What is the easiest and least expensive way to get downtown to straw market,Atlantis, and to Bacardi factory from Royal Bahamian? Vacationing last week of Jan. 2004.What should I definately visit for shopping areas that are not too $$$$$.Is the weather usually cooperative ie: Nice and sunny this time of year.Forcast says partly cloudy. Need help.

The best way to travel is by bus. I believe that it is one dollar per person per trip. It is less than 10 minutes from the resort. As per weather, I went for my honeymoon in July, so not sure about the weather in January. Best place to shop for inexpensive items is the straw market and downtown surrounding areas. And, partly cloudy can also mean mostly sunny. It all depends if the weather person is a pessimist or optimist. Either way, enjoy and have fun and make dinner reservations for the restaurants the first day at the resort, you can always cancel.

Thanks for the reply, how about jewelry,not cheap junk but real gold and gems.Is there a jeweler that you can recommed that will not rip you off and still give you a decent price with proof of authenticity?

lauri,
Ask at your resort for a list of stores safe to shop.They will provide you with one.

Thankyou for the reply.

You can get a glimpse of the 2 main jewelry stores at:

http://www.littleswitzerland.com/
and
http://www.dutyfree.com
They have stores throughout the caribbean. As for pricing, you should know the value of the same product back in the states.. and negotiate from there.

Thankyou all for your replies.

The bst time to travel to Nassau is middle of March till middle of May. Shopping is a bit waste of time because you find hardly anything produced in the Bahamas - even not at the straw market.

Instead of visiting the Barcadi factory stay at Sandals and enjoy pool and beach. OK it might be raining: from downtown you can almost go by bus # 6. No Bahamas vacation resort ever warns you of the things to watch out for. One suggestion if you take a taxi anywhere, ask the taxi driver before you get into the cab, how much your fair will be.

We just got back from Sandals. The #10 bus goes downtown and it runs very frequently. You catch it right in front of Sandals and its $1 each way. The Straw Market is pretty junky in my opinion. We visited the Pirate Museum which is a block away from the Straw Market, which was interesting.