Bellairs

McGill University's official Bellairs Research Institute link gives general information about Bellairs.
Follow the Facilities link for concrete information about Accommodations (room rates etc.) Note that you should not contact Bellairs directly about accommodations. Rather, you should let us (the workshop organizers) know your arrival and departure information (including flight numbers so we can compile a list so you can meet up with other participants to travel from/to the airport) and we'll compile the information and will send it to Bellairs.

General facts about Barbados, an island in the North Atlantic ocean NorthEast of Venezuela are found in the CIA World Factbook.
One Barbados dollar is currently worth approximately 0.5 US dollar. US dollars can be used almost everywhere, though change is given in Barbados dollars. If you plan to take the bus to Bellairs from the airport, you need exact change. You can get Barbados dollars at a small exchange place in the airport, just behind the baggage carrousels, after you go through immigration and before you go through customs.
As of March 1st 2004, visitors from most countries require a valid passport and return ticket to enter Barbados. The www.barbados.org site gives information on visitor documents such as visas for citizens from certain countries, how to obtain a drivers license (car rental companies can issue a drivers license if you have a valid license) and accepted credit cards (most).
barbados.org gives an overview of airlines serving Barbados. flightstats.com gives real-time flight status information for Grantley Adams (BGI), Barbados' international airport.
Barbados Weather gives detailed weather forecasts (including satellite images of cloud cover).
The Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia points out the " Seven Wonders of Barbados". Personally, I find the Barbados National Trust Sunday hikes (usually 6-9am) in non-touristy parts of the island much more interesting. Search for details under "Special Events".
More tourist-oriented facts about Barbados can be found on barbados-beaches-plus.
The fishing community of Oistins has a weekly Fish-Fry on Friday evening with island music and local food.
The following coastal region and small island paper gives some technical information on currents around Barbados as well as about the Bellairs fringing reef, a coral reef off the Bellairs estate.
For the adventurous: hike to the HARP gun.

The official Bellairs contact information:

         Bellairs Research Institute
         Holetown, St. James Parish, Barbados
         Tel.   : +1 (246) 422 2087 (office)
         Tel.   : +1 (246) 422 2034 (dining hall)
         Fax    : +1 (246) 422 0692
         e-mail : bellairs@caribsurf.com
                  enquiries@bellairs-mcgill.org

The Barbados airport is located at the South of the island. Bellairs is located on the North side of Holetown. To get to Bellairs from the airport, you can
- take a taxi. Ask to be taken to the Bellairs Research Institute in Holetown. Most taxi drivers know where Bellairs is (thanks to the many workshops as well as the field semesters for students). In case they don't know, say it is located in between Folkstone Park and the Coral Reef Club on the North side of Holetown. There is now a sign at the airport which gives fixed prices for several destinations. In 2012, the price to Holetown was $58 Bds. Beware that this is the price for one person without luggage. Extra people with with luggage need to negotiate. In 2012 we paid $90 Bds for a van shared by 4 people with luggage. This is probably on the high end. You can find a list at barbados.org. Note that those prices are only for rides from the airport. You negotiate the price in the opposite direction. You may ask the Bellairs secretary to book a taxi for you to take you to the airport. It is always good to agree on a price before the ride. The taxi ride takes between 40 minutes and 1 hour, depending on traffic. Bellairs now uses "taxi ambassador" Avril Butcher: +1 (246) 233 8966. You can also e-mail her at avrily4@gmail.com or avrily4@hotmail.com. If you let her know when your flight arrives, she can pick you up from the airport. Since the gate to enter Bellairs from the side of the Brace building is now always locked, late arrivals to Bellairs (i.e., when the office is closed) should always travel with Avril as she has the key (and possibly the key to your room also). If not arriving with Avril, but for example by bus, make sure to make precise arrangements with the workshop organizers about how to get in. Bellairs used to use taxi drivers Jason +1 (246) 256 82 35 and his wife Nicole +1 (246) 256 83 37. Taxi driver John has also been very helpful and reliable: +1 (246) 420 15 89 (office) or +1 (246) 257 68 76 (cell). You can also e-mail John at rehotaxitrans@gmail.com. John sometimes uses colleague Winston +1 (246) 230 36 92 as backup (for ungodly-hour-of-the night rides). With any taxi you book/board, don't forget to mention that you will need a receipt!
- take the bus ($2 Bds, exact change required, no change given on the blue official government buses). Note that you can change money inside the airport baggage claim hall. That gives you the opportunity to get some small change. Cross the parking lot to get to the bus stop when you come out of the airport's main exit. Don't forget that traffic drives on the left-hand-side of the road! You need to take a bus on the airport-side of the road. If you're really adventurous, you won't take the blue government buses, but rather an orange private one :) There is a direct bus (destination Speightstown) on Sunday and holidays. On weekdays, buses are more frequent, but you need to first take a bus to the Oistins hub (buses to Bridgetown will also stop in Oistins) and switch there to a bus to Speightstown. Switching in Bridgetown is not advised (I'm told one needs to transfer between bus terminals). Note that there is no "transfer" ticket. When you switch in Oistins you need to buy a new ticket. Bus schedules can be found on the Transport Board website. Buses are not always on time. The Airport - Bellairs trip takes around 1.5h, depending on traffic. The bus takes a longer route (along the coast) than a taxi (which takes an internal "highway"). The bus stop is right in front of Folkestone Marine Park, just past Holetown and the Bellairs entrance is 30m farther down the road. Ask the driver to tell you when you've arrived. Just past the Folkstone Park stop is the entrance to Bellairs. On the way back to the airport, take buses going to either Airport or Kirtons or Sam Lords Castle (the last two stop at the airport, the one to Sam Lords Castle is very infrequent) or to Oistins and switch there to get to the airport. If you have a really early flight out of Barbados, you should book a taxi.
A note for those who came to Bellairs before: the gravel road next to Bellairs leading to the beach no longer has an entrance to Bellairs near the Brace building. You can now only enter Bellairs through the main entrance!
A detailed map shows where exactly Bellairs is located. And there's always Google Maps.

