Barbados Excursion - Animal Flower Cave, St Lucy Caribbean Cruise Excursion Review

We had been planning to visit Animal Flower since arriving in Barbados in May, but the first time we had a hurricane, and the second time it was so hot we didn't want to do the hike to the entrance as we don't have a car. But finally, we made the trip and it was well worth it.

We had actually, hired a car for a meeting in the morning, and since we had the afternoon free, we made the drive up to the north of the island. The signs are pretty good and we got to the site around lunchtime. They have a good-sized car park, so there was no problem getting parked, though there isn't any shade. Hopefully, your air-con works on your return. You can get a bus to the site, but you have about a 20-30 minute walk from the bus stop but it is doable, just aim for Connelltown. There are a couple of refreshment stops on the way.

First, we walked through the site to the restaurant. As you can see from my video (below), it is set on a cliff-top with amazing views over the water. The restaurant is split level, so even if you are back from the edge you still have an unobstructed view. They have plenty of tables, all of which are shaded from the sun. There were tables for two, small group tables and even some larger group tables, so I think any visitor could be catered for.

The menu had plenty of choices and as a (pesky?) pescatarian, I had more than one meal that I could have had which is a nice situation to be in. We chose the breadfruit tacos and the server suggested having the catch of the day as our fish, which was red snapper, as it would have even more flavour than the standard fish they used, so this is what we did. The breadfruit is used to make the taco shell and was a completely different use of this local fruit, that I haven't seen used this way anywhere else. And it really works! The shell doesn't implode on your first bite like a normal taco shell, and it didn't go soggy from the tomatoes etc as you were eating, so I fully approved. We followed the tacos with some ice-cream sundaes and the whole meal came to about £40 for the two of us, which I thought was very reasonable considering the views. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday 11:30 am - 3 pm.

Once we had refuelled we bought our tickets into the cave for approx. £16.45 each. We had to write our name and a contact number so they could let us know when our tour guide was ready. We had a look around the rest of the site while we waited. There are some spectacular views over the north coast which is more rugged and has more powerful waves than the west coast we are used to, so it was an impressive change. There are also a few little shops, probably one of the most photographed statues on the island and a bar area if you want to sit and have a drink. They also have bathroom facilities and a shower for after your swim.

Very quickly it was time for us to head down into the cave. The entrance is via 27 steps. These are a little uneven and large but they have a handrail to help, but they did build them in 1910 so I think we can let them off. We were in a group with one other couple which was a nice number for the tour.

Once we reached the cave system our guide told us about the history, explained why the rocks were different colours and pointed out the 'windows' with views over the waves. Make sure you wear the right kind of shoes! We had on water shoes and were able to walk through the pools of water and get better views than the other couple as they just had on sandals and had to stay on the dry ground, as their shoes would just become slippy and dangerous.

We were led into the different areas and had plenty of time for photos and to explore, the guide never made us feel rushed and it was nice not to feel the pressure from other groups behind us. The cave system is bigger than I thought it would be, and each 'room' has a different feature. We found a few animal flowers (sea anemones) but they were quite small (you can see them in the video below). When they have powerful seas the flowers can get washed out and they have to re-establish themselves but it was good to see a few of them. There were also fish in the cave and crabs climbing around. Being an animal lover this was what I was hoping for. The guide was happy to take photos of us (on our phones) and answer any questions we had throughout the whole time we were in the cave. He also walked around in bare feet which I just couldn't imagine doing.

The last section of the cave has a loose pebble floor so it is a little harder to walk on, but for me, this was one of the highlights of the trip. Here you can swim in the pool, so make sure you have your swim gear on ready. Rihanna had a photo shoot in this area so you can always try to recreate it if you want. The pool was warmer than I expected, and the caves weren't cold, but I expected the water to be cold as it isn't getting the sun on it. I still find getting into the ocean cold on some days and this was in August. But the pool was nice and refreshing and it was amazing to swim over to the window and look down on the waves below.

Once we had finished again we didn't feel rushed, the guide was happy to wait for us and chatted with the other couple on the beach while we had our experience. Then it was time to make our way slowly back to the surface. We saw more rock formations, had our final photos and then climbed back up the 27 steps to the surface. We were probably underground for about 30 minutes which felt like the perfect amount of time. We didn't have to wait ages for other people to have their photo before we could have our turn and we didn't feel rushed either. It was a nice relaxing visit. All in all, with the trip to the restaurant and also looking around the rest of the site, our visit lasted for about 3 hours.

Many people spend a very short time at the cave, then move on to the next attraction, but you can easily spend more time there if you want to relax with a few drinks at the bar.

After the caves, we went a short distance along the coast to Harrison's Point to see the lighthouse. It is actually open and you can climb it if you want to. The views were pretty amazing, but my legs were not thanking me the next day.

Overall thoughts

I had a really nice afternoon in the north of the island. The cave site has been put together really nicely and they don't charge an extortionate amount like some of the other tourist attractions seem to do. I would be happy to visit again in the future and maybe even spend a bit more time with a drink at the bar.

Watch my video to see the caves and some of the photos I was able to take.

Short on time? Why not do a full island tour that stops at the caves? Book your tickets here