Eleuthera, Bahamas Trip Report Dec 2010
 

Trip Report for Eleuthera Island, The Bahamas, December 2010

Summary: We loved Eleuthera and would definitely return and visit again!

Us: Extended family of 6 adults and 3 teenagers
Goal: Relax and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean waters and beaches (Accomplished!)

We stayed at the 7 Palms Villa near Palmetto Point and Governor's Harbor. The property is amazing: 6 bedrooms and nearly as many bathrooms. Housekeeping was impeccable - very clean. The views of the ocean are incredible. Almost every room faces the ocean. Everything was functioning well in the property -- which even included wireless internet, satellite TV, and a gourmet kitchen. I would highly recommend this villa to any large family group. Can't say enough about how beautiful it was, relaxing and fun. The gardener even came by and got coconuts down for us from the palms and split them open so we could have fresh coconut water and coconut nearly every day!

The beaches are fantastic on Eleuthera. Not only was 'our' beach in front of the villa incredibly beautiful but pretty much every other beach we visited (Rainbow Bay, and others) were equally fantastic in their own different ways. There was virtually no one on the beaches. It would seem 'crowded' if you saw one other family! It was VERY relaxing to just hang out on the beach, body surf, look for shells, walk on the sand. The sand is incredibly fine and soft with a delicate pink hue to it at most beaches. There were strong waves on some days (or times of the day) but we were always able to get in and body surf. Some beaches, like Rainbow Bay beach are like a sheet of glass -- perfectly calm and still brilliantly blue waters. The beaches were like a dream...absolutely perfect.

The weather was good for us northerners -- in the mid-70s most days. It would have been nice to be slightly warmer but it was December after all. One advantage to traveling in December was that it was virtually bug-free. We heard that they do have their share of mosquitoes during the hot weather.

Food: We cooked at the villa most days, including buying fresh lobster and grouper fresh off the boat at the local fish market in Governor's Harbor. However we had a great dinner at Tippy's Restaurant that was down the road from 7 Palms. We also liked the food we had at Coco di Mama (closer to the Governor's Harbor airport). We also LOVED the Banks Road Deli & Bakery that was close to 7 Palms. The proprietor makes fresh bread and pastries every day. We enjoyed croissants, baguettes, boules, and many other baked goods from there.

On one of the cooler days part of our group visited Ocean Hole and the caves on the southern part of the island (via car). Report from participants was that it was fantastic! They loved seeing the tropical fish at Ocean Hole and swinging from the 'vines' (ie, roots of trees above) in the subterranean caves.

Transportation: We had a rental car which was useful. We would definitely recommend renting a car -- makes it easier to get around such a long island. There is basically one main road: the Queen's Highway. It's in good condition.

Summary: Loved Eleuthera. Would go back again in a heartbeat.

anitag99,

I loved this trip report; I've now been to 2 Bahamian islands and am beginning to think I'd like to see them all, Eluthera high up on the list! I was on Grand Bahama this past December/January (low to mid 70s F as highs, and I just missed a spell in the 60s) and I agree that one nice thing you mention about "winter" in the Bahamas is that while it can indeed get cool, the resulting *relative* lack of bugs is nice.

The food & bakery sound just wonderful. Thanks for sharing! Daniel

I live on Eleuthera thrree months of the year. I used to go to Angulla for its beautiful beaches, but Eleuthera tops Anguilla and is much less expensive. It is also what Anguilla used to be:" the only footsteps are your own", There is not a lot of nightlife, but there is plenty of day life to wear you out! A couple of additions to the original post: The Island Farm just south of Palmetto Pointe has fabulous fruits, fresh veggies, lettuces,and delicious bakery items on Tuesdays and Fridays during the high season.
My favorite restaurant is Sky Beach because it offers a variety of food, not just Bahamian.
Barbies Take Away in Tarpum Bay is delicious and has the best of Bahamian fare. Four Points in Rock Sound has great conch fritters and on some days offers a mini junkanoo at lunch.
This is my eighth season on Eleutheera,, it is friendly, safe, clean and unmolested by high rises which block the ocean views on other Carribbean islands. Don't miss it!

Reading this makes me want to make this summers trip on one of the Bahamian islands but I am having difficulty finding a a reasonably priced way to get to any (there are 4 of us 2 adults 2 children all divers) we were thinking Bimini but Eleuthera sounds great. How did you travel (we would be leaving from Philadelphia). Any advice would be appreciated.

Nice trip report. Eleuthera is one of our favorite islands. Been there twice.

Getting to Eleu is not particularly difficult from the US. There are flights from Ft Lauderdale. For beaches I would pick eleu over bimini.

tyedye33: We traveled from upstate NY to Charlotte to Nassau and then Pineapple Air from Nassau to Governor's Harbor. (We are a few hours' north of Philly.)

ALSO: Our neighbor on Eleuthera (staying at the sister property La Bougainvillea) flew there on their own private plane. We saw quite a few private planes at Governor's Harbor. It wasn't an option for us (no pilots amongst us and not enough $$!), but we did a bit of research and found out that a charter plane from Ft Lauderdale would actually have been a better deal for us (in hindsight).

Lastly, there are direct flights from JFK to Nassau.

Would this be a good place for snorkeling off the beach?

january89: I believe you can snorkel off the beach but the waves were too strong for us to try it. There is a kayak rental place near where we stayed. I think the best bet would be to kayak out a little and then snorkel. We did not try this.

And there were many other beaches where the water was calm. We did snorkel at Rainbow Bay beach for example.