RE: Freeport (Grand Bahama Island) Activities -- Opinions

[firefighterjake]

Hi folks . . . it's been awhile since I've posted here . . . about a year since last year's first (and hopefully not the last) cruise.

 

This year my wife and I were hoping to do another cruise, but while the good news is that she was able to work her schedule so that she has 10 days off in a row (she's a nurse), the bad news is that our options for going on a cruise during those 10 days was pretty limited (i.e. places that didn't interest us or too short cruises since her days off falls right in middle of the cruise itinerary for most of the longer cruises.)

 

In any case, we opted to do a land-based vacation this year instead (although I am sincerely hoping to do a cruise next year when she can pick her vacation dates) and so needing to know some info I came to the site I have come to trust -- Cruise Critic.

 

CC has already been very useful in helping me narrow down what island to see and some activities and beaches . . . but now I'm looking to see if anyone has any experience with the following activities/tours.

 

Fantasia Tours: Sightseeing Canal Cruise

 

Any of the Lucayan National Park and Cave Tours (offered through Superior Watersports, Grand Bahama Nature Tours) . . . or would I be better off renting a car and doing this on my own

 

Peterson's Cay National Park Tour (offered through various tour operators)

 

Rand Nature Centre

 

Barbary Beach

 

Bahamas Eco Venture Air Boat Nature Tour (I did a search and couldn't find many -- if any -- CC reviews or opinions of this tour operator)

 

Garden of the Groves

 

Grand Bahama Nature Tours Jeep Tour . . . seems like this is a CC favorite

 

 

 

Also, for anyone in the know . . . is driving to McLean's Town or High Rock worth the drive?

 

Thanks to any and all who can give me some input.

[firefighterjake]

No opinions at all? . . . Kind of unusual for CCers.

[bobsfamily]

Ok let's see:

How long are you going to be on GBI?

Where are you staying?

 

Some hotels you can rent a car right there....

 

Do drive to the end of the island both ways... going towards east end make sure you stop at Bishops and eat the best cracked conch.

 

Once on the island ask locals...

 

Go on this website and ask... you will get LOTS of info:

http://www.geographia.com/cgi-bin2/grandbahamanews/discus.pl?pg=topics

[firefighterjake]

Ok let's see:

How long are you going to be on GBI?

Where are you staying?

 

Some hotels you can rent a car right there....

 

Do drive to the end of the island both ways... going towards east end make sure you stop at Bishops and eat the best cracked conch.

 

Once on the island ask locals...

 

Go on this website and ask... you will get LOTS of info:

http://www.geographia.com/cgi-bin2/grandbahamanews/discus.pl?pg=topics

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

We'll be there for a little more than a week and we're staying at the Xanadu -- mixed reviews on the place -- but then again nearly every place I looked at had mixed reviews.

 

The one thing I really wanted to do was see the Lucayana National Park and some of the eastern coast . . . the western coast I wasn't so sure about since one website advised caution on the west side (although to be fair it was mostly advising caution at night.)

 

Thanks for the link . . . I think I've seen that site a few times while researching . . . although I should probably sign in and ask some questions.

 

Thanks again.

[bobsfamily]

Thanks for the reply.

 

We'll be there for a little more than a week and we're staying at the Xanadu -- mixed reviews on the place -- but then again nearly every place I looked at had mixed reviews.

 

The one thing I really wanted to do was see the Lucayana National Park and some of the eastern coast . . . the western coast I wasn't so sure about since one website advised caution on the west side (although to be fair it was mostly advising caution at night.)

 

Thanks for the link . . . I think I've seen that site a few times while researching . . . although I should probably sign in and ask some questions.

 

Thanks again.

 

You will get plenty of info if you just join and ask... it is a site devoted just to GBI. Xanadu does get mixed reviews... and DON'T walk ANY beach at night... just a precaution. We usually take the Discovery over from Fla.

http://www.discoverycruiseline.com/home/homepage

 

The people of GBI are for the most part very nice... the few "bad apples" are just that. The further you get towards the east end (or for that matter the west end) the father back in time you seem to go. GOOOOOOO have a good time.

