While Barbados is considered by many to be a winter destination, and can see approximately seventy-five percent of its tourist arrivals during the winter months, the island can also be a highly desirable summer travel destination. The average daytime temperature on Barbados is between 28 - 30 degrees celsius throughout the year. There are two major differences in temperature between the winter and summer months and that is the nights of the winter are considerably cooler than the summer months as the cold fronts from the north pass over the island and although the official daytime temperatures throughout the year change little, the summer months appear to be hotter because it is less breezy.
For those who have always dreamt of a Barbados holiday but always thought that it was out of their budget, summer is the perfect time to fulfill that dream.
Summer travel to Barbados can be considerably cheaper starting with airfare, as the airlines drop prices to fill flights. Hotels are greatly discounted at this time of year with some of them as much as fifty percent cheaper. While this may not apply to all, many of the smaller holiday apartments and guest houses may sometimes even drop their low summer rates even further for large groups or longer holiday periods. Car rental companies also offer special deals, either in the form of extra days thrown in or lower prices, you can pay the same price for a five day rental in summer as you would have paid for a three day rental in winter. Watersports and other activities companies do not officially drop their rates but like the small apartments and guest houses, it is sometimes possible to negotiate cheaper rates for groups or booking multiple activities.
While the summer months are the official rainy season, the island still averages 9 hours of sunshine per day even then. Rain showers tend to be heavy and brief giving way to blue skies as suddenly as the showers appeared. Making days that start of dismal turn out bright and beautiful.
The official start of hurricane season is in June and it runs through November. While the hurricanes invariably travel through the Caribbean on their way westward, the individual chances of Barbados receiving a direct hit are small. Barbados has only suffered direct hits three times in over 170 years and has been brushed by the edges a few times. More often than not these brushes consist of heavy tropical showers and gusty winds, all in all less intense than a Florida thunderstorm.
Barbados is so far east that most of the systems that pass through the Caribbean have not had time to develop into hurricanes and they are so far south that those systems that do develop tend to travel north of the island and the rotation tends to give the system a northward track. While they are exceptions these tend to be extremely rare.
It is amazing that visitors fear the Caribbean in the summer months for fear of a hurricane but will flock to Florida and Mexico that have a higher chance of being hit. As this period is the low or off season a far as tourist arrivals go the island is more peaceful and there is less chance of the activity or event that you are interested in being sold out, with the exception of activities that facilitate smaller groups of people like surfing lessons and scuba trips which tend to have small groups, and can also make for a more enjoyable holiday.
In terms of people looking for a family holiday destination choosing Barbados is ideal with the beaches swarming with kids on summer vacation from schools as well as a higher number of kids related activities being offered including more kids oriented movies in the cinema and at the Drive In.
The ocean tends to be calmer and warmer in the summer months and this translates to better conditions for many water sports activities including surfing for beginners as well as scuba diving and snorkeling.
Submitted by: Melinda Layson
The Author was born in Barbados and has worked in the tourism industry for over twenty years. For more information on Barbados visit http://www.barbadostravelholidays.com
