Hi,

My husband and I are currently in the research phase of starting a small, eco-friendly resort in the Bahamas with a focus on diving,fishing and exploring. I would love to hear from anyone who has been to the Bahamas. What was your experience? What did you love or hate? Was there any place that was extra-special and if so why? Would you go back?

Our main islands of interest are the out-islands, particularily, Andros,The Exumas,Abaco & Cat but I welcome any and all information on any of the islands.
Thanks very much in advance!

Hi!

I'm British but I lived and worked in the Bahamas for three years in the late 1980s, and revisited there in 2000. I was based in Nassau,the capital, but during my time there I visited Abaco, Eleuthera, Andros and Grand Bahama.

Nassau is located on a smallish island called New Providence. It has casinos and huge resort hotels and every facility (at a price)for the package tourist. Away from the resort areas, downtown Nassau has a distinct colonial feel about it, and is a major offshore banking and financial centre. It has wealthy suburbs and areas of poorer shack-type housing. It is developing fast and is in danger of becoming overdeveloped. The (unpublicised)down-side to Nassau is its high crime rate.

The locals are superficially friendly but difficult to get to know, so I tended to hang out with other ex-pats. (A common story, I believe).

Things are much less hectic on the other islands of the Bahamas - the out-islands, or family islands as they're sometimes called. Here, everybody knows everybody else, and (in some parts at least) people don't bother to lock their doors when they go out!

The main appeal of the Bahamas is the sea and the beaches - these are consistently wonderful. The land itself is of no scenic interest, being scrubby, flat and dull.

The most striking feature of Bahamian life to an outsider is the "laid-back" lifestyle - don't expect anything to happen quickly! This can be both frustrating and exhilarating. Local cuisine is seafood, invariably served with brown rice/black peas and coleslaw. You'll quickly find out which local restaurant does the best cracked conch.

One particular place I enjoyed was Hope Town on Elbow Cay, just off Abaco - a short ferry ride from Marsh Harbour - a pretty little town where Vern's General Store is an institution!

You will realise that you're not the first people to develop a diving/fishing business in the out islands, so I would suggest you visit there to check out the places and the competition. You can fly directly to some of the out islands from Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

Hope this helps. And good luck!

Pete

I spent a couple of winters there on a sailboat about 10 years ago.

The water was great. I didn't really see any of the beaches so can't comment on that. Private boats were largely forced into mangrove areas unless you wanted to pay significant money to tie up to a mooring.

What I saw of the countryside was uninteresting (compared to many other parts of the world).

In general, things seemed to be 'well used', not the sort of place that I would imagine doing a eco-oriented resort that tried to offer anything except fishing and diving.

Do check out other places. Maybe the Bahamas would work for you. You might find much nicer places with a little effort.

bob
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