One Day On Grand Bahama Island

Caribbean Cruise Travel || Tags: Bahamas, cruise ||

One of the reasons I loved cruising was seeing a few different places in the same trip. One of the downsides to cruising is if you find a place you really love, sadly you’ll be leaving soon. I imagine we’ll find ourselves back on Grand Bahama Island at some point, it was a really lovely island and we had a great day exploring. I’ll share with you some of my tips and tricks, as well as some fun things to do if you only have one day on Grand Bahama Island.

Know Before You Go

The Bahamas has their own currency, the Bahamian Dollar, although it is tied to the US Dollar at a 1:1 ratio. For tourists this means that you can pay for anything you buy in USD. Be aware that you may get Bahamian coins back as change though! Many places in the Bahamas accept credit cards, but be aware that credit card fraud does happen and you may want to pay cash for any purchases.

Cars drive on the left in the Bahamas! One of the reasons you may not want to rent a car during your stay in the Bahamas. Also be careful when you are crossing the road, make sure to look both ways.

English is the official language in the Bahamas, so you should have no trouble communicating.

June through November is hurricane season. There have been a few major hurricanes in recent years that have damaged these islands. Be aware that traveling during hurricane season may mean your itinerary changes to keep you safe!

There is currently a travel advisory for the Bahamas due to high rates of crimes like mugging, fraud and assault. Use common sense when traveling, and keep things like your passport well secured and don’t travel with expensive jewelry or large sums of cash. It is not recommended to walk alone at night and stay aware of your surroundings.

Many businesses have free Wi-Fi so you can keep in touch back home without the roaming charges!

When You Dock In Freeport

If you arrive by cruise ship, the dock area has some shops and restaurants for you to check out. The store that one of my family members bought from stored his purchase for the day so we didn’t have to drag it around all day, which was a nice touch!

If you don’t have any excursions booked, keep in mind there is not much to do right at the dock and nothing within walking distance. You’ll have to either take a cab or book an excursion to really experience the island.

Grand Bahama Island Things To Do

We booked an excursion through Norwegian Cruise Line which took us from the dock area into Freeport and Port Lucaya. All of these things can be done in one day, either on a tour or on your own by taking taxis.

Garden Of The Groves

The Garden of the Groves is a 12 acre botanical garden with walking trails. It was named after Wallace and Georgette Groves who were instrumental in the development of Port Lucaya. The gardens feature many native plants and birds, as well as a church and a small souvenir market and cafe. We took the guided tour that walked us around the gardens. Discussing plants and their uses in medicine, and the local history of the area. We had lunch in the cafe, and I have to recommend the local Goombay punch to drink, a locally made soda.

Garden of the Groves is open 7 days a week 9am-4pm and costs $17 for adults and $12 for children 4-11 if not entering as part of an organized tour from a cruise ship.

Port Lucaya Marketplace

The Port Lucaya Marketplace is a large open air shopping and dining facility. It has many shops operated by locals selling souvenirs, as well as stores like Pandora, and Harley-Davidson. There are many jewelry and perfume stores where you may buy items duty free to bring back home, just be aware of the limits for bringing items back to your country! If you buy alcohol to bring back home, when you head back to your cruise ship they will store your purchase until debarkation on the final day of your cruise, as drinking your own alcohol on board is not allowed.

We always like looking at things that are handmade by locals, and one of our traditions while traveling is bringing home a Christmas ornament to remember our trip. We bought from Coconut Treasures, small store in the craft market section operated by local artist Gina Marche. Gina was such a joy to talk to and described what all her items were made from. We selected a seashell Christmas ornament that she made.

Lucaya Beach

A short walk from Port Lucaya Marketplace you can find Lucaya beach! If you walk toward the police station on Seahorse Road, you will then head down Seahorse Lane (which is not the same as Seahorse Ln, FYI!) It is more of a walking path/service road than an actual road. Here’s a map for you!

Once you arrive at the beach there will likely be locals offering you an umbrella or chairs for a fee. There were also jet-skis for rent but be aware that watersports are not well regulated in the Bahamas and it may be dangerous if you aren’t familiar with driving one.

The beach itself is beautiful, the sand is powdery and the water is warm and crystal clear. When you arrive I recommend heading to the left, because the main area was crowded. This beach used to be part of the Memories Grand Bahama resort, which was unfortunately damaged during a hurricane and never repaired.

Final Thoughts

Visiting Freeport on Grand Bahama for one day simply isn’t enough to see all the island has to offer, but you can get a good taste of it! There are many one day cruises from Miami to Grand Bahama, and Grand Bahama is also a common stop on many longer cruises. Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any must dos on Grand Bahama Island.

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