Abaco Villa Questions
 

HI! We are two couples, planning on visiting Abaco - Elbow Cay - in late June. We are looking at rental homes, and some are not air-conditioned. We plan on renting a boat and golf cart for the week. My question: is A/C necessary with an oceanfront home? We are trying to decide between an airconditioned home on Tahiti Beach, with a private dock (called Bali Hai Cottage) and an un-A/C'd home on the ocean, near White Sound (called Sea Lavender) which has lots of screened windows, but no A/C, and has a pool. Will we be able to sleep at night in this home - in June?

Anyone have info on these villas, or "Ocean House"?

Also, I like the idea of renting the boat in Marsh Harbour and skipping the ferry altogether...any opinions on this idea? Seems like it would save a couple of dollars, and we'd be on our own schedule.

Thanks so much!

We stayed in an unACd cottage on Lubbers both in late May and early June. This is just west of Elbow Cay. The lack of AC did not bother us due to the breeze. I would run questions on the actual units past the Abaco board members:

http://coconuttelegraph.net/cgi-bin/...ds/abacos.cgi?

Rented our boat from Sea Horse in Boat Harbour. Keep in mind that if you rent from anyone other than Sea Horse in Marsh Harbour you will need to go around the pennisula and Point Set Rock to reach Elbow. Since you're renting a boat, look at getting Dodge's Abacos Cruising Guide from White Sound Press. As soon as you set the dates reserve the boat!

Thanks, Roberto, for your response. We decided to book the "bali hai" cottage on the south end of Elbow, with A/C (the men didn't want to chance it!). And we also reserved a boat from Island Marine, golf cart too! And Abaco Vacation Rentals includes the cruising guide with every rental, so I think we're set. Any favorite restaurants, particularly on Elbow?

Thanks!

Sounds like you're in good shape for the trip. The Abacos are great destination if you like water and boats.

On Elbow we've had lunch at Cap'n Jack's and Harbour's Edge. Tough to beat the view from these places. Right in Hopetown harbour. Rudy's and the Abaco Inn have good reputations. Also ate at Sea Spray Resort-great marina to get gas. Since we were on Lubbers we went to Cracker P's when we didn't cook in. No need to worry about operating a boat after too many Kaliks. Definitely try Cracker Ps.

Island Marine was one of the first boat rental companies in the Abacos. Believe they'll pick you up in Marsh. See if you can get Abaco Vacation Rentals to send the guide before your trip. Keep the tides in mind. There are some shallow areas at low tide.

Check out the Abaco Board-best source for planning a trip to the Abacos.

RobertoB:

Are you the same Roberto that visited St. John? We are frequent St. John visitors who are looking for a change of pace and have considered the Abaco Islands as well as the BVI for our next trip. We will be traveling with teenage kids. Can you give me any advice regarding the beaches in comparison to the USVI? Any other observations? We own a boat and have great fishing here in Louisiana so not sure how much time we'd want to spend fishing there.

We did go to St. John last year. After two trips to the Abacos we spent two weeks on St. John last fall, high up on Calabash Boom outside Coral Bay. Called it our therapy trip because it didn't look like we going anywhere in 2003 due to health issues with our parents.

I'd say that St John has the edge on beaches but, St. John has the edge on many islands in regards to beaches, especially when you consider the beauty and access. The Abacos have nice beaches, beautiful clear water, and you'll probably have the beach to yourselves. The Abacos are not near as lush as St. John, nor in my opinion do they have the views.

To me the Abacos are made for boating. There are so many islands and small harbors to visit within a relatively small area. Follow the Abaco Board that I mentioned above for awhile. This will give you a feeling for the Abacos and if it will provide an alternative to St. John.

Never been to BVI so can't comment on STJ/BVI comparison.

Thanks Roberto. Guess my main concern about the Abaco Islands is that I don't want it to be a "beach bar" hopping trip as we'll be traveling with kids. I'm sure the diving, snorkeling and fishing is great. The change of pace I'm looking for from St. John is beachfront accommodations. After 11 days of jeeping around St. John last summer, I was ready for a place where I could roll out of my room onto the beach. I have the cruising guide, and I'll spend some time reading the Abaco board. Thanks for your comments.