I am trying to plan a 4night stay in the bahamas and am very confused as to when we should travel to avoid rainy/hurrican season. I'm from chicago and figured Nov would be a good time to go, but heard it will be cold then? should we go in sept or oct? Also, thrying to figure out which island woudl be nicer? I'm looking at the Radisson Grand Lucayan in the Grand Bahamas AND the Sandals Bahamian Resort in New Providnece, nassau (cable beach). I have heard Grad Bahamas is nicer and a bit more laid back and not as 'busy' and city like as Nassau is (which is what we are looking for for our anniversary). Any and all suggestions are welcomed! Even more hotel options.
p.s. Paradise is kind fo out of price range, plus we don't want to stay at an adult disney world w/o out our kids so...Atlanatis is out. And the adult only version is out of our proce range. A day pass to Atalantis would be nice and a dolphin encounter is a must for us! Thanks!

Hello! Thought we could help you make up your mind by giving you a little bit of info about us over here at Grand Lucayan! It won't be exactly impartial though! :0) Grand Bahama Island is much more relaxed and not as densely populated as Nassau. There are still a lot of beautiful natural environments to discover especially our pine forests.

We're pretty proud of the Grand Lucayan property as well. If you get an ocean view room on one of the upper floors, you won't want to leave your balcony. Also, there are a number of great restaurants on the property. But that doesn't mean you've got to stay on property the entire time. Grand Lucayan is right across the street from the Marketplace, where guests love to go shopping and enjoy a wide range of restaurants.

I understand you're interested in swimming with the dolphins! Well, Grand Bahama has one of the best dolphin encounters in the Bahamas. Behind the marketplace by the Marina, you'll find the Underwater Explorers Society. For a very reasonable price, a ship will take you out to a natural lagoon where you'll get to interact with dolphins in their natural habitat. Here's the link so you can check it out. http://www.unexso.com/

Grand Bahama is a great place to go with kids or just as a couple. With plenty of on-property activities to keep you busy and plenty of secluded beaches off property to disappear for a while. Visit http://www.grandlucayan.com for more information about the hotel.

Hope this helps!

Sandals in Nassau is expensive but lovely.

Yes, Nassau is busier than Grand Bahama, but we love it. It's all in the resort you choose, the beautiful grounds of the resort--you don't have to go downtown which is busy.

Can't comment too much on Grand Bahama as we were only there for a day off of a cruise ship and it just wasn't to our liking.

We've been to Nassau 3 times towards the of Oct. and the weather was great---Nov. might be pushing it. Of course, nobody can predict the weather, and Oct. still is hurricane season. We also were there another 3 times in March.

If Atlantis(on Paradise Island) is not for you, look at the other resorts on Cable Beach(different location.) Sandals is sort of off by itself so much quieter. The resorts on Paradise Island & Cable Beach are all huge and busy, but do have beautiful grounds, gorgeous beach & turquoise water.. We always seem to be able to find a spot off by ourselves though.

Good luck!

Hi lmilmr,

I've been to both Nassau (on New Providence Island) and Grand Bahama Island; I had a good time on both but the two islands are quite different.

New Providence is maybe 7x more populated than Grand Bahama Island and a lot smaller, which is critical to this difference. Both have some lovely beaches & plenty of turquoise water. The settlement of Nassau has history and architecture, while Freeport/Lucaya is very new (dates from the 1950s). Freeport itself has a bit of a deserted feel to it.

If I could go back to only one of the two, I'd probably pick Grand Bahama. I liked that I could cycle there, that opportunities for tranquility were more plentiful, that Port Lucaya Marketplace had options for eating, diving & other activities. While I enjoyed New Providence and did find places to unwind and enjoy a quiet beach, I found it in parts a more tense place, likely due to the greater population density.

Have fun deciding! Daniel

Daniel -

We did pick GBI for June. You say cycling. Do you rent bikes? We would love to rent a bike for the week but having trouble finding them. Thank you. Kim

Hi kimp,

The B&B I stayed at offered me the use of one of their bikes; I think I saw a bike rental place in Port Lucaya Markeplace, but have no details. Midshipman Road in Lucaya has a bike lane that connects the Lucaya Markeplace area with the area near Fortuna Beach. Once you're out as far as Fortuna Beach (lovely secluded turquoise water coves!), the roads are quite deserted, so you should feel pretty safe cycling on the roads out there (I would not have felt comfortable cycling on the roads near Nassau!). Check out Garden of the Groves if you cycle out that far!

Best wishes, Daniel