertheless, thanks to the relaxed atmosphere here, they are very popular spots for swimming.

The widest beaches, offering the most space, sun lounger and parasol hire, and mature trees, can be found at both ends Richard Haynes Boardwalk.

The western end is considerably quieter, lined with villas, hotel resorts and small man-made coves. At the eastern end, be sure to stop off at the famous Rockley Beach, which is around 200 metres long.

Although some beaches are adjacent to hotel resorts, they are always accessible free of charge and without restriction to the public; pedestrian walkways are set aside at regular intervals from the main road, marked with signs reading ‘Public Access to the Beach’.

The entry into the water here is gentle and sandy. The waters off the southern coast tend to be rougher, but the waves are by no means dangerous. On the contrary, you’ll enjoy some brilliant body surfing here.

Accommodation near the beaches

The area around Richard Haynes Boardwalk falls within the Hastings and Rockley neighbourhoods – areas that may seem a little disorganised at first glance, but are in fact among the best for accommodation.

You’ll find a full range of facilities near the beaches, including plenty of restaurants, fast-food outlets, supermarkets and services, whilst the neighbourhoods further from the sea are very peaceful.

Prices for cheaper flats range from 3,000 to 165 eur, and we could recommend the following, for example:

• Pirate's Inn ** – clean studio flats in a great location, 100 metres from the beach
• Hotel PomMarine *** – a simple, clean hotel with good reviews in a quiet area 300 metres from the beach

However, you’ll also find better resorts right on the beach. Among the best are Sugar Bay Barbados **** or Courtyard by Marriott Bridgetown ****.

Getting to the beaches

A road known as Highway 7 runs right along the coast; it has very heavy traffic and limited parking. Although you can park for free anywhere on the road, there is very little space (for example, at the western end of the Boardwalkor at Rockley Beach). However, these spaces tend to fill up very early in the morning.

A large number of shared minibuses (most commonly routes 11 and 3D) run along Highway 7; generally, however, all these minibuses (ZRs) go to Bridgetown (Constitution River bus station), and in the other direction to Oistins or the airport (line 3D only). These minibuses run on average once every 5–10 minutes.

There are also buses running along this street to Bridgetown (Fairchild Street bus station) approximately twice an hour, as well as direct services to Speightstown (once every hour or two).

Detailed information on travelling around the island can be found in the chapter on Transport in Barbados.

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