Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Harbour Island in May

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Caribbean Islands (https://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/)

- - Harbour Island in May (https://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/harbour-island-in-may-114786/)

Harbour Island in May

My Fiance and I will be going to Harbour Island the latter part of May...thanks to a lot of positive feedback about Harbour Island...it's our choice.. Now to my question...If Runaway Hill Club is booked (it's our first choice)..please help me with where to stay.. other than (Pink Sands...tooooooo expensive)....I believe there are about 3 other popular hotels on Harbour Island...(which is more in our price range)....we would like romantic...lovely accommodations..on the beach or ocean view...It's our first trip together to an Island and we would like where we stay to be very lovely without spending a fortune on a room...and, any other advice about what to do while there...we will be spending 7 nights. We will be flying in from the Wasington, DC area....should we fly into Eleuthera Airport???? Thanks so much in advance for any advice that may be helpful to us. Nancy

Nancy, you have picked my favorite island and I think you will love it too. If Runaway is full you might try Coral Sands which is right down the beach, a little bigger (36 rooms) a nice pool and beach bar/restaurant. The other option I would also suggest is Romora Bay which is on the bay side of the island and accomodations are beautifully done villas over looking the water, there is also a nice pool area and small shack bar, to sit and watch the sun go down. There are a couple of nite spots, for music, dancing and just having a good time. You will also get to meet lots of people from all over the US, Canada and Europe, Harbour Island although very small (3 miles long by half a mile wide) is becoming quite the vacation spot. There are 2 dive shops on island, Valentine's and Romora Bay, so you can take a snorkle trip or if you want you can try the resort dive course and take a shallow dive. Some great reef trips in the area and some interesting dive sites, like a Civil War Train site, (train was purchased just after the Civil War, on it's way to Cuba on a large barge and it sank in a bad storm. The best food on island is at Romora and Runaway, and there are several cute lunch places like Angela's for very good Bahamian food, like conch burgers and conch fritters, a must while you are there. I am so sorry Runaway is booked, but you might have dinner there and the next time you are on island, you might want to stay there. Getting there is half the fun so here is my suggestion (and I have tried every method of getting there). I would fly directly into Nassau and fly Bahamas Air or if you can get into Nassau early in the day take the Bahamas Fast Ferry over and then fly back. They are both worth you time, the flight is amazing, with water so crystal clear you can see fish swimming in the water as you come in for a landing on N. Eleuthera. Oh and fly into N. Eleuthera, the other 2 airports are FAR away. When you land at N. Eleuthera ask for cab driver Wendell, a buddy of mine who will take you to the water taxi and Reggie (cab driver) will pick you up on Harbour Island at the dock and take you to your hotel. You might ask Reggie for a short tour of the island on your way so you get to see a bit of the island and get your bearings. You also might want to rent a golf cart for a day or so, to see more of the island, but you will find that you will want to walk everywhere. (Walk off all those extra calories from amazing dinners) Guess that's about it, if you have any other questions, please feel free to post here or email me [email protected] Take care and have a GREAT time, and say hello to everyone for me.

Coral Sands would be my choice. To be on that island and be anywhere but on the beach would be a mistake in my opinion. Our first choice is still Pink Sands albeit very expensive. Good luck!

Thanks so much for all your advice...Tweedy...is it better to fly then into Nassau...rather than fly straight into N. Eleuthera...I've called the airlines and from DC...US Air will fly us into Ft. Lauderdale and then change planes to a smaller one and they fly right into N. Eleuthera... I just booked reservations at Coral Sands...the new building deluxe ocean front...Have you been over to see the new building or the rooms... Nancy

Paul, Thanks for your comments..and, yes...we just booked the Coral Sands.... Nancy

Great! You're going to love Harbour Island. I'm jealous!

Nancy I have not been down for almost 2 years (ahhhhhh, I need my Harbour Island) but I know the past owner of Coral Sands and spent ALOT of time there over the years. One of my favorite things to do is to walk over to Coral Sands and have a conch burger at the beach bar. I know there has been alot of rennovations and building on the grounds and a new pool was put in not too long ago so it should be nicer than ever. There is a lovely dining room area, bar, lounge/tv room and common areas for relaxing as well as a nice porch to just sit and look at the ocean. I know they will make you feel right at home. Have a wonderful time, and let me know if you have any other questions.

Sorry forgot to answer your question on how to get there. If you get a good price on USAir round trip, I would say go for it. The trip from Ft. Lauderdale is about 50 minutes but realize that it is in a little plane no more than 30 passengers I think, a twin engine prop. I hate those so I minimize my time to the Bahamas Air flight which is only 15 minutes from Nassau. But for your first time down, the USAir flight should be ok.

Hi Tweedy. I've checked a lot of fares..and it seems (US Air) is the best $536/RT...seems high...but if we want to pay around $440/RT then we would have a 4 hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale on our way over there...we haven't booked as of yet..we feel prices may come down in April..or is that the going rate. We are not cheap by any means...but as you know who likes wasting money on air- fare when there are so many deals going out there... Eleuthera...do you recommend spending a day over there...any particular beach we should go to...or places to see.. Thanks again...you should be a travel agent for Harbour Island.....smile Nancy

Nancy, actually sometimes I feel like a travel agent, and have run into alot of the problems they encounter, so I have learned alot about traveling. I have a chorus here in NYC and we have been going down to the Bahamas to sing and raise money for churchs and the Day Care center on Harbour Island, (stop in there while you are on island, the children love meeting people), so making reservations and arranging housing and hotel and trips and yada, yada, yada, I have learned how to get around most travel related problems. The $400 price you saw is closer to what I normally pay, we can usually get a $200-$300rt price from NYC to Nassau and then it's about $100rt on either Bahamas Air or the Fast Ferry over to Eleuthera and Harbour Island. Check with Delta on the price to Nassau you may have to change planes in Atlanta and I think there is a direct flight from Atlanta to Nassau. You also might check the Delta website to see what flights are going for or check priceline.com or lowestfare.com. If you take Bahamas Air to N. Eleuthera then it's a short cab and water taxi ride and then another short cab ride to Coral Sands. If you take the Fast Ferry, it drops you off at the Dock and it's a cab ride from there. The Fast Ferry rt will cost you about $20-$30 less minus cab and water taxi fares.