Every Friday in Barbados there’s only one place to be, come sunset: the Fish Fry in Oistins. The Oistins Bay Gardens Fish Fry brings the island’s locals and tourists together for a feast and a party. If you like fresh seafood, music, the beach and a fun atmosphere with a rum cocktail in your hand, you are going to love it.
Of course, there’s a whole day to enjoy before heading over to the Fish Fry in the evening. Barbados is definitely my favourite Caribbean island, so let me take you through what a perfect day in paradise could look like.
9am: Breakfast at your hotel
9am might seem early, but with the time difference mixed with the excitement, I’m sure you’ll be up. There are some fabulous hotels on Barbados, and most will offer a buffet breakfast with the price of your room.
You can fill up on fresh eggs, the local dish of grits and the freshest fruit available. Enjoy with coffee and a sea view as many of the hotels line the beach.
10am: Sea dip
The island’s beaches are what Barbados is known for. Crane Beach, Carlisle Beach and Maxwell Beach are known as some of the best, so ease into the day on your nearest most beautiful beach.
12noon: Catamaran tour, scuba diving or Harrison’s Cave
Book into one of Barbados’ many activities for an afternoon of fun.
The catamaran tour is a fantastic way to see Barbados’ coastline, and to relax on a boat. We saw turtles, enjoyed all you can drink rum, danced on board to reggae music and even had a slide off the back of the boat to snorkel from too.
Scuba diving in Barbados is also incredible. I went to dive in an old wreck, and genuinely felt like Ariel in The Little Mermaid as I swam up the steps and out onto the deck, underwater. The colours and marine life under there were amazing. The catamaran turtle and snorkelling cruise was absolutely one of my highlights of the week
If life in or on the ocean isn’t for you, hire a Moke car and drive to Harrison’s Cave instead. The cave is 165 feet underground and has some of the most amazing stalactites and stalagmites you’ll ever see. You can go round on a little tram tour to learn more about the incredible natural wonder. I actually really enjoyed the ride up there too – the perfect opportunity to see more of Barbados, inland and away from the tourist area.
Of course you could just beach hop all day and enjoy topping up your tan, but there’s so many cool things to do on Barbados you’d be wasting your opportunity to get out there and explore.
Save the lazy day for Saturday, to recover from Oistins!
4pm: Afternoon tea
One of the best ways to see the hotels above your budget on Barbados is to book in for an afternoon tea. I sought out one of the top hotels on the island for an afternoon tea for one. With cakes, sandwiches, endless tea and access to their facilities, it was the perfect way to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
6pm: Oistins Fish Fry
It’s up to you what time you head over to the Oistins Fish Fry. Food is available from 7pm, but depending on the time of year you might want to go a little earlier to see the sunset and bag yourself a table. You can always go, have a few drinks, and then get your food a bit later – especially if you’re bursting from your full-on Barbados-portions afternoon tea.
‘Oistins’ is a fishing town, not far from the airport and relatively quiet the rest of the week. At the Friday night Fish Fry you can get some excellent fish – including tuna, marlin, mahi-mahi, swordfish and flying fish. Flying fish is the Barbadian special, so if you’re looking to eat local, that’s the one. There’s also chicken and lobster available if you’re not a fish lover.
Oistins Fish Fry is the biggest night on the island – enjoy fresh seafood BBQ’d right in front of you.
The food is all cooked fresh and made to order on the big BBQs while the local police band treat you traditional island jams. Fresh fish is grilled or fried with rice and a few veggies. Beers, local rum and soft drinks are available to
The Friday fish fry at Oistins is the big event on the island so you can expect some sort of musical entertainment on stage. The music will flick between calypso and reggae.
I enjoyed a steel band, after all the kids had finished running around on stage in the excitement of their night time freedom that is.
While you’re waiting for your fish to fry (island time and what’s the rush anyway?) you can check out the trinket stalls. There’ll be jewellery, pottery, leather crafts, wood carvings and clothing dotted around the area.
Expect to spend the whole evening at Oistins, there’s plenty of entertainment to keep you enthralled. This is Barbados dining at its most chilled: dress down!
About the author
Vicky is a travel and festival blogger at vickyflipfloptravels.com. She loves a bit of adventure, will try anything once, and has a strong passion for the local food and drink, whatever it may be. She inspires her readers to travel to places a little out of their comfort zone, or at least to explore the usual destinations in a different way. Find her @VickyFlipFlop on all the social media and on YouTube.