Nassau and the Best of the Bahamas Alive! (Hunter Travel Guides)

321 Pages·2000·2.76 MB·English

by  Paris Permenter

NASSAU
& The Best of The
BAHAMAS
E !
V
L I
A

NASSAU
& The Best of The
BAHAMAS
!
E
V
I
L
A
ParisPermenter&JohnBigley
HUNTER
HUNTERPUBLISHING,INC.
130CampusDrive,Edison,NJ08818
(cid:1)732-225-1900;800-255-0343;fax[phone]
[email protected]
UlyssesTravelPublications
4176Saint-Denis,Montréal,Québec,CanadaH2W2M5
(cid:1)514-843-9882ext2232;fax[phone]
WindsorBooks
TheBoundary,WheatleyRoad,Garsington
Oxford,OX449EJEngland
(cid:1)01865-361122;fax[phone]
ISBN1-55650-883-2
©2000ParisPermenter&JohnBigley
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybere-
produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
anyform,orbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photo-
copying,recording,orotherwise,withoutthewrittenper-
missionofthepublisher.
This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such
activitiescontainelementsofrisk,thepublisher,author,
affiliatedindividualsandcompaniesdisclaimresponsibil-
ity for injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone
through,orbyuseof,theinformationinthisbook.Every
effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in
thisbook,butthepublisherandauthordonotassumeand
herebydisclaim,allliabilityforlossordamagecausedby
errors, omissions, misleading information or potential
travelproblemscausedbythisguide,evenifsucherrorsor
omissions are the result of negligence, accident or any
othercause.
MapsbyKimAndré©2000HunterPublishing,Inc.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the relevant copyright,
designs and patents acts, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior
permission in writing of the publisher. eBooks Corporation
About The Authors
J
ohnBigleyandParisPermenterfellinlovewith
the islands over a dozen years ago and have
turnedtheirextensiveknowledgeoftheregioninto
an occupation. As professional travel writers and
photographers, the pair contribute travel articlaes
and photographs on international travel destina-
tionstomanynationalconsumerandtradepublica-
tions. The husband-and-wife team have also
writtennumerousguidebooks.
Paris and John are the authors of several other
Hunter guidebooks: Cayman Islands Alive!, Ja-
maica:ATasteoftheIsland,AdventureGuidetothe
Cayman Islands, Adventure Guide to the Leeward
Islands,andJamaicaAlive!Currently,theyareat
work on Adventure Guide to Jamaica, Lovetripper
Guide to the Caribbean, and St. Kitts, Nevis,
AntiguaandBarbudaAlive!
ParisandJohnarealsofrequenttelevisionandra-
dio talk show guests on the subject of travel. Both
aremembersoftheprestigiousSocietyofAmerican
TravelWriters(SATW)andtheAmericanSocietyof
JournalistsandAuthors(ASJA).
When they’re not on the road, the team resides in
theTexasHillCounty,nearAustin.
More about Paris and John’s writing, photography
and travels can be found on their website:
www.parisandjohn.com.
Hurricane Floyd
T
heIslandsoftheBahamaswerehitbyHurricane
Floyd in September of 1999. Abaco, Cat Island
and Eleuthera received the heaviest damage, al-
though some damage was also reported in San Sal-
vador,Exuma,NewProvidenceandGrandBahama.
Atpresstime,transportation,communications and
a business-as-usual attitude has returned to most
destinationsintheseislands.
Shouldyoureconsideryourtriptotheseislands?Not
atall.Reconstructionisunderwayaswewrite;hope-
fullybythetimeyoureadthisallfacilitieswillbeup
andrunning,notjusttotheiroldcapacitiesbuteven
newer and better than before. We do suggest that
youmakesomepreliminarycallsbeforeyouheadto
theislands,however.Callthetourismofficesaswell
as accommodations to learn about their status.
We’vetriedtoobtainupdatesonproperties,restau-
rantsandattractionsbutchangesarebeingmadeon
adailybasis.
A huge response for disaster relief has been
launchedbyneighborsandfriendsoftheBahamas.
Ifyouwouldliketolearnmoreaboutdonatingtothe
relief efforts, contact: The National Headquarters,
The Bahamas Red Cross Society, 24 John F. Ken-
nedy Drive, P.O. Box N-8331, Nassau, Bahamas;
(cid:1) 242/323-7370, fax [phone]; E-mail info@
BahamasRedCross.org.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
(cid:2) TheAttractions.........................2
MajorCities............................3
FartherAfield ..........................3
(cid:2) TheCost...............................4
WhenisHighSeason?....................4
TheAlivePriceScale ....................5
(cid:2) TheLand&ItsHistory...................6
ABriefHistory .........................6
Climate ...............................7
(cid:2) PlanningYourTrip......................8
TypesofAccommodations.................8
All-InclusiveResorts ...................9
IntimateInns ........................10
WhereShouldWeGo?...................12
ChoosingaResortArea ................12
(cid:2) Nuts&Bolts ..........................17
GettingThere .........................17
ByAir ..............................17
ByCruiseShip .......................21
BySmallerBoat ......................22
Inter-IslandTravel .....................22
ByAir ..............................22
ByBoat .............................22
(cid:2) GettingReady .........................24
WhentoVisit..........................24
EntryRequirements&Customs ..........25
WhattoPack..........................26
SourcesofInformation ..................28
BahamasTouristOfficesintheUS.......29
BahamasTouristOfficesinCanada......29
Island-SpecificOffices .................30
Travelers’Information,A-Z ..............30
Banking.............................30
p
viii Contents
Climate .............................31
CreditCards.........................32
Currency ............................32
Crime...............................32
DepartureTax .......................32
Dress ...............................32
Driving .............................33
Drugs...............................33
Electricity ...........................34
Embassies...........................34
EmergencyNumbers ..................34
EntryRequirements...................35
Immunizations .......................35
Language............................35
Marriage ............................35
Pets ................................37
Photography .........................37
Postage .............................37
PublicHolidays.......................38
Telephone ...........................38
TimeZone...........................39
Tipping .............................39
TourismHotline ......................40
Water...............................40
Weather.............................40
Websites ............................40
(cid:2) WhileYou’reThere.....................40
Formality.............................40
Language.............................41
Holidays..............................41
Festivals..............................42
GettingAround........................46
ByTaxi .............................46
ByBus..............................46
ByRentalCar........................47
OtherOptions........................47
Shopping .............................48
p
Contents ix
NASSAU&NEWPROVIDENCEISLAND
(cid:2) IslandAttractions......................49
(cid:2) BestPlacestoStay .....................51
Resorts&Hotels.......................52
(cid:2) BestPlacestoEat......................64
(cid:2) SunuptoSundown .....................85
IslandSightseeing......................85
Boating&Sailing ......................90
Golf..................................92
Fishing...............................93
ScubaDiving..........................94
HorsebackRiding ......................96
CityTours ............................96
BicycleTours..........................97
NatureTours..........................97
AerialTours...........................98
ShopTillYouDrop .....................98
(cid:2) AfterDark...........................110
Casinos..............................110
Nightclubs...........................110
Theater..............................111
BahamianShows......................112
Shows&Revues ......................112
ComedyClubs ........................113
(cid:2) NassauA-Z ..........................113
BEYONDNEWPROVIDENCEISLAND
(cid:2) THEABACOS........................119
Location.............................120
IslandsoftheAbacos ..................120
History..............................124
BestPlacestoStay ....................125
BestPlacestoEat.....................128
SunuptoSundown ....................132
IslandSightseeing ...................132
Golf ...............................133
ScubaDiving&Snorkeling ............133