Destination: Barbados

Budget-wise Barbados

By LUCY IZON -- Special to the Sun

Legend Garden Condos are set in a 250-year-old plantation house just a few minutes away from Mullins Bay.

Tiger Woods chose Barbados for his lavish October wedding and Ottawa Senators' team owner billionaire Eugene Melnyk watches his games from Bert's Bar in Christ Church.

But Barbados also offers opportunities for those on a modest budget. You get the same blue sky, sugary white beaches and incredible aqua-marine waters.

Here's what to watch for: With its friendly, safe atmosphere, you don't need to hide in an "all-inclusive." Consider owner-operated small budget hotels. Most are on or close to the beach, average 20 to 35 rooms, and offer budget-stretching kitchenettes. These buildings tend to be older, so look for ones that have been recently renovated or redecorated. Forty-two small properties market themselves as Intimate Hotels of Barbados, on the Web at intimatehotelsbarbados.com.

Some favourites, with prices in U.S. dollars:

The Pirates Inn

Just a five minute-walk from popular Rockley Beach in Hastings. A two-storey hotel with 22 rooms that surround a kidney-shaped pool. Half the rooms have just been redecorated. Studios from $100. Lots of repeat visitors; some even arrange outings for fellow guests. 246-436-0957, pirates-inn.com.

Legend Garden Condos

Eight recently redecorated rooms with veranda kitchens at a 250-year-old plantation house, a 5-minute walk from the marvelous beach at Mullins Bay. From $95 per night. 246-422-2056, intimatehotelsbarbados.com.

The Institute of Hospitality

One of the many beautiful, deserted beaches just a 10-minute walk south of Speightstown.

An attractive building in Hastings, a five-minute walk from the beach, that serves as the training centre for the island's hospitality industry. Enjoy a pool-side Barbadian lunch for $7.50 or gourmet dinner ($30, plus wine). Just a five-minute walk from the beach. Twenty guest rooms ($125 double) plus one apartment. 246-228-0900, pommarinebarbados.com.

The Dover Beach Hotel

Ocean view studios (from $140) or pool view studios (from $130 ) have kitchenettes and are just steps to a beautiful beach. It's less than a 10-minute walk to the St. Lawrence Gap nightlife district, and the hotel offers a free shuttle to and from Bridgetown three times a

day. 246-428-8076, doverbeach.com.

Peach & Quiet

An independent 22-room Moorish-style waterfront hotel, away from the activity and close to the airport. Renovated this summer. Rooms from $89 per night (no kitchenettes). Offers special walking weeks. 246-435 6694, peachandquiet.com.

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Don't have a car? You can go anywhere for less than $1. Both private and public buses provide frequent service along the main roads linking beaches and resorts.

For nightlife head for St. Lawrence Gap where clubs and pubs, such as Cafe Sol and the Ships Inn have rotating "two-for-one" happy hours that last late into the evening.

Music blasts into the street and there are lots of restaurants, but the real deal is at sunset, when the food carts arrive and street-side barbecues serve chicken, ribs and even blue marlin dinners for $7.

The fishing village of Oistins is the place to be on Friday evening. Local families and visitors share picnic tables in front of colourful wooden booths, where vendors barbecue dinners. Grab a cool Banks Beer, nibble on 50-cent fishcakes or try a flying fish meal for $7.50.

Remember when theatre popcorn was just 75 cents? It still is at the 23-year-old Globe "drive-in" Theater, just a 15-minute drive from the St. Lawrence Gap.

Enjoy a double-bill, first run movie for $5 for adults, $2.50 per child. Family flicks start at 6 or 6:30. 246-437-0479.

Take a free guided hike and get to know the real Barbados. The National Trust offers three-hour Sunday hikes from Stop 'n' Stare to Grin 'n' Bear, plus monthly moonlight walks. For details go to barbados.org/hike.htm.

Or, run off with the local Hash House Harriers. Hashing, a combination of running, orienteering and partying, started in Malaysia in 1939.

Runners chase the imaginary trail of a hare across fields, through villages, over fences and down through gullies. Enjoy a drink at the end, or stay for a barbecue. barbadoshash.com.

Barbados Tourism has a Best of Barbados promotion until Dec. 15. Free first night of accommodation, free breakfasts, $200 towards airfare and discounts on shopping, car rentals, etc., with 25 participating hotels. 1-888-BARBADOS, or visit barbados.org for details.