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Grand Bahama holidays
Grand Bahama serves up a slice of good old fashioned island life, alongside all the trimmings modern tourism demands. You’ll find national parks, pretty fishing villages and pristine beaches – as well as a buzzing city with newly developed golf courses, shopping centres and beach resorts. And it’s all within an hour’s travel from Miami, which makes this a favourite spot for Floridian weekenders.
- Flight time
- 12h 45 mins
- From London
- Currency
- B$
- Bahamian dollar
- Time zone
- GMT -4h
Getting to Grand Bahama
The UK has direct flights to Miami and Nassau, where the connecting flight to Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO) takes less than an hour. Other US airports with flights to Grand Bahama include Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Baltimore and Boston. A ferry service also runs from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to the Lucayan Harbour Cruise Facility.
Average weather in Grand Bahama
- Temperature (°C)*
- Rainfall (Inches)*
Holidays in Grand Bahama
Nightlife is brilliantly varied over here: Afternoons on the beach evolve into fish fry’s with drinks and dancing, boatloads of tourists head out for sunset parties on the sea and Count Basie Square in Port Lucaya buzzes with everything from Rake & Scrape and folk music to karaoke. Treasure Bay Casino brings a little bit of Vegas in the Bahamas, with some 400 slot machines and over 20 games tables. The Taino Beach area has an incredible atmosphere, with the Smith’s Point Fish Fry on Wednesday nights and Tony Macaroni’s Jazz on the Beach on a Sunday afternoon. Favourite bars on the Port Lucaya Marketplace include Sparky’s for cheap drinks and good cheer and Neptune’s for DJ’s and dancing.
For a true taste of Grand Bahama life, head down to the Fish Fry at Smith’s Point on a Wednesday – squeeze in a few hours on the beach beforehand, then join in the festivities to celebrate local food and culture (the fried fish is fresh and delicious). Out Da Sea in Freeport is another must where you can hang out with local fisherman and feast on the perfectly prepared catch of the day. The Port Lucaya Marketplace has a whole host of restaurants to try - Cappuchino’s is a favourite for Italian nosh and there’s Zorba’s for Greek food.
Grand Bahama’s shopping rivals anywhere else in the Bahamas, with a mix of traditional markets and high-end duty-free stores. The Port Lucaya Marketplace itself occupies a peninsular outside Freeport, filled with shops, restaurants, and the famous Straw Market, where you can pick up locally made straw creations, jewellery, and knickknacks. There’s also the International Bazaar complex where shops, restaurants, snack bars and beauty salons are divided into different parts of the world, from Africa and India to East Asia and France.
Activities in Grand Bahama
Though Grand Bahama’s newer to the tourism scene than other Bahamian islands, it’s more than made up for lost time by offering dozens of things to do during your stay here. There are three national parks, world-class golf courses and you could probably spend months here and still find new beach and water activities to try.
Watersports
Diving in Grand Bahama
One of Grand Bahama’s biggest diving draws is the chance to dive with dolphins in the wild – there’s a reef a mile or so offshore. Shark feeding trips to Tiger Beach (home to Tiger sharks, Lemon sharks, Nurse sharks and Caribbean reef sharks) are also hugely popular, and hammerheads are often spotted around the Edge of the Ledge site (a sloping continental shelf, covered with corals). Shallow dive sites include the Pillar Coral Castle with its hollow cavern and the pretty Blackbeard’s springs, where you’ll find a small blue hole and shoals of multi-coloured fish. One of our favourites is Littlehale’s Lair – two small coral caves, one of which you can swim through. There are a number of wrecks around the island, like Jose’s Wreck, a 12-metre tugboat, Theo’s Wreck, a 70-metre cement hauler and Sugar Wreck, a sailing ship transporting sugar that sunk in the 1800’s. Inland, Ben’s blue hole in the Lucayan National Park is a gorgeous site to dive amongst stalactites, stalagmites and conch shell fossils.
Surfing in Grand Bahama
The waves don’t really pick up around GB island, so serious surfers might want to head to the Abacos or Eleuthera Island instead. For flat water paddlers, the calmer sea is perfect, with boards to rent by the hour on Taino and Lucayan Beach. We love how the waters are so clear that you can see gazillions of fish swimming under your board. Look out for tours around the mangroves on Grand Bahama’s northern shore, where you can spot sharks, rays, and turtles. Often, they include a visit to one of the island’s blue holes which are incredible.
