Bahamas!
Overview
When to go
Events
Money & Costs
Getting there & around
Search out the backwater quays or sun bake with the terrifically tanned.
The Bahamas has successfully promoted itself as a destination for US jetsetters, and a lot of it is Americanised. Yet there are still opportunities among its 700 islands and 2500 cays to disappear into a mangrove forest, explore a coral reef and escape the high-rise hotels and package-tour madness.
The 18th-century Privateers' Republic has become a modern banker's paradise, at least on New Providence and Grand Bahama. On the other islands - once known as the Out Islands but now euphemistically called the Family Islands - the atmosphere is more truly West Indian.
The Bahamas is a year-round destination. Constant trade breezes ensure pleasant temperatures, so unless you're visiting the southern isles, which get infernally hot in summer (June to August), weather isn't a major factor in determining when to go. Climate-wise, the best time to come is the warm, breezy summer, when the water is so warm you can linger in it for hours. Mid-winter temperatures in the northerly and westerly isles can be surprisingly cool. On the plus side, there are less mosquitos. In summer, the rainy season extends from May to November, when hurricanes are a slim possibility. The so-called 'peak season' runs from mid-December to mid-April, when hotel prices are highest and some hotels are booked solid, especially around Christmas and Easter.
Weather
Lasting from May to October, the wet season in the Bahamas contains the hottest months of the year and, as the rainfall is quite low (by Caribbean standards) this low-season is a good time to visit. If you're not partial to hot-and-sticky then try March to April and November to December, when the maximum temperature usually sits just below 30°C (86°F). Occasionally cold North American winds sweep down on the Bahamas during winter and spring.
Junkanoo , the nation's most famous festival, has been referred to as 'the centerpiece of Bahamian culture'. The event is hosted at various venues around Christmas and New Year, when streets and settlements resound with cowbells, whistles and goatskin goombay drums, drawing in thousands of foreign visitors. Mostly it's a big blow out for the locals. The main festivity begins before sunrise on Bay St in Nassau on 26 December (Boxing Day) and as early as 03:00 on other islands. Throughout the islands locals and tourists party the night away. Nassau also host a mid-year Junkanoo in June.
The Caribbean Muzik Fest is a week-long jam in late May or early June with reggae, soca, junkanoo and dance hall under the same billing, featuring the best of the Caribbean's musical talent. Pomp and ceremony occur quarterly in Rawson Square in downtown Nassau, with the opening of the Supreme Court. It features the Royal Bahamas Police Band.
Public HolidaysJanuary 1 - New Year's DayEaster Holidays - Good Friday & Easter Monday;7 weeks after Easter - Whit MondayFirst Friday in June - Labour DayJuly 10 - Independence DayFirst Monday in August - Emancipation DayOctober 12 - Discovery DayDecember 25 - Christmas DayDecember 26 - Boxing Day
If you're looking for luxury you'll find it in the Bahamas - but you'll have to pay around US$200 a day or more to experience it, depending on your taste for Cuban cigars and duty-free gemstones. Simply put, the Bahamas are very expensive. If you're on a mid-range budget, expect to spend between USD100 and USD250 a day, depending on how much island-hopping you get up to.
The Bahamas is a challenge for the budget-conscious: even hardcore budget travellers will need at least USD90 a day, with the majority of that going to accommodation. Remember that accommodation costs drop between 20% and 60% in the winter, making it a great time to explore the islands without losing your shirt.
The Bahamian dollar is on par with the US dollar and both are used interchangeably. European currencies are usually frowned upon and you'll have to exchange for US or Bahamian dollars. US travellers cheques are acceptable, except in the remote Family Islands; traveller's checks in other currencies are generally only accepted by banks. Note that some hotels, restaurants and exchange bureaus charge a hefty fee for cashing travellers cheques. You can use major credit cards throughout the islands. There are ATMs in the leading tourist centres.
Tipping is expected; the generally accepted rule in restaurants is 15% to 20%. Many hotels and restaurants automatically add a service charge (usually 15%) to cover gratuities. There is no need to offer additional tips unless you believe you have received exceptional service. Several taxes levied on your hotel stay can add an annoying 20% or more to your bill. Check before booking if the price you're quoted includes all taxes.
