Traveler's Question: Can You Surf in Barbados

If someone had asked me a month ago, Can you surf in Barbados ? I would have said no.

And I would have been wrong!

While I was at the Hilton Barbados Resort last week, I was located near Pebbles Beach off of Carlisle Bay, which seems to constantly be filled with boats.

One morning, I walked down to Pebbles Beach on my way to the George Washington House to have a closer look. Each day as I had breakfast in the Executive Lounge, I would sit there and stare at this beach, with Carlisle Bay littered with these boats and I thought it would make such a beautiful photo if I could get close enough.

So off I went!

The area is breathtaking. Imagine the most beautiful beaches you've ever seen - Barbados was once the most sought out vacation destination - and they are all public beaches.

Free parking. No meters, no expensive hotels claiming right to the shoreline, no homes fencing people out - just good, old fashioned public beaches, as far as the eye can see.

Even Hilton Beach, directly in front of the Hilton Barbados Resort, was a public beach.

I had five public beaches within walking distance, each every bit as beautiful as the last.

What makes Pebbles and Browne Beach (they are right next to each other) off the Carlisle Bay is that you will find such strong waves there that a certain kind of crowd hangs out there.

SURFERS.

I would have never thought that you could surf in Barbados, but sure enough people were doing it day after day, all day long.

I sat on Pebbles Beach for about an hour, watching the surfers paddle out and then ride the waves back in. I guess you really can surf in Barbados, after all. The waves may not be the same as they are in Hawaii or California, but they are strong and constant, with just enough force to let the surfers get up and go!

I was tempted to go sign up for a class myself, because the snack shop right there offered surfing classes...but honestly, I was having so much fun just watching that I didn't want to spoil it!

Plus...it's kind of hard to get great shots like this when you're in the water!

With views like this, you can imagine why I didn't do much sight-seeing while I was in Barbados!