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Thread: Travel Tips for Nassau Bahamas?

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    Cool Travel Tips for Nassau Bahamas?

    Heading to Nassau for a week in a few days and was wondering if anyone had been there before and had any tips about the island itself. Going with my wife and kids (4 and 1.5yo) and my parents. Staying in a hotel with kitchen with a lagoon, pool and beach access (Sandy Port).
    We are pretty well travelled in the Caribbean. I have a rental van booked to roam around. Planning on avoiding downtown Nassau on days with multiple cruise ships. We are avoiding Atlantis except for a free evening in the aquarium for the kids.

    Basically looking for recommendations for good eats (groceries, markets, restaurants, street food shacks). Not too expensive or classy necessarily as I have a dinner for 2 booked at Nobu to keep the wife happy.
    Nice, less travelled beaches that aren't crowded (we are beach snobs, and anti-social).

    Also, fishing spots and tips for shore fishing. Planning on bringing very limited light tackle with me for small fish <10lb. Do I need a license?

    None of the touristy spots are really appealing, just beaches and such for us. What things to avoid?
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    Not much advice but we did the Atlantis hotel back in 2007 or so and it was pretty good. The lazy river was excellent back then.
    I did the water slide that goes under the shark tank, a few months later the shark jumped out and into the pool where the slide ends.

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    I do like a lazy river but the price for accommodations and food at Atlantis was a bit more than we wanted to spend. We are going on a more kid friendly resort later in the year.

    I would've paid alot of money to see that shark incident

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    Well thats interesting

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    Slightly terrifying.

    Good luck Mr. Juan.

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    I believe you can get a day pass to Atlantis, I think we will do that the next time we go. We found a Quiznos just outside the resort and ate there for lunches. Inside has fancy restaurants that I don’t care to eat at but we did a few times.

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    Quote Originally Posted by danno View Post
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    I believe you can get a day pass to Atlantis, I think we will do that the next time we go. We found a Quiznos just outside the resort and ate there for lunches. Inside has fancy restaurants that I don’t care to eat at but we did a few times.
    You can for sure. Was there in Nov. Very expensive for what it is, I found. Also, if you kid isn't 48 inches, they can't do the bigger water slides. I thought there would have been more water slides too. The "lazy river" was good. Not as lazy as most....

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    I was looking into a day pass for Atlantis but it was crazy expensive. I think almost $600US for the fam, I think we'll pass on that this time, but will prob stay there one day for the shark in the wrong pool festivities. A hack we found is the aquarium is free after 5pm, so we plan on doing that and doing Shakeshak for dinner as my wife is some sort of fiend for shakeshak.
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    I'm back from Nassau and have travel tips.

    Americans everywhere. The closer to the cruise ships you get the bigger and more American they get. Avoid downtown Nassau when there are more than 2 ships in port, or go after 3pm when the boat people begin to make their way back to their boat.
    https://www.cruisetimetables.com/nas...oogle_vignette

    Everything is EXPENSIVE.

    Beaches:
    Water is cold, colder than I'm used to. Still very much swimmable, but northern Caribbean cold especially when the beach has a sharper slope and the thermocline is closer to shore. I will say though the sand is all white and water is incredibly blue and picturesque.

    Sandyport beach, nice spot, has a shallow lagoon to swim in which remains warm, kids loved it. The actual beach itself was also very nice if it was a little warmer. Lots of rocks with fish for snorkeling and mostly sand in the beach area.

    Junkanoo beach (fucking AVOID), not a particularly nice beach rocks etc, closest to the cruise terminal, busy AF, lots of local shacks selling food and souvenirs. Washroom facilities are also nearby, close to shopping areas. Biggest issue is how busy it is.

    Cable Beach, this is where the Sandals Bahamian is situated on. Very Nice, very good spot to chill, not super busy. Not the a greatest for snorkeling as not much cover for the fish, but they are around.

    Love beach, $5 per person entry fee through Nirvana Beach Bar. Worth it, possibly the best beach for kids I've ever seen. Despite the entry fee, its still not crazy busy, and it dies down after the boat people leave around 2pm. Also the warmest beach we found. Shallow sheltered section of the beach is perfect for toddlers and is at most a foot deep on this side. Kids loved it. Restaurant also had amenities like washrooms, decent food, umbrellas and loungers etc. Good spot for a day.

    Jaws beach, where they filmed Jaws. Its beside Old Fort Bay. Nice quiet spot, good for relaxing, no amenities.

