Excursion review - Barbados Wildlife Reserve - St Joseph Barbados Caribbean Cruise Excursions

One of the big attractions of Barbados is its wildlife. Whether you are heading to the coast with hopes of seeing the turtles or into the forest to see the monkeys, most people want to be able to say they saw them at least once.

Having been on the island for a while I had seen some monkeys around the island, once even while I was exploring the capital city Bridgetown. But it was mostly just a passing glance and I wanted to be able to take some photos. One place I had heard of was the Barbados Wildlife Reserve. Located towards the centre of the island they have wild monkeys that visit each day as they have feeding times. They also have lots of tortoises, deer, chickens and peacocks and even a couple of Caiman. Many of the island tour excursions in Barbados have this as one of their stops and people have said it's a nice place to visit for an hour or so. Therefore it was on my list to visit.

But what if you don't want to do the island tour? Can you get there by yourself? And is it worth it?

We don't have a car, so took the bus. These run from the west coast but are fairly infrequent (Boscobelle or Indian Grounds are the nearest routes to the Wildlife Reserve). It might be easier to go to Speightstown first and then find the connecting bus as they run more frequently. There is a bit of a walk at the end of the bus ride, but some of the routes do pass by the front entrance. Speak to a local, or the driver, to find out where the nearest stop to the entrance is. We got the Boscobelle bus, full of locals heading home from the shops by the looks of things. The bus is only $3.50 BBD per journey (approx. £1.40 each) so I didn't mind the small walk at the end.

Once you get to the entrance there is a driveway that takes you to the car park and ticket booth. We arrived just before 1 pm so had an hour to walk around before the afternoon feeding time. We were greeted by a lovely lady who told us all the information we needed regarding the feeding and where to find the bathrooms etc and gave us a little map of the site. We paid our fee of $30 BBD each (approx £11.45 each) by credit card, which was a nice surprise as we had been told it was cash only.

The paths are paved, but can be uneven, so anyone with mobility issues might find it a little difficult. There are also some steep inclines which could cause some problems.

So what can you see?

As we walked around the park I kept my eyes peeled for the monkeys, as they are free to roam wherever they want, so they could be anywhere. It is a self-guided tour so you are free to walk the paths as you please, it isn't a huge area. The animals are usually quietly walking around and interacting with each other, so it is easy to miss some of them, especially the deer.

All of the tortoises obviously knew it was nearly feeding time, so they were slowly making their way to the designated feed area. In their heads, they probably thought they were running to the feeding area! I guess they need to set off earlier than some of the other animals in the park. We slowly walked past some of the caged animals and I will admit to being slightly underwhelmed by the whole place so far, but it was nearly feeding time. We found a seat near one of the 'bowls' and more people arrived. Then the wheelbarrows of fruit were wheeled in. Mountains of the stuff! All the animals moved toward the food and suddenly there were a few monkeys in the area too. We had about 3 visit at this time, and people were getting rather close and telling their children to get closer for a photo. I had read a serious but amusing review on Trip Adviser about a lady who had tried to pick up the fruit to give to a monkey resulting in a 'kiss' on the hand that resulted in a hospital visit. These are wild animals and they will bite and scratch if they feel threatened or we come between them and their food. Please stay safe.

Soon the monkeys left the area, and people started to leave. I had hoped to see a few more, so was a little disappointed but as I said they are not caged they can go where they want and I had gotten some good photos. We moved to the reptile house with the hope that after the majority of the people had left (I'm assuming they carried on with their multi-stop tour of the island), some of the monkeys might come back. There were birds and Iguanas in the area behind the reptile house and snakes and fish inside, plus some information boards about monkeys on the island and the relocation projects that take place.

By this time it was closer to 3 pm and we moved back outside to the feeding area. First one then another monkey arrived, so we moved back to the seats, then a few more and eventually the whole troop was in the area. Monkeys everywhere! Mothers carrying small babies, infants running, playing and trying to steal food from the adults and everyone eating together. It was amazing. We spent some time just sitting quietly, so we didn't disturb them and when they were finished they moved back over the boundary fence to wherever they wanted to go. We were the only ones there to enjoy it for a while, until a couple of other visitors to the park came and joined us in the area. By this time the speedy tourists had gone, and by doing so had missed what they actually came to see.

I had seen that your entry fee also gives you access to another park, The Grenade Hall Forest and signalling station, so we asked the lady how we got there and it is right by the car park, a mere couple of minutes walk. I don't think many people go in this area as well, but for me, this was what made the day so good.

From the entrance there are two walks, to the left is the signal station and to the right was a loop through the forest. We decided to go to the signal station first. This is when the rain began, just as we got inside the 2-storey signal tower, so it was good to be able to shelter from the rain and not get too wet. As you climb the stair in the signal tower there is an audio story, telling you about the history of the building and pictures and artefacts that had been found. But for me, it was the treetop views that were the best. The monkeys were playing and taking shelter just a few metres from us in the trees. Jumping, eating and interacting with each other just as wild monkeys should. No more food just given to them or people trying to get close for photos they were just doing what came naturally to them. It was amazing and we spent a good 30 minutes just watching.

When we decided we had seen the tower enough, and more importantly when the heavy rain had eased, the monkeys had moved to a different cluster of trees, so we walked back towards the entrance. We were the only people around and suddenly noticed we had an entourage, the monkeys were following us and running along the handrail (that was much needed by us after the rain as the pathway became slippery). Another fantastic moment with the monkeys of Barbados.

We walked the loop through the forest, but it was rather slippery because of the rain. It was a nice view of the forest and a bat cave, but I might have enjoyed it more if it hadn't just rained and spent more time looking around rather than focusing on where I put my feet. Again this area has paved paths but they are uneven and steep in places so some people might struggle.

Overall thoughts

I had an amazing time here and think I enjoyed my time in the Grenade Hall Forest and signalling station the most. It felt like the animals here were more wild than when I saw them in the reserve. It's all the same monkeys, but the surroundings felt more natural. It depends if you like your monkeys at man-made concrete feeding pad bowls, or jumping and climbing around in the trees and foraging for their food. Both are worth the visit and take the time to appreciate the beautiful scenery and wildlife. I know most people are trying to fit as much into one day as possible, but if you can slow down you will see so much more. I suppose it depends on whether you want to race in, see 2 or 3 monkeys, tick that box and rush on to race through the next must-see attraction, or slow things down, sit a while and relax and see an entire troop of monkeys of all ages, especially in their more natural surroundings? I know which of the two was the most incredible memory for me. I will be visiting again, but I might not go into the reserve next time and just spend more time in the Grenade Hall Forest.

Watch my video to see the reserve and stick around to the end to see some of the MANY photos I took.

Want to see the monkeys and see some of the history and culture of Barbados? Why not join the small group tour here.