Getting There
The Bahamas is well served by plane from north America. Its proximity to Florida means relatively inexpensive flights run regularly from Miami, Ft Lauderdale and Orlando, as well as other East Coast gateways like New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Boston and Washington DC. Bahamasair, the national airline, flies between Miami and Nassau and Freeport; West Palm Beach, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale and Nassau; and West Palm Beach and Marsh Harbour. Air Canada flies between Nassau and Toronto and Montreal. British Airways flies directly between London and Nassau or Freeport. American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Virgin Atlantic connect the UK and The Bahamas via Miami, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
From within the Caribbean, Air Jamaica flies four times weekly between Nassau and Montego Bay. Cubana has flights between Havana and Nassau. Travellers pay a US$15.00 departure tax when leaving The Bahamas US$18.00 from Freeport).
The Bahamas is by far the most popular port-of-call in the Caribbean for cruise ships; they anchor at Nassau and Freeport. The sheltered waters of the 1200km (750mi) archipelago attract scores of yachties each year. There are ports of entry on every island.
The Bahamas has six international airports, but the bulk of flights land at the two major hubs: Nassau International Airport and Freeport International Airport. Some flights also land at Marsh Harbour (Abacos), North Eleuthera and Governor's Harbour (Eleuthera), and George Town (Exumas). Private planes and charters fly throughout the islands. Even on the more remote Out Islands, a taxi usually shows up to meet incoming flights (if not, someone at the airport will radio for a taxi on your behalf).
Getting Around
Travelling by bus will cost a bomb, except for Nassau and Freeport, where private 'jitneys' (minibuses) operate within the city (but not to the airport), and there is no public transport on any of the Family Islands. This leaves car rental as the best transportation option. Several major international car rental companies have outlets in Nassau and Freeport, supplemented by small local firms. On the Family Islands, there are few established agencies. Although the minimum age to obtain a driver's license in The Bahamas is 17, renters must be 21 (some companies only rent to those 25 or older). You can drive on your foreign license for up to three months; an International Driver's License, required for longer stays, can be obtained from the Road Traffic Department in Nassau or the AAA office in the USA or UK. Remember to drive on the left. Other transportation rental options include motorcycles, scooters and bicycles (usually only one gear), which are available primarily in Freeport and Nassau.
There's no shortage of taxis in Nassau and Freeport, where they can be hailed on the streets. Taxis are also the main local transportation on the Family Islands, though you'll need to summon one by radio or telephone.
Intra-island flights offer the only quick and convenient way to travel between islands. Bahamasair serves Grand Bahamas and the larger Out Islands. The schedules change frequently and at short notice (no attempt is made to notify passengers with advance reservations of schedule changes). The airline operates on a hub-and-spoke system, to and from Nassau. Thus, if you want to fly between adjacent islands, such as Cat Island and Long Island, you'll have to return to Nassau. If you plan on a lot of island-hopping, you begin to feel like a yo-yo. Worse, you may need to stay overnight in Nassau between flights. You can also charter a small aircraft - which, if you plan to do a lot of island hopping and can get a few people together, is cost effective and time saving.
Inter-island ferries are not as ubiquitous as you may imagine, but there are a few. Water taxis, for example, ply between Nassau and Paradise Island. Bahamas FastFerries is the only high-speed ferry in the islands; it links Nassau, Andros, Abacos, Eleuthera and the Exumas. Government-run ferries also link islands that are a short distance apart, such as North and South Bimini; Mangrove Cay and South Andros; and Crooked and Acklins Islands. Mail boats leave Potter's Cay Dock in Nassau, usually on twice-weekly trips, serving all the inhabited islands under government contract. Marinas are strewn about the islands like confetti at a wedding, and yachts for hire are easy to find.
History
Pre-20th-Century History
The original inhabitants of The Bahamas were the Lucayans, a tribe of the Arawak Indian group, who arrived near the turn of the 9th century. The peaceful Lucayans lived primarily off the sea, fishing and harvesting shellfish, conch, lobster and molluscs. Christopher Columbus planted the Spanish flag on San Salvador upon his first landfall in the Americas in 1492. Three years later, Spanish colonialists established the first settlement in the archipelago, which served as a terminus for Lucayan Indians enslaved by the Spaniards for shipment to Hispaniola (the island shared by Dominican Republic and Haiti). Within 25 years, the entire Lucayan population of 50,000 was gone, and the Spanish eventually abandoned the settlement.
