Andros and Staniel Cay - Looking for Suggestions

Old Jan 20th, 2014, 08:34 AM
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Andros and Staniel Cay - Looking for Suggestions

Hi All,

My wife and I a heading to Andros Island for 3 days and then on to Staniel Cay for 4 days during the first week of March. I have been reading through the older posts and have a lot of great ideas for things to do, but thought "what the heck".. I start a new discussion and see what all the experts have to say.

We have never been to the Bahamas so we will probably try to take in as much as we can. One day on Andros will be dedicated to diving (we are staying at Small Hope Bay - central, eastern part of island). What I am wondering is if anyone has thoughts, suggestions of "must-see" destinations on Andros and/or around Staniel Cay. We will have access to a boat at Staniel Cay and I plan to make the most of that

What we like to do the most is explore - by boat, by kayak, hiking trails inland, etc. We just really like seeing and learning about new places.

Thanks in Advance!
frayed_knot is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2014, 07:22 AM
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Are you staying at Staniel Cay Yacht Club? If so, make sure to do the package plan which will include all of your meals, boat to use each day (and gas), plus your accomodations and taxes etc. Either way, you said you will have a boat so you're set!

Do not miss Sandy cay and Twin Cay for a deserted island experience. A bit of hiking can be found on both. Plus sandbars, sand dollars and starfish.

Big Major Cay for the swimming pigs, Compass Cay for the sharks, Thunderball grotto for awesome snorkeling and Bitter Guana Cays (2 of them) for rock iguana and hiking. Also, you can hike to or boat to a natural/bubbly pool (Rachel's bubble bath) on Compass. And a little further north of Compass is the land and sea park which is doable in a whaler on a calm day. We did not make it last trip but will be going this year.

Also on the way to Compass and Land & Sea Park you will travel through Pipe Cay with lots of sandbars. Nice to pick one and stake you claim for a few hours. There is also a great area with a small beach and sandbars at the east entrance to Sampson Cay. Go to Sampson if you want to buy wine/liquor. Least expensive we found. Plus they have a bar restaurant and lots of meg yachts to ogle.

There are several plane wrecks close to SC that are good for snorkeling. One is at the end of the runway! This area also has a very calm, protected beach if you get a rough day. And Pirate Trap beach is great (both of these are accessible by boat or land). Pirate trap has a cool tree swing and a lagoon.

Bike ride or golf cart trip around the island is fun too. The view from Club Thunderball is beautiful. Also South of SC is Blackpoint settlement if you want to see the "hub" of the area. I use that term very loosely!!!

I have a detailed trip report from May with lots of photos if you are interested. Cant help with Andros though.

Have a great trip!
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 07:23 AM
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Forgot to mention..if you are staying at the yacht club, you will have access to bikes, kayaks and paddleboards.
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Old Jan 24th, 2014, 11:25 AM
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Kristen,
Thanks for the suggestions! Your trip report was also a great help! It looks amazing. We will definitely take up your suggestions to check out the bubble bath and sandy/twin cay area. I can already see that 4 days won't be enough time. We are staying at SCYC on the all inclusive plan.

Do you know if there is much for DIY fishing opportunities in the area? I am debating whether its worth the effort to bring gear with or not given we only have 4 days and we could easily spend that just exploring and sightseeing.

thanks!
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Old Jan 29th, 2014, 06:48 PM
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Kristen- when is your return trip to SCYC?

Frayed knot- Kristen about covered it, not sure I can add anything- have a great time! Which cottage did you book at SCYC? I have not been to Andros either so no help there.
ishkribbl is offline  
Old Feb 5th, 2014, 11:02 AM
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frayed_knot -- not much opportunity to fish on your own unfortunately. don't think for a 4 day trip I would bother bringing your gear. There is one bonefish flat close enough to get to in the whaler though if you wanted to fish from it.

Ish -- we are going August 10-16. Wanted to visit during lobster season this time
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Old Feb 5th, 2014, 06:07 PM
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kristen- I will look forward to another of your great reports! We are going for a short trip August 29- Sept.2 and are looking forward to a return trip and to our first lobster season in the out islands.

frayed knot- please write a trip report when you return! Happy travels to you.
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Old Feb 7th, 2014, 05:15 AM
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Callaloo a regular poster here has been to both. She's now bobbing in the Bahamas on her own sailboat Calypso. One of her trip reports is here:

http://islandtime.homestead.com/ExumaAndros09.html

http://sabrecalypso.wordpress.com
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Old Feb 10th, 2014, 11:59 AM
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Thanks again for the replies! Ish - We are staying in the Sea Glass bungalow, Can't Wait!! The more I think about it, I have to agree, its definitely not worth dragging along fishing gear, especially looking at all there is to do.

I will definitely try to provide a report upon return though Kristen and Callaloo have set the bar pretty high! Not sure mine will be of that caliber. It was actually a combination of Callaloo's blog and Kristen's trip report that sealed the deal for us when deciding the destination, so thank you both for that! If Callaloo reads this and the Calypso is still bobbing around Staniel Cay when we get, I owe you a beer, sorry Kristen we won't be there in August
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