By Saul Schwartz
In March, we took a three-hour non-stop flight from Washington National to Nassau. This was the first time and my wife Fern, and I had been on New Providence Island, in the Bahamas. Our first trip to Nassau was in celebration of my birthday.
Transport: The best part of our arrival was the easy transport from the airport to our hotel on Welcome Pickups (arranged in advance, online). Our driver Philip met us right outside of the airport arrivals area. He was right on time even though our flight was three hours late! Philip provided us with restaurant suggestions and some great stories of his life in Nassau. The worst part of our arrival was the very long lines to get through immigration and customs at Lynden Pindling airport, even though we had filled out one form online in advance. We were not interested in renting a car, since driving is on the left side of the road. Indeed, walking across the roads required some extra care since the cars came at as from a different direction than we were used to in the U.S.
Lodging: The Margaritaville Beach Resort is located at 2 West Bay Street. In the heart of Nassau. This hotel complex has its own private beach, along with a very large pool area (including a water park/lazy river). Our fifth-floor room was spacious, including a small balcony overlooking the cruise harbor and the white sand beach. The gym had a nice variety of cardio equipment, machines, and weights. Many dining options were right on site. We booked our stay through the Travel Zoo website.
Dining:
Athena Café: In downtown Nassau, this family-owned Greek restaurant is located on Bay Street at Charotte Street. The second-floor restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating. We enjoyed sitting outside and watching the crowds go by from the cruise dock, nearby. The hummus with pita and olives was very tasty. The side dish of mixed grilled vegetables was prepared in a very tasty olive oil. The café is only open for breakfast and lunch.
Graycliff Restaurant – The only five-star restaurant in Nassau is very elegant. A meal at this formal hillside mansion is a special experience. Waiters wear white tuxedos and provide exceptional service. Decorations are very British. The restaurant is located on West Hill Street, as part of the Graycliff Hotel complex. We started with a tasty quinoa salad with lettuce and bread. Then we dined on the delicious cauliflower vegetable entrée. A casual elegant dress code is suggested. Reservations are usually needed. It was no surprise that the tea was exceptional since the restaurant offers a high British tea.
The Vacation Café inside Margaritaville exceeded our expectations. The staff was friendly and willing to adjust menu items. We enjoyed the salad with salmon and wheat bread. Portions were generous.
Frank and Lola’s Italian restaurant has great views on the second floor of Margaritaville. The pizzas were very tasty.
Joe Merchants: Inside Margaritaville, this small coffee shop had many grab and go options and baked goods, along with tea and coffee choices.
Starbucks – The usual tea and coffee options are offered. The second floor outside seating provides another nice view for watching people going by on Bay Street.
Attractions:
Government House – The official home of the Governor is located on Duke Street, just off George Street. Built in colonial days, the beautiful Georgian Colonial architecture is worth a look! The pink and white conch colors are very distinctive. No tours are available for the interior. The Bahamas governor is the personal representative of the Queen.
Bay Street – The bustling main street in Nassau (downtown) is full of shops and restaurants. The main part of Bay Street was a short walk from our hotel. Since Nassau is one of the world’s busiest cruise ports, Bay Street gets exceptionally crowded during the days when the cruise passengers disembark. At night, when the cruises depart, many of the stores are closed and the streets are quiet.
Parliament Square – On Bay Street, we walked by the government buildings that house the Supreme Court, the Senate and the House of Assembly. Nassau is the seat of the national government of the Bahamas. These attractive pink colonial buildings were constructed In the late eighteenth century. The square is dominated by a large Queen Victoria statue, from 1905. No tours are available for the interiors of the government buildings.
Graycliff Chocolate Factory – Located on West Hil Street, this experience is part of the Graycliff Hotel complex. The boutique chocolate experience included making our own dark chocolate bars in the chocolate classroom. The tour and experience lasted a little more than one hour. The chocolate making tour must be reserved online in advance. Normally there are three tours daily. The chocolate store here was ranked as the fifth best in the world by Fodor’s. The cost of the experience was $65 per adult.
Queen’s Staircase – We hiked uphill from the downtown to the iconic steps at the top of Elizabeth Avenue Hill, south of Shirley Street. From the bottom, we could see a cascading waterfall to the side of the steps. This is a very popular tourist site, with crowds going up and down the steps. The cliffs were carved out of limestone around 1830. The staircase was named to honor Queen Victoria. Originally there were 66 steps but due to erosion and paving, there are now 64 steps. At the bottom, we walked back to Bay Street.
Straw Market – On the middle of Bay Street, this covered market features handmade crafts and souvenirs. Prices are negotiable here. The vendors can be aggressive.
Christ Church Cathedral – Downtown, this church towers above George and King Streets. The stained-glass windows are very colorful. The church, built in 1837, is a peaceful break from the throngs nearby. A church member was playing an organ during our brief visit.
Ten Tips:
The U.S. Dollar is widely accepted. The Bahamas dollar is equal to one U.S. dollar. When we paid in U.S. dollars, we did get change in Bahamas currency.
The electrical outlets are the same as in the United States. No converter is needed.
Fodor’s Bahamas was a useful guidebook, even though it is a little outdated.
There are not true grocery supermarkets in downtown Nassau. The very small grocery stores downtown had very limited options.
The pleasant March temperatures were in the seventy-to-eighty-degree range, but occasionally it was breezy.
Tourism is the number one industry in the Bahamas, but our experience with guides with mixed. Our walking tour through Viator was cancelled at the last minute. I contacted the official people-to-people experience through the Bahamas tourism website. but they never responded back.
During the days, the downtown Nassau area was extremely crowded with tourists. After the cruise ships leave at around 6 p.m., much of the downtown area shuts down and is very quiet. We avoided walking around after dark.
The sidewalks are somewhat uneven and chippy. Some streets lack sidewalks, so take care to walk in the street.
Restaurants and hotels are on the expensive side! Almost all food is imported.
Four days is enough to relax by the beach or pool and visit all Nassau’s attractions. If we stayed longer, we would have gone to other islands of the Bahamas.
Returning home – Once again, Welcome Pickups made our transport to the airport in Nassau seamless and easy.
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