    That's it for beaches. There are a lot of private beaches that appear very nice on the map, Solemar, Old Fort Bay (elitist culty vibe) etc but couldn't or didn't get to.

    Food:
    Everything is EXPENSIVE. I won't complain about food prices anywhere else anymore.
    The touristy local fish fry in Arawak Cay is expensive. $30 for the fish (small snapper) and chips and other entrees. Grouper is more expensive, steak, lobster etc etc. Food was expected but nice, typical busy tourist spot went once, took pics, wont go back. Also 15% tip added to all dine in bills mandatory.
    If you want cheap eats go to the fast food chains. Wendy's, Burger King, KFC etc. The McDonalds is close to the cruise terminal and usually very busy.
    The national dish is the conch, the sea snail with the nice shell. It can be very good. Avoid it deep fried in the conch fritters or burgers etc and get it steamed (basically a stew) or grilled, or in the raw in the ceviche type salad.
    Even groceries are expensve. Not much produce its grown on the island so much has to be imported. My metric I use is limes. Limes are 2/$1 currently but that price fluctuates. over Christmas apparently it was $4 per lime. On other islands I've been to is basically free. Basically, cost of living is so high that even local products like seafood, local fruits, avocados, etc are plentiful but still expensive (even if you go to the fish market or farmers market). So if you plan to making meals yourself you're not saving a whole lot, but its pretty cool working with fresh local ingredients.

    Fishing:
    Fishing here is crazy. Many many fish near to shore, night time is best near a light. Large fish come in close to shore and in the boat canals. Snappers, Bone fish, Baracuda, etc. And because the water is so clear you can see them easily from an elevated position. Very cool.
    What's not so cool, sharks. Not just nurse sharks, but tiger and bull sharks. I saw a black tip reef shark while fishing the canal, saw nurse sharks while snorkeling, tiger and bull sharks are common also, but very few attacks for the number of sharks. The kids had lots of fun looking at the fish swimming by in lagoon and canal near our hotel. Also no fishing in the lagoons, which is BS.

    Attractions:
    Not a whole lot of tourist attractions are worthwhile.
    Straw market (souvenir shopping) is a trap and not worth the hassle.
    The stores around the straw market sell the same stuff without the hassle and at cheaper prices.

    John Waitlings rum distillery.
    This was actually nice. I didn't go on the full tour as I've done that too many times at other rum factories. But this one was set up nicely. Old colonial house, lots of trees, not too many people, lawn areas for the kids to play in, just generally a nice spot. They made a wicked pina colada, I don't usually like pina coladas but this was fantastic. It's also up a large hill from the cruise terminal so it discourages the Americans from walking here. Rum was quite good for the price, even their cheaper end was very good. Brought back a few bottles.

    High end shipping is good jewelry, fashion, watches. Prices are good. Sales people are a little pushy, but not overly. Almost came home with another Breitling... almost.

    Atlantis. Went one evening for the aquarium (free after 5) and shake shak. Very cool spot, been to a few aquariums this was nicely laid out. Mostly local species but still pretty cool with an Indiana Jones vibe. Atlantis otherwise is a Vegas style resort. You could drop that hotel on the Vegas strip and it would fit right in. Just as busy.

    Ft. Montague fish market. This is a neat spot, bought fish here. Go in the morning before noon for least busy time. Cool spot to talk with the local fishermen. There is a beach nearby also and a small fort for looking around. Can spot sharks and turtles off the docks here.

    Overall a neat island. I may visit again in a warmer month and have a different experience with the beaches, but I probably wouldn't come back as things are so incredibly expensive there and moving my schedule around when cruise ships are out to avoid the crowds. Turks and Caicos would be similar without the crowds. I may try one of the other islands of the Bahamas for a more island feel that I usually go for. To compare from my regular Barbados or Antigua vacations would be unfair.
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    When I was in st lucia last year there were tourists fishing off the beach. They pack poles that fit in their luggage. They'd catch all sorts of amazing fish. They'd cast in one spot for a few minutes and then slowly work their way down the beach.

    It's interesting with all the travelling we do this was the first person I've seen who packs a fishing rod in their luggage.

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    I liked Turks and Caicos better.

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    I always bring my fishing rod with me on vacay. Its a telescopic one so it packs small. If something actually big hits, it would probably snap in half. I also do a little recon on the area on google earth beforehand to see any possible spots.

    I agree, Turks was better. I went on a boys trip years and years ago, rented a big house on the beach. Snorkeling all day, drank all night. No fishing from the beach allowed there though.

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