Laurie

<BR>What's the best way to get to 2 or 3 of the out islands in the Bahamas ... fly? Ferries possible ? What would a couple of top choices be for the out islands? Are their hotels fairly good?

Eva

Most of the Out Islands with resorts and hotels are reachable by air from Florida, or via Nassau. Inter-island flights are not as easy -- if, for example, you wanted to get from Eleuthera to Abaco, you'd probably have to go via Nassau rather than directly (unless you arranged a private charter). <BR><BR>With respect to the Abacos, once you arrive there, reaching the other cays in the chain is easily done by ferry or by rental boat (but not by plane).<BR><BR>I believe there are mail boats which travel through the Bahamas, but I don't think there are ferries which go between the various groups.<BR><BR>My experiences with the hotels (in Eleuthera and the Abacos) is that they are generally intimate, unique, and casual. No high-rises, no chains. Each has its own personality.<BR><BR>The Out Islands are not for everyone, but for certain types of travelers, they are nirvana, as evidenced by repeated visits.

travelbuff

THere is a ferry from Nassau called the BoHengy that travels to Spanish Wells, Harbour Island and Eleuthera.<BR><BR>Each of these islands is very different and very laid back. Try the www.where2stay.com board for info on hotels or www.briland.com which covers all three islands.

Robert

I would be cautious with flights around the out islands in the Bahamas. A Southern Air flight recently crash-landed off of Nassau, coming from Cat Island. It's still sitting in the waters off of South Beach, where it crash landed October 22nd. Both Pratt &amp; Whitney engines failed. Come on! They make the best airplane engines in the world; the plane must have ran out of gas, like the small prop plane which crash landed off Abaco last year. Dual failures of P&amp;W engines are nearly impossible. Right now, both engines are being examined by U.S. authorities, using a borescope to search up the fuel lines, kind of like a colonoscopy. It will be interesting to determine their findings. The FAA is looking at the flight records and maintenance schedule as well. The plane left Arthur's Town on Cat, the pilots reported loosing power in one engine, then in the second moments later. They decided to bring the plane down in the shallows of of Nassau instead of attempting to glide into the airport. Good decision, for the 8 passengers and two pilots had no injuries. Both pilots were hailed as heroes. But, another crash of Bahamian inter-island flights, where an apparently lack of adequate fuel was the cause. Pilots are supposed to have at least 45 minutes flying time of extra fuel on board. Robert

mnag

We were in the Abacos earlier this year. We had a great time doing day trips to the cays, snorkelling, and discovering amazing deserted beaches. The water is glorious. We stayed at Hopetown Harbor lodge which is a quaint little hotel on a gorgeous beach. Very basic accomodations however. Rooms are very small. I hated the shower. The restaurant was good. I beleive most of the resorts in the out islands are like the HHL. Cape Santa Maria in Long Island is one of the more luxurious hotels I've come across in the out islands which we plan on visiting some time in the future. Also there are some nice resorts on Harbor Island (however harbor island does not appeal to me). I dont beleive there are any direct flights between the out islands.

Traveler863

Last time I went to the out islands was Eleuthra...we ended up charting a plane from Fort Lauderdale. Commercial flights just didn't have great schedules and I beleive went through Nassau. For us the plane held 9, we had 6 so pricewise it was a wash vs. going commercial...7,8 or 9 we'd have saved money. Depends on the size and type of aircraft. Ours was a small prop, a jet will cost you bucks. The advantage of chartering is they go on your schedule and no stops...drop you off and pick you up, check you in at both destinations...I guess like renting a limosine.

CurtHF

Whoever manages this travel info site had better start monitoring comments. These dates don't make sense. Robert has all the markings of being the same crazy hatemonger that has destroyed other travel boards. He certainly does not know anything about flying, and his comments reek of hate. As a pilot of a small plane that I sometimes fly to the out islands and occasional passenger of Southern Air , I will go out of my way to again fly that airline in the future. The pilot made an incrediably hard but correct decision to land under control in shallow water, rather than to try to make it to the airfied and probably stall and all aboard, die. Their pilots consistantly make better landings than do the major US airlines. Somebody also read that Bahamas Air, is one of the few airlines that has never lost a passenger, however, they do tend to follow island time regarding their schedules, as in whenever, we get there or leave is ok.

Callaloo

CurtHF,

In defense of Robert, I suggest you check his prior postings. He is, by far, the greatest proponent of the Bahamas and the Out Islands on this board; don't confuse him with Harald.

While I don't pretend to know much about the Southern Air crash of a few weeks ago, it certainly doesn't hurt to urge prospective travelers to the Out Islands to be very careful in their selection of air carriers to those islands. There are a handful that have troubled records, and the nature of regulatory oversight varies.