[gottago2mexico]

Fantasia Tours: Sightseeing Canal Cruise

I personally don't find the canal cruises to be too thrilling. Haven't done the one with Fantasia, but have cruised the canals, not great. If you want to go with Fantasia, I would check out their deserted island cruise instead.

 

Any of the Lucayan National Park and Cave Tours (offered through Superior Watersports, Grand Bahama Nature Tours) . . . or would I be better off renting a car and doing this on my own

I'd tend to think a tour might be more fun for this. The park isn't that exciting, nice to walk through the mangroves, but it would be a lot more interesting I think if there was a tour guide to share with you the history and environmental information about the area. Gold Rock Beach is very nice at low tide - a 10 min. walk through the park. That you can go by yourself to hang out for a day if you want.

 

Peterson's Cay National Park Tour (offered through various tour operators)

We did this through GB Nature Tours by Kayak. Had a good time. Short paddle out there - about 15 minutes followed by a guided snorkel (try to pick high tide if possible) of about 90 minutes. Lunch on the beach - nobody else there but your group. I'd do it again. The park itself is just a small desert island, but the snorkeling around it is quite good, and the guides were really nice.

 

Rand Nature Centre

Have only been there at night for events - have to get there.

 

Barbary Beach

Basically deserted beach - would be fun to visit via horseback ride I think. Not the nicest beach on the island, but good for fishing and there is some snorkeling here.

 

Bahamas Eco Venture Air Boat Nature Tour (I did a search and couldn't find many -- if any -- CC reviews or opinions of this tour operator)

Haven't done this yet - look forward to it though.

 

Garden of the Groves

Definitely recommended. Very nice to walk through. Live music on Friday nights at the Lofty Fig Bar & Grill there. Lofty Fig is a nice ambience to hang out and have lunch and a beer. Local art gallery, nice spot for photos.

 

Grand Bahama Nature Tours Jeep Tour . . . seems like this is a CC favorite

Haven't done this one, but there are a lot of reviews on it in this forum - use the search feature and you'll find lots.

 

 

 

Also, for anyone in the know . . . is driving to McLean's Town or High Rock worth the drive?

High Rock yes, if you're staying on the island. Bishop's Bar & Grill is a nice place on the beach to hang out. You can rent chairs for a few bucks, swim, snorkel, eat the very good cracked conch, and have a few beers while you relax and take it all in. The town is small, full of very friendly folks, but not a whole lot there except the beach, and some nice photo opportunities near the lighthouse.

 

McLean's Town is not much to take in - but you can take the water taxi there over to Abaco or several cays. On the way out there though is Pelican Point, which is super small, but cozy with a beautiful beach, nearly deserted. Worth a stop for some nice photos.

 

Hope this helps, have fun!

[firefighterjake]

Thanks for the reply . . . and yes, your opinions (and others who have posted) have definitely helped me in planning this trip . . . which incidentally I am very much looking forward to . . . especially since it has been snowing all day here in Maine (I mean I love the snow, but I really think I'm ready for Spring now.)

 

Fantasia Tours: Sightseeing Canal Cruise

I personally don't find the canal cruises to be too thrilling. Haven't done the one with Fantasia, but have cruised the canals, not great. If you want to go with Fantasia, I would check out their deserted island cruise instead.

 

Any of the Lucayan National Park and Cave Tours (offered through Superior Watersports, Grand Bahama Nature Tours) . . . or would I be better off renting a car and doing this on my own

I'd tend to think a tour might be more fun for this. The park isn't that exciting, nice to walk through the mangroves, but it would be a lot more interesting I think if there was a tour guide to share with you the history and environmental information about the area. Gold Rock Beach is very nice at low tide - a 10 min. walk through the park. That you can go by yourself to hang out for a day if you want.

 

Peterson's Cay National Park Tour (offered through various tour operators)

We did this through GB Nature Tours by Kayak. Had a good time. Short paddle out there - about 15 minutes followed by a guided snorkel (try to pick high tide if possible) of about 90 minutes. Lunch on the beach - nobody else there but your group. I'd do it again. The park itself is just a small desert island, but the snorkeling around it is quite good, and the guides were really nice.

 

Rand Nature Centre

Have only been there at night for events - have to get there.

 

Barbary Beach

Basically deserted beach - would be fun to visit via horseback ride I think. Not the nicest beach on the island, but good for fishing and there is some snorkeling here.

