Question 1

Grand Bahama on Your Own

Accepted Answer

A day on Grand Bahama without a tour starts with a taxi from the harbor, because the shops, beaches and parks are spread out. Port Lucaya and its beaches make one plan, and Lucayan National Park is the nature-focused alternative. Port Lucaya: The Port Lucaya Marketplace, overlooking the Bell Channel Bay marina, is the main shopping and dining area for visitors, with duty-free shops and live music. Lucayan National Park: The park protects one of the longest underwater limestone cave systems in the world, with one cave entrance reached by stairs, a wooden bridge over a mangrove swamp and Gold Rock Beach. Access to the caves is seasonal, because bats use them. Do not leave belongings unattended there, as thefts have happened. Nature: The Rand Nature Centre, outside downtown Freeport, was the island's first nature education center. Staying safe: Violent crime and armed robbery have occurred in tourist areas on Grand Bahama as well as residential ones, so do not walk outside the main tourist areas and beaches, especially alone. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

Taxis wait at the port and at the main tourist stops on Grand Bahama, and fares are agreed before you set off. Local minivans are cheap, but they often wait until they are full before they leave. Cars, motorcycles and buggies can be rented, but roads are driven on the left and local drivers can be aggressive. Many maps show roads from Freeport's original development plan that were never finished, so follow road signs where they exist.

Question 3

Food and Drink

Accepted Answer

Bahamian cooking centers on seafood, poultry and pork, fried, steamed or curried, with rice and salads. Conch, a large sea mollusk, is the dish to try, and at a fish fry the fried fish comes with a choice of side dishes. Conch comes three common ways: cold in a citrus salad, pounded tender and fried in a light batter as cracked conch, or minced into fritters with a dip. Fish fries aimed at tourists cost much more than neighborhood ones, and the most popular on the island is held on Taino Beach. Sands beer is brewed on Grand Bahama, Kalik is another Bahamian beer, and Goombay Punch is a sweet pineapple soda.

Question 4

Tipping and Currency

Accepted Answer

The Bahamian dollar is tied to the US dollar at one to one, and US dollars are accepted everywhere at par. Restaurants and bars may add a service charge to the bill, so check before you tip. Restaurants and bars: Where a service charge has been added, any extra tip is optional.

Question 5

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Grand Bahama was named Bahama by its first people, the Lucayans, whom the Spanish enslaved, and it was still one of the least developed islands of the Bahamas in the mid-20th century. The island's modern story began in 1955, when an agreement with the government created the free trade zone around which Freeport grew. The Lucayans: The island's first people called it Bahama, and the Spanish enslaved them. The reefs then kept the Spanish away, apart from occasional stops for supplies, but drew pirates, who lured ships onto them to plunder. 1670: Charles II of England granted the Bahamas to the eight Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas. 1828: Grand Bahama was still almost unpopulated. Prohibition: In the years of US Prohibition, West End was a waystation for liquor smuggled into the United States. 1950: The British firm Butlin's opened a resort and airport at West End, ran it for a single season and ran out of money. 1955: Under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the Virginia financier Wallace Groves received a large land grant to build Freeport, and the Grand Bahama Port Authority was created to run the free trade zone. 1962 to 2004: Port Lucaya opened as the island's tourist center in 1962, and the population grew to more than 50,000. 1982: Lucayan National Park was established, protecting a site where a new class of crustaceans, the remipedes, had been discovered in 1979. 2004 and 2016: Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne struck in 2004 and Matthew in 2016, and the older International Bazaar shopping area closed during the long recovery. 2019: Hurricane Dorian struck on 1 September as a Category 5 storm and stalled over the island, and nearly half of its homes were damaged or destroyed.

Question 6

Grand Bahama with Children

Accepted Answer

With children, plan a beach and nature day: a cave entrance, a wooden bridge over the mangroves and a beach in the national park, or the nature center outside Freeport and an afternoon by the water. Plan around a taxi each way. Younger children: Gold Rock Beach in Lucayan National Park has white sand and benches for a picnic, and the wooden bridge over the mangroves is an easy walk. School age: The cave entrance at Lucayan National Park is reached by stairs, and the park is a good place to talk about the underwater cave system beneath it. The Rand Nature Centre was set up to teach about the island's habitats. Teenagers: Snorkeling and diving trips visit the island's reefs, wrecks and limestone caverns. Never go into water that has been baited to attract marine life, which raises the risk from sharks. In the water: Do not swim at dusk or at night, when shark attacks are more likely, and watch for jet skis, which do not always respect the buoys that mark swimming areas.

Question 7

Beaches

Accepted Answer

The whole south side of Grand Bahama is beach, while the north side is mostly mangroves and swamp. Some of the more popular beaches are near Lucaya, and the farther you travel, the fewer other visitors you meet. Beaches along the south shore include Taino Beach, Xanadu Beach, Williams Town Beach and Gold Rock Beach. Gold Rock Beach is in Lucayan National Park. Peterson Cay, a small island off the south shore, is a national park reached only by boat, and taking coral or shells there is forbidden.

Grand Bahama Island

Good to know

Arriving at Freeport Harbour