Hiking Barbados | Bath to Bathsheba

For a small island filled with amazing beaches, stunning vistas, and a relaxed ‘island-life’ feel, it might seem a little unusual that Barbados is actually FULL of hiking trails! In fact, the National Trust coordinates and leads organised hikes all over the island several times a week. The turnout can often be more than 100 people!

Bath to Bathsheba Hike

Mac & I had heard great things about the Bath to Bathsheba hike on the east coast of the island. The most noticeable difference between the west and east coasts is the calmness of the water. On the west coast, the waves are small & manageable and the white sand beaches are perfect spots to soak in the sun (or shade, if you’re like me and can go through a bottle of sunscreen in one week!). The east coast is home to rougher waves, a more dramatic and rocky coastline, but equally blue horizons.

We got Mac’s parents to drop us off at Bath Beach one fine, sunny day. From the parking lot, head north along the narrow road, past Lay-Ze-Bones cottage and into the small, but marked trail. Do NOT take the more obvious trail past the bridge that leads uphill. You’ll come out to a large clearing with an abandoned building and some cows, but no coastal trail. (… not that we’d know anything about that…)

The Bath to Bathsheba hike follows the rocky coast line while also weaving through tropical forests and even vast grasslands.

The halfway point will pop you out at Martin’s Bay. Take some time here to cool down in the shade and refuel with a bite to eat from the newly opened Bay Tavern. To continue the Bath to Bathsheba hike, follow the road in Martin’s Bay right to the end where the trail will continue through a white picket fence.

I personally preferred the first half Bath to Bathsheba hike as the views were a bit more incredible. However, the second half was still fairly stunning. Mac & I did lose the trail at one point, but because there aren’t many trees to get lost in, we just continued north through some tall, dense grasses until we found our way back to the trail again.

Bathsheba is more populated than Bath and there were a few bars & small restaurants there to grab a drink & rest your legs! The Bath to Bathsheba hike is about 5km and took us about 3 hours – 2 of which were hiking. We spent about 1 hour at Martin’s Bay where we had lunch. This isn’t an overly strenuous hike, and the few hills that need climbing aren’t steep or very high.

I’d highly recommend this Bath to Bathsheba hike to anyone visiting Barbados! It’s great way to spend an afternoon and see some more remote parts of the island!