Markrosy- while snorkeling around the wreck of a small airplane this summer in about 7 feet of water and in very clear view of our cottage at SCYC (not far from the ferry dock) I rounded the side of the wing and there was a nurse shark resting under the wing- I am not sure who moved faster to get away- him or me. I know they are usually completely harmless but it sure scared me (just for the surprise!)- I think I scared him much worse!! Except for the sharks that come at the appointed time for their dinner at the fish cleaning station at the SCYC marina at dusk (fun to watch while waiting for the dinner bell) the only other sharks we saw that trip were at Compass Cay. I think a reef shark or tiger shark would have seen me walk on water!! SC is great- you should try it some time.
Carib traveller- if it is your great trip reports I read last year (don't remember without looking it up), I really enjoyed them and it helped me better know what to expect.

I've been away from these boards for quite a while and catching up now with trip reports. This is a great one!

"I think a reef shark or tiger shark would have seen me walk on water"

I post on the Abaco forum - my login is "Daddy What's that fin".

We got up very early one morning and motored down to Pelican Cay reef. There was nobody about (8 am fathers days). No swell and flat calm. We had good snorkeling for an hour still on our own - there had been rumours about the above said 15 foot tiger. William was two years old and not snorkeling just "restrained" on the boat. He just started pointing and shouting "Daddy what's that fin".

I flew, yes flew, 4 feet out of the water and landed on the deck - turned out to be flipper who played with us for half an hour.

That's it in February 2010 I am going for it - Jaws I am coming.

We were at Kamalame Caye, Luxury Link auction price,and though it was quite nice and the food was good to very good but we had to pay $200USD to go out snorkeling for 2 hours. Though it was a private trip it would have been less had others joined us but there were no takers. I understand that at both STYC and SHB they have daily trips as part of the package. Am I correct? If you had to choose one based on food, namely variety at lunch and dinner which would that be? Considering Chef's can change the preparation may change from when you were there to a trip we may take in Oct. 2010, but hopefully not. If you were to select 2 cottages/rooms at each resort that had the nicest location, generally quiet and not too far from the dining area which ones might you suggest?
Sorry for all the questions but our next trip is to Indonesia in March but after that we are getting too old for 20+ hour trips and would like to return to good snorkeling, pleasant environment, and fresh food at a location that is 6+/- hours from NYC. Someone mentioned Great Exuma I think. What I can tell you about snorkeling there is that it is not very good at all. There is only 1 location and it is not very accessible. Thanks.

Hmmm, I really can't offer much info on the snorkeling at either place, because I didn't partake.

My husband snorkeled at Thunderball Grotto near Staniel Cay, and he said it was amazing -- we got there using the Whaler that came with our cottage at SCYC. IF they run snorkel trips, we didn't know about them because we were so enthralled with the beach hopping.

At SHB, my husband took several dives -- he reports that the diving there is superlative. But he paid a la carte, since we didn't do a dive package. I was invited to go along on the dive boat to snorkel, but didn't. There is also excellent snorkeling (I'm told) right under and around the dive hut dock.

The dining experiences were quite different at each place. At SCYC, it's plated meals to order (limited menu, but quite good -- not just conch conch conch all the time). At SHB, it's a buffet, and a bit more homestyle, but we enjoyed it as well. In neither case are you getting a ST. Martin or St. Barth dining experience, but you do feel as if loving hands are preparing your meals.

As for rooms, at SCYC, you should look at the website. We stayed in Ocean Blue cottage, which is the closest to the clubhouse and, hence, not recommended. At SHB, we were in cottage 9, which was far enough away from the action to be quiet. Both are VERY rustic.

Frankly, I'd hate to choose between SCYC and SHB. We were delighted with each, but loved the variety of having both. The experiences were quite different. Watermakers Air makes it very easy to enjoy both, as it's only a 20 minute scoot across, and it's not like you have to get to the airport 2 hours before your flight -- you just wait for the pilot to radio your hotel when he's approaching and meet the plane.

StanKase: At SCYC, the whaler is part of the package but you will have to drive it yourself. If you want someone to take you out snorkeling, that would be a guy with his own boat and that can cost $400 or so. The cottages are really cute on the outside, but the insides are very basic. The best place to hang out in the cottage is the porch. It's a really small resort so picking a cottage furthest to the restaurant will not be a long walk.
I agree with Callaloo about the food at SCYC. I'll just add that when we were there, everybody got the same appetizers and desserts for dinner. We didn't get to pick.

Thanks. I think SHB will cater to our snorkel intertests more and we can still relax with a lovely beach. The only rub will be we do NOT eat fish but beef, pork or chicken are fine. we will just notify them when we make the reservation and I am sure with a reminder a month before our arrival they can make the accommodation. Are there 2 or 3 cabins that you would request over others at SHB if you were to return? Thanks.

Stan, I really can't recommend one cottage over another at SHB, as we only really saw the one we were in, which was #9. I think some of the ones closer to the Lodge (#1 and #2) are a bit larger.

For dining, there was a non-seafood option every night, so you should be fine.

As for the beach at SHB, I will warn you that it's more like the beach on Ambergris Caye in Belize than most other Bahamian beaches. There are a few clear sandy spots that are nice for swimming, most of the bottom is grassy -- great for snorkeling, but not ideal for swimming. It's the tradeoff for that barrier reef.

I've now posted this trip report, along with photos, on my webpage: http://islandtime.homestead.com/ExumaAndros09.html.

I've really enjoyed this thread - many thanks, especially to Callaloo! I'm a diver but Andros is on our radar because my husband is an avid flyfisherman. Any insight into the fishing from SHB? He's really not interested in guided fishing, prefers to hunt on his own. The turtle grass sounds promising...

Thanks for posting your blog, Callaloo. I enjoy reading your about your trips as we share similar taste for island vacations.

hopefulist, I personally don't fish. But when we were at SHB, one of the couples staying at the same time consisted of a diver and a non-diving fisherman. He went out on his own, driving to bonefishing spots or just fishing off the beach, as well as doing some guided fishing. They have been going to SHB once or twice a year for a decade or more, so it must be OK. Check out SHB's website.

Thanks!!