After Spaniard Juan Ponce de Léon sailed through the archipelago on his way to North America in 1513, other Spanish galleons, laden with treasure from the empires of Central and South America, passed through the reef-encrusted Bahamas bound for Spain. Many foundered, and the waters of the archipelago were littered with wrecks. Tales of treasure lured pirates, and they swarmed the Bahamian islands, using them as hideaways and bases. For the most part, the islands remained unsettled and unclaimed until over a century later, when King Charles I of England granted them to his attorney general. British-sponsored privateers patrolled the waters in and around the Bahamas, turning the main settlement of Charles Town into Buccaneer Central. After the town was destroyed by a joint French and Spanish fleet in 1703, the pirates proclaimed a 'Privateer's Republic' without laws or government, and Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard - made himself their magistrate. This lasted until 1714, when Britain signed the Treaty of Utrecht, which outlawed pirates. For the next century, pirates plundered ships of all nations and raided towns and plantations both in the Caribbean and the Carolinas. The crown's appointed governor (himself a former privateer) eventually prevailed, proclaiming, in words that became the nation's motto: Expulsis Piratis - Restituta Commercia ('Pirates Expelled - Commerce Restored'). With the pirates went the islands' main source of income, and those who remained scraped by trapping turtles, farming salt and, most importantly, 'wrecking' or salvaging shipwrecks.
After America's Revolutionary War, English Loyalists began washing up in the Bahamas by the thousands, tripling the population in three years and introducing cotton and slaves. The land proved unsuitable for growing cotton and most of the farms failed within a few years. When the Crown outlawed the slave trade in 1807, the Royal Navy began intercepting ships and depositing freed slaves in the Bahamas. Many Loyalists left after emancipation, often bequeathing their lands to their former slaves, who eked out a living from fishing and subsistence farming. Full equality and political rights, however, proved more elusive, for the post-slavery era was marked by the rule of an elite minority of whites over an under-represented black majority.
Modern History
For most of the 19th century, the economy muddled along on subsistence agriculture, fishing, wrecking, smuggling and sponging. But the islands' ticket out of poverty began to materialise when a new class of rich Americans began spending money on health-inducing vacations in balmy climes. By the turn of the century, Florida was booming as a tourist destination and the Bahamas caught the spin-off. The trickle became a flood in 1920 when Prohibition in the US resurrected Nassau's proclivity for smuggling overnight. The Bahamas were ideally situated for running illicit liquor into the States aboard speedboats, and the Nassau waterfront soon became a vast rum warehouse. The city poured its profits into construction, and hotels blossomed like tropical flowers. The islands' first casino attracted gamblers and gangsters and a potpourri of rich tourists and thirsty party animals.. The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 sent Nassau into another economic downturn, this time worsened by the Depression.
WWII rekindled the tourist industry by bringing thousands of American GIs to the islands for a bit of rest and relaxation. Wealthy Americans and Canadians seeking a sunny winter retreat began returning to the Bahamas, encouraged by the presence of the islands' new high profile governor and governess, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The duke gave the islands a new lustre, ensuring that their wealthy acquaintances would pour into Nassau in the post-war years. Their effort coincided with the arrival of the jet age and the Cuban Revolution in 1959, which sent Western travellers in search of a new vacation destination. Concentrating their efforts on Nassau, local leaders expanded the US air base to accommodate international jets, dredged the harbour to lure cruise ships and launched a massive advertising campaign. They also made the country a corporate tax haven, and tourism and finance bloomed together.
The upturn in fortunes coincided with (and perhaps helped spark) the evolution of party politics and festering ethnic tensions, as the white elite reaped vast profits from the development and tourist boom while the black majority remained impoverished. The black-led Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) took power in 1967 under Sir Lynden Pindling, bringing the era of white dominance to an end and paving the way to independence. On 10 July 1973, the islands of the Bahamas officially became a new nation, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, ending 325 years of British rule. The PLP's attempts at reform led to a real-estate slump that put the kibosh on home building by foreigners and stalled the economy. Meanwhile, the party's leadership was mired in corruption - much of it linked to a burgeoning international drug trade. After a US-assisted crackdown on drug trafficking in the 1980s and the election of a pro-business administration in 1992 (returned in a landslide 1997 election), The Bahamas began turning itself around.
Recent History
While the thriving tourist industry is occasionally ruffled by hurricanes - such as Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd in 1999, and Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004 - the country is a relatively wealthy one. It has one of the largest open registry shipping fleets in the world and is a major provider of off-shore financial services. In November 2001 Dame Ivy Dumont became the Bahamas' first woman governor-general, and the following year erstwhile politician Perry Christie's Progressive Liberal Party ended the 10-year rule of the Free National Movement. In 2006, Arthur Dion Hanna took over as governor general. Despite the government's efforts to eradicate the drug trade, drug trafficking remains a very much alive, pumping millions of black market dollars into the economy each year.