rattravlers

We live in South Florida & have been to Nassau & Freeport a few times. Not really impressed. We would like to experience the "real" Bahamas...not sure where to go tho. We don't want to be completely in a remote area. Would like at least some sort of town with a couple restaurants/bars. Resort, cottage or hotel would be good. Probably only taking a 4 night trip this summer...any thoughts?

StanKase

The Aboco Islands have several nice areas that should meet your requirements abd the best time to go is April thru June and Late Oct. to mid. Nov. The snorkeling is excellemt and for you it is easy to get to from Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

Callaloo

Ditto what StanKase said. In particular, I would suggest staying on one of the cayes, near a settlement. For a first timer with limited time, I would suggest Hopetown on Elbow Cay (perhaps Hopetown Harbour Lodge -- which is on a gorgeous Atlantic beach but steps from the settlement with its restaurants and shops). Rent a golf cart to get you to Tahiti Beach and around the island. Or if you're comfortable with boats, rent a runabout and island hop.

The Abacos are so different from Nassau and Freeport, you'll hardly believe you're in the same country. Check out these video clips: http://www.youtube.com/realbahamas

RobertoB

It's unfortunate that most visitors impression of the Bahamas is from Nassau and Freeport...or perhaps it's fortunate. I agree with the suggestions of the Abacos and Elbow Cay. Possibly try to extend your trip beyond four nights. You won't regret it.

blamona

One of my favorite Out Islands is Harbour Island. Gorgeous little town, with clapboard houses, white picket fences, pastel colors and draped in flowers. Fun because you golf cart around the island. Pink Sands Beach always ranks Travel Channel and magazines top ten lists. Roaming horses on the beach, stop the cart for chicken crossing, celebrity sightings and chic restaurants (the best in the Out Islands) add to the ambience. For a completely different experience, it's easy to day trip to Eleuthera, explore hidden beaches you'll have all to yourself, check out quaint Governor's Harbour, and famous Glass Bridge-a one lane bridge, where one side is calm as glass, other side has waves crashing. My favorite restaurant in Eleuthera is Tippy's. HI has tons of excellent, mostly upscale restaurants.

Elbow Cay (in Abacos) has a lighthouse, quaint town, and you can hop by boat to the pig roast at Nipper's at Guana Cay, which is alot of fun. Treasure Cay has a gorgeous beach. It's more laid back than HI, more of a sailor's personality. My favorite restaurant there is the one at Abaco Inn on Elbow Cay.

I also love the Exumas. Georgetown is not much of a town, but everyone get's together at the restaurant of Club Peace N Plenty. Great way to meet locals. What's really stunning there are the beaches-amazing! On Sunday's there's a cool pig roast at Chat N Chill at Stocking Island. There are water taxis from Georgetown over to Stocking Island. You have to rent a boat, or hire a guide, and explore all the cays with gorgeous beaches.

The great thing about the Out Islands: that's where most of the glorious Bahamas beaches are. Each island has it's own personality. With you living in Southern Fla, you'll have easy access to explore them all eventually. Then you can compare them for us!

MollyM

Another vote for Eleuthera! I love the Cove hotel and restaurant, but there's not much else to do around that area. For a little more action go down to Governor's Harbour, the main town. Pineapple Fields is a nice condo-hotel development, and Tippy's across the street might be the island's best restaurant. Think beach shack atmosphere/gourmet food. There's a handful of other restaurants in this area, too. Plus, you're a quick ferry ride away from Harbour Island, which is more posh and developed, but still beautiful with a 3-mile pink sand beach.

mnag

Based on your criteria, I will also recommend Elbow Cay/Hopetown area. Quaint town area, some restaurants/bars, lighthouse, drive around in golf carts, nice beaches, take the ferry over to Guana Cay for a nice outing and visit Nippers beach bar. The beach there is gorgeous. We stayed at hopetown harbour lodge and were not thrilled with our room. The cottages on the property looked nicer. I would try to rent a house in Hopetown if possible.

rattravlers

Thanks for all the input. I found very reasonable flights to Marsh Harbour....would this get me near any of the above recommendations?

BeachGirl247

Yes, you can ferry over to Hopetown (if that is where you have decided to stay). Are you renting a boat? I recommend it as you can boat to Great Guana for the pig roast and other cays for day trips on very quiet, beautiful beaches.

Or, you can stay at Treasure Cay which is about 30 minute cab ride from Marsh Harbour airport if I remember correctly. There are nice cottages, some on the beautiful beach, to rent there. From Treasure Cay you can take the ferry to Green Turtle Cay or again, go the the marina at Treasure Cay and rent a whaler -- either for a day or your entire trip. We took it to Green Turtle and Great Guana and the water was very calm. We received a map from the marina showing us areas to avoid and was very easy and uneventful . Having a boat was definitely a highlight of our Abaco trip.

Harbour Island is more upscale and more expensive. The pink sand beach is gorgeous and provides a soft surf for swimming and relaxing. The restaurants are very nice but casual in attire. Golf carts are your mode of transportation on this small island. As Blamona mentioned, hire a boat to take you to Eleuthera to see very pretty stretches of white, sandy beaches. We had them all to ourselves on our visit. You'll need to fly into North Eleuthera airport (ELH) for Harbour Island and take a short 10-minute small ferry ride to HI.

mnag

Yes, the ferry from MH runs several times a day to Elbow Cay. A quick cab ride will get you over from the airport to the ferry. Pretty easy transfer.