 

Bahamas Eco Venture Air Boat Nature Tour (I did a search and couldn't find many -- if any -- CC reviews or opinions of this tour operator)

Haven't done this yet - look forward to it though.

 

Garden of the Groves

Definitely recommended. Very nice to walk through. Live music on Friday nights at the Lofty Fig Bar & Grill there. Lofty Fig is a nice ambience to hang out and have lunch and a beer. Local art gallery, nice spot for photos.

 

Grand Bahama Nature Tours Jeep Tour . . . seems like this is a CC favorite

Haven't done this one, but there are a lot of reviews on it in this forum - use the search feature and you'll find lots.

 

 

 

Also, for anyone in the know . . . is driving to McLean's Town or High Rock worth the drive?

High Rock yes, if you're staying on the island. Bishop's Bar & Grill is a nice place on the beach to hang out. You can rent chairs for a few bucks, swim, snorkel, eat the very good cracked conch, and have a few beers while you relax and take it all in. The town is small, full of very friendly folks, but not a whole lot there except the beach, and some nice photo opportunities near the lighthouse.

 

McLean's Town is not much to take in - but you can take the water taxi there over to Abaco or several cays. On the way out there though is Pelican Point, which is super small, but cozy with a beautiful beach, nearly deserted. Worth a stop for some nice photos.

 

Hope this helps, have fun!

[govtworker]

My husband and I enjoyed the Bahamas Jeep Adventure back in October 2008. We started off on a short bus ride that took us to the jeeps...probably a 15-20 minute ride. During the ride, one of the jeep guides (Mark!!!) gave us some of the history of the island...pointing out places of interest. While driving to the jeeps, the guide also took our lunch order (included) and I believe the choices were hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese and peanut butter sandwiches, plus chips and a drink. He also had us to choose either a standard or an automatic jeep.

 

Once we arrived at the start point of our tour, we hoped out of the bus and into a jeep. At this point, another guide joined us and we split into two groups, but we all traveled together for the most part. Note: You do drive on the left hand side of the road, so don't be shocked when you pull out. It was a little odd at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly. Our group drove over to Taino Beach (beautiful!) first, where we parked, took pictures and put the tops down on our jeeps. We stayed for about 15 minutes before heading out on a drive around the island. Next, we traveled through the pine forest. Now, I'm from West Virginia, so the pine trees are MUCH, MUCH different than what we have here. Our trees are huge, full trees, while theirs looks more like a tall thin tree with the pine needles at the top. The guide talks to you through a CB radio during the entire drive, giving you the history of the island. You can talk back to him and ask questions along the way. We drove down what the locals call Millionaire Row...where there were lots of really nice houses. He explained the real estate...how their tax system worked...how they build their homes (interesting)...how they get supplies onto the island...lots of information.

 

Next, we swung by the dolphin adventure site (?). If you are lucky, you will see a show going on and will be able to see a few minutes of it from the street without having to pay the prices to get into the show. There wasn't a show at the time that we passed by, but our guide pulled over and allowed us to view the dolphins in their pools. We took a few nice pictures of the dolphins jumping and swimming in the pools.

 

For lunch we stopped at the botanical gardens. This stop was a little rushed for our group, but we did enjoy a nice lunch on a deck that overlooked some waterfalls. My hubby and I had both chosen hamburgers and they were freshly grilled just minutes before our group pulled in. We did have a few minutes to take some pictures, but overall, this portion of the tour was rushed.

 

After lunch, we drove around the island some more and we stopped at Ben's Cave, which is an underwater cave system. You walk down a set of spiral stairs to reach the cave and you can take pictures here as well. A dive team had been there a few days before we were there, so the water was still a little stirred up and not very clear. The guide walks down into the cave with you and gives a complete history of how the cave was found.

 

The best part of the tour was next, when we loaded back up and drove back to Taino beach for a free hour of beach time. The beach is beautiful and clean. There are some vendors set up for those who enjoy shopping and a bar for those who enjoy drinking.

