Regions
Cities
Understand
The 6 eco-systems of Grand Bahama Island are:
Shop
Bahamas Dollars (BSD) are equal in value to the American Dollar. American currency is accepted (sometimes even preferred) everywhere.
Sales tax does not exist in the Bahamas. National revenue is collected mainly through local import tariffs.
Duty free items such as liquor, perfume, and jewellery often surprise tourists for being so inexpensive. It is not uncommon, for example, to find a bottle of your favourite perfume for less than half of what you could expect to pay back home. This is the advantage and convenience of duty free shopping.
Get around
Taxis are typically waiting for visitors at the airport and sea port. They are also easily summoned by phone. Please be aware that there is NO such thing as a "service fee" or "bag handling fee," as some unscrupulous taxi drivers insist. You only pay the fare, and a tip if appropriate.
Public transport on the island consists mainly of minivans that ferry locals to and fro. It's unclear whether these are government run or privately owned.
Hotels often have their own shuttle services to various points of interest around the island.
Car, motorcycle, and buggy rentals are readily available.
See
Do
Sleep
Eat
Grand Bahama offers a wide variety of international cuisines for all tastes. The local Bahamian cuisine consists mainly of seafood, poultry, or pork, typically fried, steamed, or curried, with various kinds of rice and salads. Spices are used in abundance. Finding authentic, quality Bahamian food in touristic areas can be rather hit-or-miss, so asking friendly locals their personal recommendations will go a long way to ensuring an experience your taste buds won't forget.
Conch (a type of large sea mollusk, pronounced 'kongk') is a quintessentially Bahamian food served in various forms. Island favourites include: conch salad, infused with citrus and served cold; cracked conch, tenderized and lightly batter-fried; and conch fritters, small balls of deep-fried batter mixed with minced conch and served with dipping sauce.
Tipping is generally not included on bills. The standard 15% is appreciated.
Fish fries are like the Bahamian version of a neighbourhood barbecue, serving fried fish with various side dishes. Some fish fries cater specifically to tourists, but these are generally grossly overpriced ($50+, compared to local-run fish fries which cost less than $10 per plate) and the food pales in comparison to those run by locals, for locals.
The Port Lucaya area has a wide array of dining experiences for all budgets, at all times of the day. This is not a complete listing of restaurants in the area, but the overall best options. Prices reflect the expected apparel. In alphabetical order:
Stay safe
The Bahamas, though well known for its festive culture and friendly people, does have a high crime rate amongst its people that reflects severe social disparities. Areas that cater to tourists are heavily policed and kept exceptionally safe, but foreigners should not venture outside these areas alone. (A desolate beach at night is incredibly romantic, but be sure to tell the security guard at your hotel where you are going, just to be safe.)
Bahamian culture is very religious, and subsequently intensely homophobic. Public displays of affection between same-sex couples are frowned upon, typically seen as an affront to local values, and may be met with hostility. Please exercise modesty in public areas.
While the idea of being swept off one's feet by a good-looking local may sound romantic to some, serious caution is advised. Local men in particular often frequent the beaches near hotels, wooing foreign women as a hobby. It is imperative that safe sex be practiced. The Bahamas as a nation holds the third-highest rate of HIV and AIDS infection in the world.
Overview
Grand Bahama is one of the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, and the closest major island to the United States, lying just 55 mi (90 km) off the coast of the state of Florida. Grand Bahama is the fourth largest island in the Bahama island chain of approximately 700 islands. The island is approximately 96 miles long west to east and 17 miles at its widest point north to south.
History
The island's earliest known inhabitants were the Stone Age hunter-gatherer Siboney Indians, of whom little evidence remains apart from artifacts such as ornamental shells or jewellery. These primitive people eventually disappeared to be replaced by the Taino Arawaks from South America, who travelling in dugout canoes eventually colonized most of the Caribbean. The Arawak communities on Grand Bahama, who became known as Lucayans (a name that lives on in the popular tourist town of Port Lucaya) were believed to have advanced and well-organized social and political structures, and there were estimated to be approximately 4,000 on Grand Bahama at the time of the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in 1492. This arrival, and the subsequent claim of the island by Spain shortly after, eventually caused the Lucayans to disappear from Grand Bahama entirely, whether dying through the spreading of European diseases, through the frequent European genocides, or being captured as slaves (usually to mine for gold in the larger Caribbean islands of Hispaniola or Cuba, or to dive for pearls in Trinidad). The disappearance of the Lucayans was rapid, and it is probably for this reason little is known beyond rough estimates about their society. However, in sites such as the Lucayan National Park and Dead Man's Reef there have been numerous artifacts discovered including animal bones, pottery shards, shell beads and evidence of a complex burial system.