View Larger Map
Alexandre Denault's Bellairs Games Workshop page gives a good impression of the style and atmosphere of Bellairs workshops. The 2006 CAMPaM workshop pictures give a (slightly) more work-focused view of the place.
It is possible to arrive before the workshop week starts and/or to stay beyond the end of the workshop week. If the previous/next workshop does not fully fill up Bellairs, the Bellairs administration can put you up at Bellairs. If Bellairs is full, as is often the case, they will try to find you a good "deal" at a nearby hotel. In previous years, The Palms
```
 The Palms Resort
 Travellers Palm and Halcyon Palm
 Palm Avenue, Sunset Crest
 St.James, Barbados
 Tel: +1 (246) 432 67 50
      +1 (246) 233 04 91 (cell of Ken McCarthy, general manager; kmccarthy@thepalmsresort.net)
 Fax: +1 (246) 432 72 29
 Email: res@thepalmsresort.net
 Website: http://www.thepalmsresort.net
```
has been the place of choice. In 2011, Bellairs negotiated a price for us of 105US$/night (tax included) for an AC room with two beds. Registration is at the Travellers Palm and usually, the rooms are in the Halcyon Palm 50m down the road. Note that the registration desk closes at 18:30, so do let The Palms know if you will arrive late. In this case, the night guard will have your keys ready and you can pay the next morning. Taxi drivers know how to find The Palms (turn right at the Sunset Crest mall). I'll post detailed directions for those who arrive by bus.

When The Palms is fully booked (as in 2014), the All Seasons Europa is used.
```
 All Seasons Europa
 Palm Avenue, Sunset Crest
 St.James, Barbados
 email: reservations@allseasonsresort.bb
 web: http://www.allseasonsresort.bb
 Tel: 1 246 432 5046
 Fax: 1 246 432 0893
 Toll Free US & Canada - 1 888 312 2744
 UK - 44 207 101 9657
```
It is very close to The Palms. The special price (during high season) is US$161.25/night. This rate is based on double occupancy for a one bedroom Garden Suite. An additional optional charge of US$14 per night applies for air conditioning use.

You should not book your accommodation with Bellairs directly but rather mail the organizers your arrival/departure information. Rooms are normally shared with two per room.
The cost for the stay (breakfast, dinner, and lodging) needs to be settled before your departure with the Bellairs office. The office accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards as well as cash. It is possible to us use credit cards such as American Express in banks to obtain cash.
The following map [pdf] (thanks to Godfried Toussaint) shows the location of the Bellairs facilities (offices, rooms, dining hall, etc.). Note that as of 2008, the Brace apartment is no more. Instead, a whole new second floor has been constructed with new guest rooms and meeting rooms. When you arrive at Bellairs just go straight to the dining hall. There, you will find either people or a message for you on the bulletin board or the blackboard telling you which is your room. Most rooms are double rooms, so you will most likely share a room. If you don't find anyone in the dining hall, look for us on the beach.
At lunchtime we typically walk to Surfside (surfsiderestaurant@caribsurf.com, (246) 432-2105) along the beach (includes wading through water if the tide is high) for a nice lunch. Here is the menu [pdf]
The voltage on Barbados is 110V and North American plugs are used. Almost all current laptops have a switched-mode power supply which can handle input voltages in the 100V-240V range. Your plug does however still require an adapter if it's not of the North American type.
House rules:
1. Kitchen and Food
  - Breakfast (toast, pancakes, ... varies daily) is provided by Bellairs (at 5 US$/day, Monday - Saturday).
  - We can make coffee in the kitchen any time we want. The available coffee at Bellairs is of the instant variety. If you wish to bring your own coffee (and share) that is appreciated.
  - Dinner is provided by Bellairs (Sharon, the cook comes in in the afternoon and prepares wonderful roast chicken, local fish, ...). If you need specific food, you will most likely find it at the local supermarket. There is a guest fridge in the dining hall where we can keep our own private food. Please label your food and remove any left-over when you leave.
2. Showers and Sand
  - Sand in the shower drains can cause serious blockage problems. Be sure to rinse off the sand from your feet before entering your rooms. There are water taps outside for this purpose.
3. Locked Doors and Valuables
  - Please leave your room locked when you are not in.
  - You can leave your money and other valuables in the safe in the main office. If you leave some money in your room we suggest you put it in a purse inside a locked suitcase inside a closed closet; certainly do not leave it within arm's reach of the back windows facing the public park.
4. Telephone and Computers
  - Computers are available. Internet connection speed is reasonable, most of the time. The speed is high enough to use Skype, which is far cheaper than buying local phone cards. Since a few years, there is also wireless internet.
Sun, Wind, and Insects
1. Bellairs is situated on one of the best beaches in Barbados, so don't forget your bathing suit for swims before breakfast, between work sessions and even at night (the daily "midnight swim" is now a tradition). Right in front of Bellairs is a small (and somewhat alive) coral reef. Do bring snorkeling goggles as the fish are gorgeous. Above all, don't forget sunscreen !
2. Depending on the weather conditions and other factors, we may get some mosquitoes (this is typically more of a problem during the rainy season). You should bring some bug repellant (DEET) just in case. Note that there is no malaria on the island of Barbados.

Barbados

Getting to Bellairs

At Bellairs: Practical Information