Discover Hunte's Garden

After taking you through the Andromeda Garden, we’ll now walk through another garden, the one with the best reputation on the island: Hunte’s Garden. As with my other articles on Barbados, I’m going to keep this one short and sweet and guide you through the garden, especially through the photos! It’s a change from the very long articles I’m used to writing, and since it’s “just” a tropical garden, there isn’t a huge amount to say about it, haha!

After Andromeda, this was the second garden we visited. We had actually tried to go before, but they didn’t take credit cards. So we had to turn around and come back later!

We arrived right when it opened at 10 am. We were the first ones there. It has to be said: kids get up early, even on vacation, and that can be a good thing. In fact, as a side note, it’s often something we recommend. Some tourist spots can get crowded in the middle of the day. But if you make the effort to get up early, you’re often alone, or almost alone.

We entered this beautiful garden after parking in the small roadside parking lot. My first impression of the place was really pleasant. There were lots of flowers, overflowing fountains, and beautiful water lilies. To be honest, it’s a lovely entrance. It makes you want to see more! In short, we paid the entrance fee, which wasn’t cheap, we’ll give you our opinion at the end, and started exploring.

Classical music plays throughout the garden. It’s quite pleasant. Unlike Andromeda and Flower Forest Botanical Gardens, this garden has a very different feel. It is more like a small, cozy garden. It focuses more on flowers and beautiful plants than on trees.

We walked through this beautiful place by following the arrows. I don’t really know how to describe the feeling. But it is very different from a traditional tropical garden. Everything feels quieter and smaller. There is almost an “Asian garden” atmosphere to it. In several places, you’ll find just one or two chairs and a small table in the shade. It’s really pleasant and gives the place a special atmosphere.

Small statues of gargoyles, animals, and Buddhas are scattered throughout the garden. You really have to visit it to understand what I mean, haha. The only slightly negative point is the lack of explanations about the plants during the visit. There is, of course, a large information board in the middle of the route. It shows the different types of flora and fauna found on the site. But it’s a shame there aren’t more explanations along the way.

You’ll see lots of birds, including sugar birds and hummingbirds. They come to drink from the small fountains and ponds. The path is really well laid out, so you can visit the site at your own pace.

However, we were surprised by the garden’s small size. Even though the garden is impressive in terms of the number of flowers and species present, for the price we paid, we would have expected a slightly longer visit. We took a lot of photos on site, and the children took their time looking at everything, so we still managed to stay a while.

They explored the site and bickered as usual for about an hour and a half. As for us, we took turns using our two camera lenses to vary the shots.

At the end of the route, we reached a 150-year-old building. The interior has been decorated with old pieces of furniture, and it has been very nicely done. A flight of stairs takes you up to a souvenir shop, as I like to call it. We bought the kids a few little souvenirs, a clever way to get you to spend a bit more in the end, haha, using the fake $15 gift voucher given at the entrance to the garden.

To give my final opinion on the place, I’d say it is a bit expensive compared with the size of the site and the time you spend there. Still, it’s a lovely garden with lots of flowers!

As with our other articles on Barbados, here is the practical information to keep in mind when planning your visit.

Here is the key information to remember about this site:

• Admission: US$20 per adult, half price for children under 12.
• Open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.
• Email: huntesgardens@gmail.com
• Phone: (246) 433-3333

Of course, it all depends on where you’re coming from. If you’re in the capital, allow about 30 minutes for the 16 kilometers. The full itinerary can be found here.

We stayed in a fairly basic Airbnb farther south on the island, but if you’re looking for something nicer, here are a few ideas:

The Atlantis Historic Inn: a very nice beachfront location on the east coast,
Jackson Breezy: a lovely apartment with a private pool inland,
Garden Grove: a superb hotel with stunning views on the west coast.

For other must-sees in the area, see our other articles on:

• Flower Forest Botanical Gardens
• Explore the beautiful beaches of the West Coast, especially Sandy Lane Beach, Paynes Bay Beach and Batts Rock Beach. You’ll also find some beautiful beaches on the east coast, such as the famous Bathsheba.
• St. John’s Church
• Or Codrington College.

I’ll stop here and see you soon for the end of my articles on Barbados!

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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