Miami Beach, Barbados, near the town of Oistins

Oistins

The coastal town of Oistins is an area located in the country of Barbados. Situated in the southern portion of the parish of Christ Church, Oistins operates mostly as a fishing village and a tourist hang out, and is the location of the parish church for Christ Church...

, is a popular sandy beach in Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

. It is located on the south coast of the island, with usually calm waters and brilliant sunset views. On its north side is Enterprise Beach, a much more sheltered bay popular with families. Miami Beach is popular with both locals and tourists. Each morning local seniors swim in the sea and exercise on the beach.Also a great break for bodyboarding.

A large yellow lifeguard station stands at the junction between Miami Beach and Enterprise Beach. Refreshments are available from the Mr Delicious Snack Bar, a static converted Mercedes bus permanently parked behind the beach.

It is also a popular docking area for cruises on board a catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

. Miami Beach has a beach shopping complex, and gardens. Miami Beach has been voted one of the Top 10 beaches in Barbados.

In 2004 the beach started to suffer erosion by the sea as a natural occurrence, and the beach is narrower than it was 20 years ago. Action by the local authorities (Barbados Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU) and the National Conservation Commission (NCC)) has successfully stopped the erosion and started a programme, which is currently allowing the beach to naturally heal itself.