Windsurfing & kitesurfing in Grand Bahama
Most beaches and hotels have windsurfing equipment to hire, with tutors on hand to help you hone your skills on the water. Kiteboarding is picking up in Bahamas, but last time we checked there weren’t any schools or rental companies on Grand Bahama. If you bring your own gear (having a car helps too) there are several exposed beaches to launch from - Banana Bay is a popular spot near Freeport and the beaches around West End have N/NE and SE winds.
Sailing in Grand Bahama
Home to a number of marinas and ports, boating is one of the most popular ways to reach Grand Bahama Island. Sailing’s a big part of local life – the Grand Bahama Sailing Regatta takes place every year on Taino Beach (usually July), local clubs provide lessons and the Laser racing team compete near and far throughout the year. Boats are available to hire by the hour, with lessons from qualified instructors to get beginners started – Lucaya Beach is a good one for these. Otherwise, hop on day and evening tours with experienced crews at the helm.
Fishing in Grand Bahama
Local fly fish guides (like Bernard Evans) will show you Freeport’s finest for bonefishing – using both wadeable flats and skiffs. There are some terrific spots around East End and McLeans Town as well as on the north and south edges of the island and the Deep Water, Great and Little Sale Cays. Deep sea fishing trips take you to the best spots for a catch - some within a 15-minute boat ride of the Port Lucaya dock – where you can find the likes of mahi mahi, tuna, wahoo, and sailfish. There’s also plenty of opportunity for reef fishing where you can bring home grouper, snapper, and barracuda. The best time of year to fish is between April and September but having said that there are dozens of species in these waters to catch year-round.
Canoeing & kayaking in Grand Bahama
In the Grand Lucayan National Park, you can paddle along Gold Rock Creek between mangroves – passing all kinds of tropical flora and fauna. Another much loved tour is to kayak from the mainland over to Peterson Cay (it takes half an hour or so) and explore the smallest national park in the Bahamas, above and below the water (don’t forget your snorkel). Pelican lake is a good place to spot jellyfish and sea turtles. Tour companies run trips to these locations and more, providing all the necessary equipment and often collecting you from your hotel. You can also rent boats from a number of beaches – like Paradise Cove and Taino – and pootle about on the peaceful waters.
Land activities
Golf in Grand Bahama
The championship Reef Club course in Freeport - designed by Trent Jones Jr. - often ranks among the best in the Bahamas and the top 100 in the world. The links-style course has rolling greens and wide fairways, dotted with challenging bunkers and over half of the 18 holes playing off water. Further inland, the Fortune Hills Golf and Country Club has an excellent nine-hole links course designed by Joe Lee and Dick Wilson, home to the longest par 5 you’ll find in the Bahamas and a testing water hazard on the third hole.
Cycling & mountain biking in Grand Bahama
Activity companies offer bike and motorized bike (a little less legwork) hire, providing maps or tours to show you the best routes on the island. Though there’s a bike lane on Midshipman Road from Lucaya, most of the cycling takes place off the main roads and instead on paths linking neighbourhoods and lining the south coast. We like the rides from Port Lucaya and Sherwood to Fortune Beach, or over to Ben’s cave in the Lucayan National Park. Follow parts - or all - of the route of the Tour de Grand Bahama, which goes along the south coast through McCleans town, via the High Rock Police Station, through Freeport and finishes up at West End.
Walking & hiking in Grand Bahama
There are some gorgeous routes around the Lucayan National Park, taking walkers through mangroves and to caves and beaches. In McLean’s Town, the Crabbing Bay Birding Trail is short, straight path along the coast and through forest, finishing up at Crabbing Bay – where twitchers have spotted dozens of species, both rare, endemic, and migratory (from the West Indian Woodpecker to the Bahama Swallow and Bobolinks). There’s a short trail through the Rand Nature Centre, home to more bird species as well as over a hundred endogenous plants. We love the Fern Gully nature train in Holmes Rock, where common sights include curly tailed lizards and butterflies, and you can explore underground caves.
