It’s not easy to find, but once you arrive in this out-of-the-way village on New Providence’s southwest coast, you know you’ve arrived to something real — a settlement founded by liberated slaves following emancipation in the Bahamas in 1834. Its snowy white, shelly beach stretches to Coral Harbour. On weekends, you’ll find a gathering of locals celebrating their days off....
Following the scandal and death surrounding model-actress Anna Nicole Smith in Nassau, her and her son’s burial sites at Lakeview Memorial Gardens & Mausoleum got added to many of the bus tours around the island. If that’s what you’re looking for in a Nassau vacation, the cemetery is only a few miles from the airport on John F. Kennedy Road...
Within walking distance from the cruise ship port, this colorful cluster of food stands, restaurants, and bars keeps alive a Bahamian Out Island tradition known as Fish Fry. Everyone cooks up fresh seafood and other Bahamian dishes. Conch salad is the specialty — chopped up and “cooked” with lime juice, hot peppers, sweet peppers, and onions right before your eyes....
Most famous for its “drill birds,” this zoo and conservation center puts on the pink flamingo show three times (10:30, 2:15, 4) a day. It truly is impressive, how the birds are trained to march in military fashion. Even more amazing to me is that the birds walk around the grounds throughout the day and are so easy to capture...
You don’t have to be a guest at Atlantis to take advantage of its many attractions and pastimes. But it’ll cost ya’. The public is free to shop, gamble, and eat in most of the restaurants. But to get past the guards and into the aquariums and water will require a wristband. A $110 wristband buys you admission to all...
For serious nightlifers, here’s a welcome change from the limbo shows and Bahama Mama parties typical of the resort after-dark scene. Filled with beautiful people, including a laundry list of celebs who have partied here, it’s equally beautiful in a cutting-edge way. The truly celebrated opt for the VIP bottle service section around the sunken dance floor or the ultra-VIP...
Many visitors will pass by it more interested in having their hair braided on Prince George Dock in the Festival Place cruise-ship port area. The realistic sculpture titled Bahamian Woman is the work of the late American sculptor, Randolph W. Johnston, who moved his family to a remote area of the Abacos to raise them and build his studio and...
A prime example of 18th-century colonial architecture, circa-1788 Balcony House has the distinction of being Nassau’s oldest wooden residential structure. Its restored rooms hold period furnishings and other museum artifacts. Shipwrights influenced the style of the wooden home; its mahogany staircase came off a salvaged ship.
Many of the fine, duty-free shops at Atlantis are echoed on Bay Street, downtown Nassau’s main drag and shopping beat but in a less luxury setting. Cruise ship passengers flood in looking for deals on jewelry, perfume, electronics, but mostly liquor. (Note: The Bahamas duty-free deals are not as good as in other Caribbean island ports. Also, stores tend to...
There’s plenty of sand in Nassau. The urban beaches are most crowded, naturally, so solitude-seekers head to offshore island beaches, Coral Harbour Beach, West End beaches, and even the Paradise Island beaches. Families will like Goodman’s Bay Beach near Cable Beach; college students favor Junkanoo Beach near downtown.
Founded by the late Jackson Burnside, architect and the master of interpretative Junkanoo-inspired art, and his wife, Pamela, its mission is “to ensure that by the year 2020, the majority of visitors to The Bahamas will come to experience its Art, Culture and Heritage rather than its Sun, Sand and Sea,” says its Web site. Doongalik’s name derives from the...
Rental cars are readily available at the Nassau airport and other locales. If you have an American Express credit card, use it to charge the rental if possible. In case you’re in an accident and your insurance won’t cover it, Amex will. Driving around Nassau and Paradise Island can be VERY confusing. First, there’s the driving on the left side...
It’s easy to get from Paradise Island to downtown Nassau and vice-versa without a car. The Nassau-Paradise Island ferry boat is within walking distance of Paradise Island’s resorts and Nassau’s harbor. Cost for passage is $4 each way. Don’t expect a luxury cruiser, but it’s comfortable enough, and the trip lasts only about 20 minutes. There’s narration along the way...
The best thing about Festival Place is it’s air-conditioned. Mighty welcome on a hot Nassau day. It’s cute, too, with storefronts that resemble colorful Bahamian cottages. And it’s fun, because there’s a Junkanoo band playing on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. There’s a hitch: It’s a cruise ship passenger trap. But have a look. It sells tacky souvenirs, but other nice...
In 2012, the luxury hilltop complex of Graycliff added to its accommodations, restaurants, and cigar factory with a fine chocolates factory. Take a short tour of the little factory and shop in its store for bars of tobacco chocolate (much better than it sounds), chocolate tea, chocolate shaped like cigars, and bonbons in flavors such as Nutella, mint, brandy cherry, and...
Nassau’s history runs deep to post-American Revolutionary War Loyalists, pirates, forts, and Civil War Confederate sympathizers. Its forts remain intact, the best of them for touring being Fort Charlotte and Fort Fincastle. It’s also known for its historic churches; St. Francis Xavier Cathedral is my favorite. Other historic must-sees include Graycliff Hotel, the Queen’s Staircase, and the Nassau Library.
Most people think “beach” first when planning a Nassau vacation, but for those interested in getting to a deeper level of cultural understanding, the destination has much to offer. The heart of the arts scene beats in downtown Nassau, home to the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. A number of fine museums cluster around Bay Street and its side...
Between the casinos, nightclubs, and pool halls, Nassau stays plenty lively in the after hours. Most of the best – and safest – clubs are found in the hotels, especially Atlantis, where a magnificent casino, the glam Aura, and other spots jam into the wee hours. A young crowd grooves in town at the Club Waterloo. Locals party at Arawak...
Most of what the Bahamas has to offer is on the outside – beaches, amazingly clear waters, reefs, birds, fish…. the list goes on and on. Besides water sports and beach-bumming, visitors can engage in the beauty of island flora and fauna at its zoo, gardens, and parks. Best bets in Nassau include Ardastra Gardens and Zoo, Clifton Heritage National Park,...
The island of San Salvador, Bahamas, is known principally as home to Club Med Columbus Isle. But outside of resort confines, its reputation for diving and old Bahamian ways blossoms. Be sure to either rent a car or bike from the resort or take the Follow the Steps of Christopher Columbus Excursion around the small 12 x 5-mile island. On the way,...