| Country | Currency | Safety |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Pesos | Organized crime, Banditos, Driving at Night |
| U. S. | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Costa Rica | Colones | Theft, use caution at night, driving hazards. |
| Barbados | Barbadian Dollars |
Safe, but getting more dangerous. |
| Dominican Republic |
Dominican Pesos |
Caution at night. Driving hazards. |
| Puerto Rico | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Place | Wetsuit | Wave Size |
|---|---|---|
| Baja | Full, Booties, Trunks | waist high to giant |
| California | Spring, Full, Booties |
waist high to giant |
| Florida | Trunks, Spring, Full |
waist high to overhead |
| Costa Rica | Trunks | waist high to double overhead |
| Barbados | Trunks, Top | waist high to double overhead |
| Dominican Republic |
Trunks, Top | waist high to triple overhead |
| Puerto Rico | Trunks | waist high to giant |
Barbados is one of the best surf destinations in the Caribbean. It’s a longer flight from the U.S. than islands in the Greater Antilles, but well worth it. The language spoken is English, American Dollars are accepted at most places, public transportation is good, and overall it is safe, though some say that has been changing with the Recession.
Barbados has warm water, reef and point breaks, night life, friendly people, and is small enough that if one side of the island is too big or blown out, there is somewhere that will be more manageable. Though winter time is the main season, there are waves year round.
Trunks and a rash guard, possibly a wetsuit top should suffice. A regular shortboard, longboard, or fish should be fine, but a step-up may be nice to have.
Soup Bowl, a right, is the most famous break here and is located on the east coast of the island in a town called Bathsheba. There are some other waves here including Parlours, also a right, which breaks bigger than Soup Bowl, but with less of a channel and less shelter from the wind which gets strong on this side of the island. The north part of the island has Duppies which breaks far out and is isolated. The south side of the island has the left-handers, Freights, South Point, and Surfer’s Point. The west side of the island has the left Batts Rock among others.
The island has plenty of history and a lot of great touristy things to see when not surfing. Bridgetown is worth exploring as is Speightstown. There is also some fun night life to be found.