Hosting Visitors in Bahamas - Got Recommendations?

[FeistyPixie]

Ahoy fellow cruisers,


Pixie here aboard a Voyage 430 catamaran. Made it to the Bahamas New Years Day and slowly beep boppin our way to the Exumas. Current location: Berry Islands.

Next month some family's hoping to fly in and visit. And since it's my crew, my captain's charged me with figuring out where we're going to meet them. This is my first time cruising the Bahamas, so thought I'd ask for some help.



Anybody have some advice on beautiful places to visit in Exumas ish area for ~1 week??? They require a place stay on land, but want it to be easy for us to come ashore/they come aboard for a day sail/etc..


The parameters:

• We work remotely, so Georgetown is the furthest South we'd realistically get in that time frame.
• Not interested in Nassau - too big for us.
• Ideally want to be in the Exumas, but open to other suggestions.

Things the visitors enjoy: fishing, cooking said fish ��, snorkeling, scuba diving, paddle boarding, kayaking, sipping cocktails on a beach, day adventures to beautiful places.



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So far, Staniel Cay and surrounding areas look interesting. Have heard Staniel is a beautiful spot but lots of super yachts with way too many drunken jet skis zipping around. Visitors probably won't mind the jet skis/super yachts, and we can probably deal with that for a week.

Sandals resort and marina halfway between Staniel and Georgetown has also been recommended.


Appreciate any advise in advance!!!!


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EDIT: if I posted this in the wrong place, apologies. Will happily move

[chubby]

most of the exumas is a seapark..and i believe it has 360 islands.

meaning, it is rather vast and it IS destination.. and the best spots often involve finding your own 'solitude'
... so you just kinda 'go' there and find your place. (i would not make a rushed 7 day itinerary)


how would they arrive?
commercial?...or would it be a charter/private flight?


if commercial.. and NAS is a no go.. then i'd look no further than GGT airport in georgetown. (no reason to make it more complicated...just meet your guests/crew there)
Staniel Cay is popular and would be relatively easy access to you


if flying private/chartering

...i believe rudder cut, staniel Cay are public use airports..black point too(maybe) if flying private/chartering.

..and more than a few private gravel airstrips(including norman cay) throughout the exumas)

[chris mac]

The two easiest, in my opinion, are staniel cay or Georgetown. If you choose Georgetown you can also stage the boat at the top of great exuma near Baraterra. It's an easy taxi from the airport or Georgetown and is already on the bank side, so easy to explore some smaller islands.
Anywhere in the exumas (excluding the park) has easy access to deep sea fishing. Elizabeth harbour is a no fishing zone, so any spear fishing would be much easier by Baraterra or staniel cay

[cr180]

Take a look at Black Point just south of Staniel Cay. Could fly Water Maker Air to Staniel. You could tough it out amongst the Mega Yachts at Big Majors Spot for a day to pick them up. Nice accommodations at Black Point, but out island, not glitzy.

By the way, true for all of central Exumas, west wind is an issue. So weather dependent. Can ride the cold fronts at Black Point. Worse case, may need your guests to get a ride from Staniel to Black Point. The residents at Black Point commute to Staniel daily.

[Cheechako]

If staying ashore, I would say Georgetown is a good spot. Airport and accomodations. But there is some limit on where to go from there and back in a week. It can be a bit rough going back toward Nassau to the islands in between for guests for a one week deal.

But around G town is great. Some dont realize that the snorkeling outside Stocking and especially Elizabeth Island is superb. I used to hunt there almost daily.
You could jaunt out to Conception which a very cool also, but your guests would have to stay over on the boat a night or two.
A day trip out past Williamstown to Hog Cay at the end of the island string is magic. You'll be surrounded by big spotted rays! (there are 3 local spots called Hog Cay though!)

[Sparx]

My recommendation would be to have your guests fly into Georgetown airport and meet them in Georgetown harbor or Barraterra. As Chris Mac suggests.

One could spend a week exploring around Georgetown easily.

Barraterra gives access to sone prime locations if you want to be isolated. We have in the past hired a taxi for the day, meeting them in Barraterra and hitting all the provisioning places in Georgetown, then driving right by the airport on the way. You could use this to provision and pick up guests, all in one go.

[Captain Bill]

If they need to stay on land I would suggest Cape Santa Maria resort on long Island. Long Island has lots to see, and there is great diving/snorkeling right off of the resort. Internet was fine last time I was there through BTC. Calabash bay is right off of the resort and is a great anchorage in all but a west wind. There is wonderful medium depth diving just a couple of miles south of there with depths of 30-80ft at the bottom and some coral coming to within 10 feet of the surface. The Anchorage is protected by reefs that are not very interesting but stop any big stuff from getting into the bay. It's only about a half day sail from Georgetown. You can rent a car and explore blue holes, caves, and much more on Long Island. They can fly into Georgetown and sail over with you or they can fly directly to long Island, though if coming from the States they would have to change planes in Nassau. If they go directly to Long Island they can take a taxi to the resort or rent a car. If Cape Santa Maria is full there is also Stella Maris inn, but it is not as convenient for meeting you. If you are interested I can give you some dive site coordinates in the vicinity of Calabash bay.

[FabioC]

To meet your guests, Staniel Cay seems the best spot: easy access for your guests to fly there; lots of very beautiful cays and attractions close-by (pigs, snorkeling, beaches,...), easy and spacious anchorage, and you can even get a slip at the marina, if so inclined; your guests can even lodge on land, if they prefer, and rent boats by the hour right there...
Yes, lots of super yachts in the Exumas, but there are so many Cays for boats to choose from that it rarely gets "crowded". Even Staniel Cay, which is where a lot of boats stop because it has the yacht club, fuel dock, provisioning, etc., it is not the definition of "crowded" by any means...