Robert

I stand by my reco to check your inter-island charter airline before flying. My post also said that the two pilots who crashed off of Nassau made a good decision, one which saved the lives of everyone on board. If the FAA's investigation into the flight record, maintenance schedule (which are not the pilot's responsibilities), and results of the boroscope show nothing amiss, I too, will use Southern Air. Still, knowing the safety record of every inter-island airline is a good thing to do. Robert

colin1960

with reference to the Southern Air emergency landing,it was reported in the local papers that the plane lost power in one engine first then then subsequently in the second,the pilots were praised for the landing they made in shallow water,however the report did say that it was possible they may have run out of fuel and both pilots are suspended pending results of the investigation.

wantsomesun

My first trip to the Out Island years ago, we flew out of Miami on a small plane, probably 10 seater. I sat up in the co-pilot seat. Beautiful flight and it takes about 50 minutes from Miami to N. Eleuthera. This was a small airline that flew N. Eleuthera, Govenours Harbour and I think also landed in Rock Sound.

The interesting part of the trip, was the flight back, the pilot was either REALLY hung over or still drunk. He said it was his Sister's birthday the night before, so guess he was partying all night, and the smell of liquor him, I believed him. By the way we didn't notice it till we were in the air. It was just my boyfriend and I with the pilot. Ok so here's the interesting part, he was so hung over/drunk he couldn't fly, so he asked one of us to fly and I did, so he could take a little nap. I flew the plane to Govenours Harbour, lined it up for landing and he took over and landed. Oh he also wanted to try some STUNT FLYING, I forgot to add that part, and I said .....NO!!!!! The honey thought it would be fun,,,

At GH a few people got on the plane so he took over flying and we got him a pot of coffee and took off again. We landed in Miami fine, and I never flew with that &quot;airline&quot; again. They are now LONG gone, thankfully. I know now that if I mentioned the pilots &quot;condition&quot; to anyone his liscense would have been pulled and his flying days would have been over, but didnt' know back then, this was in 1986.

I'm saying all this now, because things have been cleaned up now with the airlines into the carribean, all of them must meet FAA standards now, and what happened to Southern Air will be checked out and if it turns out the plane ran out of gas those pilots will be out of a job flying and their &quot;tickets&quot; will be pulled.

Robert

wantsomesun; Your were lucky on the flight to Eleuthera! I used to fly to Abaco on Aero Air, with usually 4 other people on board, including my wife and the pilot. Waiting in Miami, the plane was being worked on by a man in white overhals for an hour after departure time. I finally walked up to him on the tarmac, and inquired where the pilot may be. With that, he unzipped his greasy overalls, revealing a neat pilot uniform underneath, complete with epaulets on the shoulders. He replied, &quot;That's me! Hope on board; we're ready for take off.&quot; Taxing and weaving around the huge 747's to the takeoff runway, he replied, &quot;My driver's license helps me better than my pilot's license.&quot; He was joking, of course, but this guy was the pilot, mechanic, and stewardess (should I say steward?) all rolled into one. We flew Aero Air dozens of times into Abaco to conduct reef surveys, circa 1980's) and never had any bad incidents, including when flying through some hair-raising thunderstorms and wind gusts. And, landing at Marsh Harbor can be dangerous, with the variable winds; it's a tricky procedure where at times the pilots must drop quickly over the thick caribbean pine forests which surround the airport. Any pilot in as bad condition as the fool who flew you to Eleuthera could easily have killed you all, if he was landing in Marsh Harbor (Abaco). That's why it's so important for the FAA to have their thumbs on all charter airlines from the U.S. to Caribbean islands. If the FAA finds wrong doings on the Southern Air flight which crashed off Nassau, I hope they also go after the airlines owners as well. Robert

abacoroger

There is a great airline that flies Beachcraft 1900 and King air prop jets daily out of Daytona, melborne and orlando. Very professional airline and crew.They fly to Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay in the abaco's. Their name is Vintage Props and Jets out of new smyrna beach fla.Don't let their name confuse you they use to recondition vintage aircraft and never changed thier name. They fly several flights every day.I would fly to marsh Harbour and either stay at the Great Abaco Beach hotel or take the water Taxi to elbow cay and stay at the Abaco inn&quot;barefoot elegance&quot;

aks

Hotel - Long Island, Santa Maria Resort, - look at Cat Island which has several nice resorts depending on your style - Fernandez Bay Village is nice but very laid back. If possible fly with a charter out of Ft Lauderdale or Miami. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER fly Bahamas Air - as CurtHF says -they fly their own schedule and you may or may not get a plane (not hours later, but maybe a full day later) - and you don't want to waste vacation time waiting at an airport for Bahamas Air to decide if they can be bothered to muster up a plane. A good website for research is www.caribbean.com.