 

Overall, the tour was exactly what we wanted as first time visitors to Freeport. We were able to see different aspects of the island and had the added bonus of having Mark give us a complete rundown of the island's history. Mark's sense of humor and adventure made the tour for us! He jumped right in and took pictures if needed (sometimes jumping in the picture himself) and we really enjoyed him. The tour is not strenuous...wear comfortable walking shoes, as you are in and out of the jeep quite often. Take a camera...lots of beautiful picture opportunities. Leave the purse behind if possible, so that when you get in and out of the jeep, you don't have to worry about leaving belongings in the jeep. Sunscreen is a must and possibly insect repellant based on the time of year that you go. I noticed that most people wore their swimsuit under their clothes for the beach portion of the trip, but there is a place to change, if needed. If I remember correctly, this was a 5.5 hour tour.

 

Once we returned to the port, we still had a couple of hours to shop at the vendor booths that were set up near the ship. A very enjoyable day!!

[kids1stcruise]

do you remember the cost--website?

[bobsfamily]

do you remember the cost--website?

 

The one on Freeport basically has to be done thru the ship...

[firefighterjake]

Well I'm back and thought I would fill in folks what I did . . . who knows this may help some of you on future trips to the island by cruise or by air.

March 11 (Wednesday)

The flight down to Atlanta and then on to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island was uneventful. We did have a short delay in Portland (Maine) as it was snowing and the jet had to be de-iced. Leaving the 32 degree weather and snow for 80 degree weather and sun in Freeport was nice . . . very nice.

I knew I would like GBI pretty quickly when we left the jet and simply walked across the tarmac . . . I figure any place where you walk across a tarmac is a good place. We grabbed our rental car – a very, very small Suzuki Ignis and after being assured we would have no issues driving on the left side of the road headed out to the Xanadu Hotel. Of course, we promptly got lost, but quickly turned ourselves around and made it to the hotel without too many problems (although Heidi said it was rather un-nerving to see cars headed right at her as she was near the centerline.)

After dropping off our bags in our hotel room we headed to Xanadu Beach. There were few people on this beach . . . and in fact other than Sunday afternoon, this was pretty much the way it was all week long . . . less than 2 dozen people on the beach . . . which was great since this beach had some beautiful sand and the azure blue waters you see in the pictures of Caribbean beaches. Unlike some places, one would never know that this was among the busiest times of the year with Spring Breakers. We could always find spare chairs to use, never had to listen to overly-loud radios and never felt crowded.

Heidi and I walked a bit on the beach and grabbed a burger and fries at the beach-side snack shack before heading back to our room.

Xanadu Hotel was interesting. It was clean, but well worn. We half expected this after reading comments from other travelers. The Xanadu is not a four or five star hotel resort with around the clock activities. Rather it is a great place to relax away from the crowds. As stated, the room was clean, but the room could have used a fresh coat of paint. In the hallway, one could see places where the stained carpet had been patched over the years and the stairwells had missing lights, non functioning emergency lights and fire doors that did not close. The Xanadu is far from being a dive (trust me, I’ve stayed at a few of these places), but could use some sprucing up. That said, the staff’s friendly attitude and proximity to the beautiful Xanadu Beach more than made up for the minor maintenance issues.

March 12 (Thursday)

Today Heidi and I had opted to just take it easy with a beach day. We left early and headed to Barbary Beach . . . unfortunately either we left too early or this beach simply isn’t used very often since we arrived to find we were the only ones at this beach.

While I was willing to stay (liking the idea of having a beach all to ourselves), Heidi being the smart and safety conscious traveler vetoed that idea. After walking a bit on the beach we headed back to Xanadu Beach for the day.

At Xanadu Heidi bought a shell necklace – something that proved to be rather useful since other vendors would see this necklace every other time we were at the beach and would not even bother asking her if she wanted to buy another necklace.

Today was the day that I made a few mistakes. Mistake 1: I forgot to put sunblock on my chest and stomach. Mistake 2: When Heidi said she was getting warm and was going back to the hotel room for a few hours I opted to stay on the beach and continue reading my book. Mistake 3: I stayed in one position – namely sitting up with the book positioned on my lap right above my gut.

The result: When I decided I had enough sun I went inside only to discover that I looked like a red-belted Galloway (the Oreo cookie cows) or a red and white buoy due to the fact that my gut was a flaming red, where my book had been was a white stripe and my chest was a flaming red. Yes, I looked absolutely ridiculous.

