I did it! I got on the plane and flew to Barbados. TO LIVE! If you plan to travel to Barbados to live, here are some things I think are helpful and were only realized after I made the journey.
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Buy yourself something filling to eat during the last leg of your flight.
With all the check this, check that at the airport, going through customs, having your COVID-19 test results reviewed…you don’t know how long those line will be. Yes, they were long, hot, and exhausting. There is no guarantee that any airport eatery will be open. Then you have to get a shuttle to your quarantine location. Maybe you make it there before dinner is served, maybe you won’t. In other words, once you’re on that last leg of your flight, from that point, you don’t know when you’ll get your next meal. Eat on the plane.
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Pack everything you can with your allotted packing space. Shits expensive.
Need I say more? Any and everything you can cram into your luggage or shipping packages, do it. Yes, it may increase the weight and costs of your items. Don’t worry about that. Unless of course, you can’t afford it. You will come out cheaper bringing your stuff with you versus buying on the island. Especially, your dry food items. Trust me on this. Unless you’re okay paying $12 USD for a small bottle of salad dressing.
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If you’re an habitual online shopper, stop.
Heard from the locals, you will have to pay to get your online shipments. Yep, you heard me? In addition to paying any shipping costs by the selling company, you also have to pay Barbados a fee to get your items. Whaaaaaattt!! And they open your items for inspection. Yeah, I’m done online ordering for a while.
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Make a trip to your home bank.
You’ll want to notify your home bank of your plans so your debit/credit card transactions are not flagged. Typically when a bank sees a card being used outside of its usual territory, they will do some sort of damage control to prevent the card being used. I also ran into international transaction fees. OUCH! They add up. Each bank might assess those differently, so double check that before you leave. Consider opening a bank account on the island.
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Everything you read about the COVID-19 quarantine protocols, forget about it.
Well, maybe not everything. Most of it for sure. Prior to traveling and in the weeks leading up to my departure from the U.S., I checked the travel protocols religiously. One day they’d say I would have to quarantine for 5-7 days if I arrived with a negative COVID test. The next day it could say something completely different. The timeframe for quarantining seemed to change with the wind. Technically, I was only supposed to be in quarantine for 24 hours, have my 2nd COVID test, and be released the next day. Two days max. That was according the documented protocols when I last checked. I was in quarantine for 4 days.
I filled out the immigration and customs form 1 day prior as instructed. Not a airline employee looked at the form or pulled it up online to check what I had submitted. I can’t say it was useless entirely but for the purpose of getting through the airport faster, it was useless. I’m betting the Barbados government keeps it as a record, just in case.
I opted to stay at the Paragon since it was free for quarantine. Be prepared if you choose that option as it might be filled to capacity. If that’s the case, you will get transported to god knows where. For me, it was an old hospital in St. Lucy. For your reference, you can find the current Barbados travel protocols here. Read about my quarantine days here. Here is an article I found that mentions other quarantine spots on the island.
BONUS – While USD bills are accepted on the island, USD coins are NOT. Plan accordingly.
