Carlisle Bay

Carlisle Bay is the anchorage Bridgetown grew around, and centuries of shipping have left a good deal on the bottom. Six wrecks lie in the marine park in water between five and twenty metres, close enough together that a single dive can take in several: the Berwyn, a French tug scuttled in 1919 and now in about five metres, shallow enough to snorkel; the Bajan Queen, a former tug turned party boat sunk in 2002; and the Eillon, Ce-Trek, Cornwallis and Bairds Village. Seahorses, frogfish and turtles live on them. The sand along the bay is the closest good beach to the capital.

What you actually see

• The Berwyn - a 1919 wreck shallow enough to snorkel from the beach.
• The wreck trail - six ships within a small area of the marine park.
• Turtles - regular in the bay, feeding on the seagrass.
• Pebbles and Brownes beaches - the sand along the bay itself.

When to go

December to April is the dry season with the calmest water and clearest visibility. Mornings before the wind picks up are best. Cruise days bring boat trips into the bay in numbers.

Honest expectations

Turtle-feeding trips operate here in numbers and the practice has changed the animals' behaviour and concentrated them unnaturally; choose an operator that does not feed. The bay is busy with boat traffic and swimmers should stay inside marked areas. Water clarity varies with runoff from Bridgetown after rain.

Nearby

Bridgetown is a short walk north; the Garrison is just inland.