An island I have always heard people talk about, wether its because of their heritage or a dream holiday destination is Barbados. Always high on my bucket list, in December I went to the beautiful Caribbean Island with one of my closest friends Poppi for a Bajan adventure at The Crane Resort. Keep reading to see what we got up to.
01. Getting there
Getting to Barbados was easy for us, a direct flight from London Gatwick for 8 hours. We flew with Tui as they have such competitive prices and the majority of their planes are the new Dreamliner so it was a very comfortable flight there.
On arrival in Barbados we got an airport taxi, you can pre book transfers through the resort however its a short journey to The Crane and only cost roughly $20 US.
02. Arriving at the Crane
On arrival at the crane we were greeted by the lovely staff who helped us with out luggage, after a quick check in we received our welcome Rum punch, welcome to Barbados! Look out for the monkeys in the large tree when you arrive!
03. Our Room
We had a beautiful suite with more space than my flat at home! The facilities included a fully fitted kitchen, lounge and dining room, laundry room, shower room, huuuuuuuge four poster bed and a very extra bathroom with jacuzzi bath!
Needless to say we were very comfortable here! To top it off we had uninterrupted views of the resort and sea from our balcony. All rooms have loungers and some have private plunge pools and swim up pools, there is no shortage of options here.
04. The Beach
Yep the rumours are true Crane beach is one of the best I’ve seen. It has beautiful soft pink sand, bright blue sea and a cliff edge pool! Dreaming!
The beach is also serviced by The Grove beach bar and grill which you can sit at eating your lunch with your toes buried in the sand!
The stretch of beach is vast so never feels crowded and has plenty of space for beach games, walking, running etc.
05. Food and Drink
There are endless options for food and drink at The Crane with 5 restaurants as well as a cafe, bars and in room dining.
We obviously had to sample them all but our favourite was Zen which is authentic Japanese and Thai. I am allergic to seafood and there were still so many options for me and the staff were only happy to cater for my dietary requirements everywhere we went. We defiantly didn’t go hungry on this holiday!
If you’re not in to Japanese and Thai other options include Italian, poolside grill and of course lots of fresh seafood at L’Azure. Spoilt for choice!
06. Facilities
The Crane was the first resort in Barbados established in 1887 so it has a lot of history and character. The facilities here are second to none with the choice of many pools including a historic adult only pool.
There is also an extremely well equipped air conditioned gym and stunning spa. I visited the serenity spa for a full body massage which was an hour long and it was the absolute dream. Just as I thought I couldn’t get more relaxed!
Apart from this there is also duty free shopping, and boys I’m sorry there are now no excuses The Crane has Columbian Emerald for the diamonds.
07. Things to do
Where to start….. so many things to do in Barbados! The crane has staff dedicated to helping you decide and book excursions while in Barbados. We were only here for a week so wanted to get a few things in but also wanted enough time to relax also.
One of the things I had been told my many people was to go to Oistin’s Fish Fry which is on every Friday evening. Here you can eat pretty much any fish you can dream of. Its also not just about the food but the atmosphere, there are local entertainers and everyone is in the party spirit.
On the top of our list was to swim with turtles. Those of you that are familiar with my blog and Instagram will probably know that I spend a good amount of time on trips looking for sea creatures, and having heard that Barbados was one of the best places to see turtles this was a must!
We went with Calabaza Cruises which had been recommended by a friend. We wanted to go on a smaller boat so that when we swam with the turtles it was less crowded. The boat was a perfect size it holds 12 people and we had very close interaction with the turtles. On the trip we also dived two shipwrecks then sailed up to the north of the island for a swim and lunch. The trip also comes with unlimited booze so some of my turtle footage probably wasn’t the best!
We had an incredible week here Barbados totally lived up to all my expectations and more. A HUGE thank you to everyone from The Crane for making us feel so at home during our stay. It really was the most relaxing home from home we could have wished for x