That evening we met up with Laura Jones, a People to People Volunteer. People to People matches you up with a native Bahamian of similar interests in an attempt to let you meet people and get to know them. This was a fantastic program. The first thing Laura did was drive us out to meet Fire Inspector Floyd Bastian. Unfortunately, we didn’t meet at the fire house since apparently the firehouse was blown away or destroyed in one of the hurricanes a few years back. Inspector Bastian was charming and a true firefighter – even though technically firefighters there are also police officers – since he pretty much told us whatever he thought no matter if it is was politically correct or not. In my visit with Inspector Bastian I quickly came to realize that we both share similar professional goals and similar problems professionally as well.

After our visit with Inspector Bastian, Laura took us to the Rand Memorial Hospital where she works as a nurse. The hospital tour was interesting. Once again the same problems and concerns faced by nurses here in the US is the same as those on GBI. While much of the same equipment is used by both countries, the actual facilities are quite different as there were no private or semi-private rooms in this hospital – rather there was a Men’s Ward and Women’s Ward with 5-10 beds in each ward. In addition there was a Pediatric’s Ward where cribs and beds were packed into two small rooms.

When our visit finished Laura took us to Simply Native where we ordered some meals to go. While Heidi and I enjoyed the chicken and rice the fried plantains were not among our favorite food. It was here that I also was able to sample some cracked (deep fat fried) conch – which tasted a lot like our fried Maine clams.

March 13 (Friday)

Today Heidi and I went out on an airboat tour with Bahama EcoVentures. Tansey, the owner and guide, was fantastic as she gave us a short history of the island as we drove out to the “launch” site in the Hawksbill Area.

The tour started out just a few feet away from the shore by looking at a blue hole and the fish congregating around the blue hole. From there we skipped over the shallow waters of the bay (only a few feet deep in most places) to the mangroves. Tansey explained the importance of the mangroves as nurseries for both fish and birds . . . as well as their importance in helping create land masses and minimizing storm damage from hurricanes. After checking out a couple more blue holes we landed the airboat on a small cay where Tansey was able to take us on a short nature walk showing us three of the six ecological environs found on GBI along with some of the various plants and bushes found in those environments. The tour finished with lunch on a deserted sandy cay. All in all, this was a fantastic tour and well worth the cost.

In the afternoon I returned to Xanadu Beach where I had the beach almost all to myself. I walked out on the rocks that make up the canal/breakwater looking for shells and then decided to get a coconut from one of the nearby trees as I had seen a local (bum?) earlier getting several coconuts out of the tree – at the time I kept trying to ask him how he knew when the coconuts were ready, but he kept thinking I wanted the coconuts he had knocked down.

Let me say, I would probably starve if I was on a deserted island full of coconuts. It was a lot harder to knock the coconuts down then it had looked when I watched the bum knocking them off the tree. After 15 or 20 minutes I finally knocked down one coconut. I then spent another 5 minutes getting the husk off and then another few minutes cracking the nut . . . only to find that the coconut meat wasn’t hard and was in fact more like jelly.

Later in our travels I found a wild almond . . . and after several days of trying unsuccessfully to crack the outer husk of the almond (the limestone like rocks simply pulverized to powder when I tried to use them to crack the nut) I ended up giving up and tossing the almond . . . as I said I would probably starve to death even if I was on a deserted island full of coconuts and almonds.

For dinner Heidi and I opted to “treat” ourselves to Dominoes pizza since we don’t have a Dominoes pizza place where we live. While we waited for our pizza to cook we did some grocery shopping at Solomon’s . . . an interesting store which kind of reminded me of a combination Sam’s Club, Hannaford Supermarket and True Value Hardware Store since it had a bit of everything here. It was here that my wife claimed some of the cashiers were laughing at us . . . more likely laughing at me and my Lobster Boy impression.

March 14 (Saturday)

We started out today at the Rand Nature Centre. No flamingoes and the place appeared as though it has seen better more prosperous times, but we did enjoy seeing several birds that we never see in Maine, including several friendly hummingbirds.

