Explore the Animal Flower Cave

As I mentioned in my article on Barbados’ must-sees, here’s a visit to the Animal Flower Cave. A truly magnificent cave to discover, right in the north of the island. It’s the continuation of my series of articles on this island, which is not well known to the rest of the world. We had come the day before to see if we’d been impressed by it. To tell you the truth, we hadn’t really planned to visit the cave. We wanted to eat in the great restaurant overlooking the limestone cliffs.

In fact, we’d booked a table at the restaurant. We wanted to have lunch and spend some time with the family. It’s perched on a huge cliff with the waves crashing against it. The setting is really great. There’s even a children’s play area. To be honest, it’s perfect for families.

And don’t forget to visit the Flower Forest Botanical Gardens. It’s a great little garden!

We were really reluctant to go, given the price. But we later realized that we had miscalculated and that it wasn’t really that expensive for the experience. Mélanie had some questions about whether it would be possible for children of Teo’s age. We told her it would be no problem. And that the children could swim in a pool overlooking the sea. She convinced us. In fact, we thought it would be a good experience for the children. It’s not every day they get to visit a cave.

As soon as we’d paid the entrance fee, we set off on the walk with the guide ( mandatory ) and two other American tourists. When you first arrive, you think it’s going to be very touristy, but we let ourselves get tempted, haha.

We went down the 27 steps that lead down to the cave. I had to carry Téo down because the descent was really steep. It was very dark when we arrived at the bottom. The children were fascinated by being underground. I must admit it’s a nice feeling. We rarely get the chance to visit caves, even though we’ve lived on the islands for over a decade.

The floor is very white and slippery. You really have to be careful where you step. In fact, there are quite a few white pebbles that have been polished by the sea when the swell is high. Plenty of opportunities to sprain an ankle. I try to watch out for the children and at the same time try not to fall to avoid damaging my camera on the ground! The guide explains to us in English about the geology, history and place names of the area.

There are several large openings in front of us. They light up the room very well. The guides take the tourists down in small groups so that there aren’t too many of us. This is a good thing as there aren’t many people here. It’s a good thing there’s an entrance fee. Otherwise everyone would spend the afternoon here! We continue our visit with a walk through the half-full pools. I try to take some photos, but the light conditions are extremely difficult and it’s a real pain… There’s an opening. The guide explains that it’s a map of Barbados, upside down.

Anyway, to quickly answer the question about taking pictures, it’s very complicated and the camera is struggling (or is it me?). The thing that makes it very difficult is the difference in light between the hole in the cave, which is very bright, and the rest of the cave, which is almost pitchblack… But what’s really beautiful is that you can see the sea through the holes in the limestone cavern.

Taking care to keep children out of the way, we continue our visit towards the bottom of the cave. We reach the highlight of the show: The famous cave pool, where you can swim with a view of the horizon. It’s a large, well-lit room with a large white pebble beach. We are told that you have to be careful when the waves come in. They come in through an opening in the cave and into the famous pool. In fact, it can be extremely dangerous to be there in bad weather. But between you and me, I don’t think they’re going to have tourists here when the wheather is awful.

We all put on our bathing suits and head for this magnificent pool. I didn’t take my camera with me for fear of the waves. Better safe than sorry. We just set off with our Olympus TG6, the camera that we take with us everywhere, the unbreakable camera that goes under water. The pool is still very deep, as Melanie hardly has a foot at the end (admittedly, she’s not very tall at 1.60m!). The water isn’t very warm, but you soon get used to it. Once you’re at the end of the pool, you wait for the waves to come in and fill the pool every few minutes. It’s a really nice place and the kids love it. Even if Téo doesn’t feel comfortable yet, he’s making progress.

The guide waits quietly on the pebble beach. It then took me about 10 minutes to get back into the water with my camera and try to get a shot of this beautiful moment. Once again it wasn’t easy. I tore my hair out trying to find a setting that would work. In the end, I didn’t do too badly.

We set off again with the guide and made our way to the top. Then she took us to a couple of little tourist huts. They sell little junk, as I like to call it. Mélanie was over the moon, haha. At the end of our walk we had a stroll along the beach promenade, which is very photogenic here. There are a few souvenir and clothes shops.

All in all, we had a great time. The place was really nice and so was the experience, especially with the kids. I hope you enjoyed reading this and enjoyed walking around.

As usual, here are a few things to remember.

I wanted to write something about the restaurant in the cave. We’d heard good things about it. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, we’d booked lunch there. Our table was right on the edge of the cliff. The view was stunning. It really is a beautiful spot. Sometimes you can see the turtles coming out of the water to swim and play.

As far as the food was concerned, the reception was really excellent. Everyone was smiling and the staff were very attentive. The service was very quick and frankly we had a very good time. Admittedly, it’s not cheap, but the setting is well worth it.

For the 4 of us, we spent €110. What’s more, they’ve got a lovely area to play in, overlooking the surrounding countryside. Perfect for relaxing after a meal!

Prices were $40 Bds and $20 Bds for children under 12 when we visited in April 2023. The site is open from Tuesday to Sunday. Of course, access to the caves depends on weather conditions.

We were at the very south of the island, over an hour’s drive from the site. But if you want to be closer, here are 3 interesting places with good reviews:

• Santhosha Barbados: a beautiful resort with a lovely pool on the north-east coast of the island.
• Sea Symphony Villa: a huge, peaceful villa, perfect for a large family if you can afford it!
• Sugar Cane Club Hotel & Spa: a fine hotel with an excellent reputation!

Note that accommodation close to the resort is actually quite rare!

In the end, the area is quite far from everything. Not far away, in the north of the island, you can visit

• St Nicholas Abbey: a beautiful abbey that can be visited.
• Cherry Tree Hill: a beautiful viewpoint.
• Barbados Wildlife Reserve: a fun place to see some animals with the kids.
• Further south, check out the Andromeda Garden.
• Or Codrington College!

That’s it for this little article, see you soon for another one.

Written by Sylvain PONS

I had the opportunity to go on a 2-week family holiday to discover the island of Barbados, which is just a stone's throw away from Guadeloupe, where we live. Here are a few stories about the time we spent there!

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