The Spanish gave the island the name Gran Bajamar, meaning "Great Shallows", and what the eventual name of the Bahamas islands as a whole is derived from. Grand Bahama's existence for almost two centuries was largely governed by the nature of these "great shallows" - the coral reefs surrounding the island were treacherous, and repelled its Spanish owners (who largely left it alone apart from for infrequent en-route stops by ships for provisions) while attracting pirates, who would lure ships onto the reefs where they would run aground and be plundered. The Spaniards took little interest in the island after enslaving the native Lucayan inhabitants, and the islands were claimed by Great Britain in 1670. Piracy continued to thrive for at least half a century after the British takeover, though the problem was eventually brought under control. Grand Bahama was to remain relatively quiet until the mid-nineteenth century, with only around 200-400 regular inhabitants in the capital, West End.
In 1834, the towns of Pinder’s Point, Russell Town and Williams Town were established by former Bahamian slaves after the abolition of slavery in the British empire. The island was still little developed until a brief boom in economic activity during the American Civil War, when it was a center for blockade runners smuggling goods (mostly weaponry, sugar and cotton) to the Confederacy. A second brief smuggling boom occurred during the years of prohibition in the USA.
By the middle of the 20th century, Grand Bahama's population numbered around 500 and the island was one of the least developed of the Bahamas islands. However the island finally gained a stable source of income when in 1955 a Virginian financier named Wallace Groves began redevelopment with the Bahamian government to build the city of Freeport under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and create the Grand Bahama Port Authority Soon after, the ambitious Edward St. George, with the financial help of Sir Jack Hayward, took the company to new frontiers. Seeing the success of Cuba as a tourist destination for wealthy Americans, St. George was eager to develop Grand Bahama in a similar vein. The city grew rapidly, with St. George adding a harbour, an airport (the largest privately owned airport in the world) soon after the city was founded, and adding the tourist center of Port Lucaya in 1962. Grand Bahama became the second most populous island in the Bahamas (over 50,000 in 2004), and the tourists that it attracts are now the mainstay of the island's economy. Grand Bahama's tourism sector is complemented by an oil bunkering facility owned by the Venezuelan Government and a transhipment port part owned by Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
Important Cities
Lucaya is an important tourist destination on Grand Bahama Island. It contains several big hotels and beautiful beaches. Count Basie Square provides regular live entertainment targeted at cruise ship patrons. Fishing, snorkeling, sight seeing, and "booze cruise" trips leave from Bell Channel Harbour on a daily basis.
Freeport is the major city of Grand Bahama Island. As mentioned above, it holds the commercial ship harbour and the main (small but modern and clean) airport. Freeport has many good shops and roads, and is very clean. Foreign investors are just now waking up to the large number of pristine ocean and canal front properties that exist in the Freeport area. As of April 2007, premium waterfront lots can be found for as little as 20% of their counterparts on the Florida coast. Construction in the Freeport area is picking up quickly as a result. An attractive feature of Freeport property is that it's covered by the Hawksbill Creek agreement. Under this agreeement, personal real estate is tax free until 2015. Major real estate brokers are HG Christieand James Sarles. Note that there is no Multiple Listing Service for Grand Bahama and the web sites can be very out of date.
West End is officially the capital of Grand Bahama, though Freeport is believed by many to be. It's the oldest city and western most settlement on the island. In the 1950's it achieved fame as the home of the Jack Tar marina and club. However, over the years that marina fell into disrepair and the whole city of West End was of little economic import to Grand Bahama. In the first few years of 2003, the marina was bought out by a group which renamed it to Old Bahama Bay. Significant rennovations followed including complete refurbishment of the docks, many new canals cut for luxury home sites, luxury condos built, and restaurants built. In March of 2007, the Ginn group took over operations of Old Bahama Bay. Ginn is investing heavily in the West End area, having purchased 2000 acres which it wil turn into a luxury resort, marina, and home sites at a cost of 5 billion USD. The project is called Ginn Sur Mer.
McLeans Town is the eastern most settlement and a 30 minute ferry ride from the northernmost settlement of the Island of Abaco.