Afterwards we checked out the local art exhibit and had a fantastic discussion with a local Bahamian man, Canadian transplant and a woman from Nigeria. In our short discussion we pretty much solved all of the world’s problems . . . well maybe not all of the problems, but I truly enjoyed our conversation.

In the afternoon Heidi and I headed to the West End of the island. Heidi has a “thing” for John Travolta, but of course we never saw him or his house. Instead we “settled” for Paradise Cove. While Paradise Cove was remarkably unbusy (I think there were three or four other couples there), we hit this on low tide so I didn’t bother swimming out to the reef for snorkeling as there seemed to be a lot of sea grass.

Unfortunately, our trip there was cut short as a couple of showers passed through the area. After weathering the second shower we opted to head back to the hotel.

March 15 (Sunday)

Today was another low key beach day at Xanadu Beach. The place was pretty quiet until several local folks started to show up around noon. By then we had pretty much soaked up enough sun for the day anyways so we headed back to the hotel. Later in the afternoon as the party on the beach continued (based on the thumping bass you could hear all afternoon and into the evening) we went for a dip in the hotel swimming pool.

The day ended quite spectacularly with a great view of the space shuttle Discovery launch that was easily visible from our hotel room’s balcony. The launch lit up the evening sky and a passing cloud.

March 16 (Monday)

Today Heidi and I went to the Lucayan National Park. While this Park was a bit small it was a highlight of our trip. To start off with the drive out to the Park was nice . . . once we crossed the Grand Canal traffic was notably lighter . . . it was almost as if we were on a whole other island.

At the Park we grabbed some geocaches and checked out Ben’s Cave before heading across the road to Gold rock Beach via the Creek Trail Boardwalk (pretty neat to see all the fish under the boardwalk). After a short stay at Gold Rock Beach we took the other trail through the mangroves back to our car. Gold Rock Beach is everything they claim -- while folks say you should see it at low tide, it was rather beautiful even at high tide.

We continued to drive East, stopping at High Rock for pictures of the lighthouse and beach and started towards Pelican Point before growing tired of seeing the same scenery and so we turned around.

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at the Lucaya Marketplace for lunch and ice cream (well ice cream for me . . . Heidi said she was giving up ice cream for Lent.)

March 17 (Tuesday)

Our last full day on GBI. We started out the day with a glass bottom boat tour with Reef Tours which was well worth the cost as we saw several species of fish, sand dollars, star fish and sharks. On our way out we met up with and talked with some newlyweds from the cruise ship that was in port -- Norwegian I think was the line.

At Burger King (a quick lunch) Heidi made friends with Franklin . . . a bum who kept trying to claim he needed help filling his albuterol inhaler . . . and Heidi kept insisting that he needed to go to Rand Memorial to get free medicine.

That afternoon we spent our final few hours walking on Xanadu Beach and taking some photos.

Around 5:30 p.m. Laura took a break from work to bring us a file folder and purse made out of straw by one of her friends who has a business doing just that. We spent several minutes chatting with Laura and Xanadu’s Security Chief Officer Wilson before calling it an early night (yeah, we’re light weights.)

[gottago2mexico]

Great trip report, thanks! Great to hear about how the renovations at Xanadu have been progressing, and we've been talking about the Bahamas Eco-Ventures tour for a while, so I guess now after reading your review, we'll have to check it out! Nice to know about the glass bottom tour and the People to People too.

 

A couple notes for next time you visit:

 

1. Barbary Beach never has any people. You can pretty much always go here and be the only ones in sight.

 

2. You should have snorkeled at Paradise Cove since you were there already! You can go around the shallow area with the sea grass to the reef where low tide is great because the colors are a lot more vibrant, and you're a lot closer to the fish (the reef is normally pretty deep). You can also rent a kayak for a few bucks and paddle past the shallows to the reef, and then snorkel, which we usually do.

 

3. Next time you're out that far, Pelican Point is a cute place to visit - an amazingly beautiful beach, especially at low tide, where you never see anybody else, with a few cottages and a couple souvenir stands.

 

4. When in High Rock, it's nice to visit Bishop's Bar & Grill on the Beach - nice, quiet and scenic hangout. You get to hear some interesting stories that way, and the water is usually like glass.

 

Thanks again for the review, very informative - sounds like you had a great time!