Spanish Wells Bahamas
Mar 26th, 2006, 06:16 PM
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Spanish Wells Bahamas
Does anyone have any info on Spanish Wells in the Bahamas? Is there any good snorkeling from the beach?
Also, how would one go about getting to Spanish Wells? I am assuming fly to Nassau, hop a flight to Harbour Island, then a fast ferry to Spanish Wells?
Any info or other website where we can find more info would be most helpful. We're looking at a cute little cottage there.
Thanks!
Kris
Also, how would one go about getting to Spanish Wells? I am assuming fly to Nassau, hop a flight to Harbour Island, then a fast ferry to Spanish Wells?
Any info or other website where we can find more info would be most helpful. We're looking at a cute little cottage there.
Thanks!
Kris
Mar 26th, 2006, 08:11 PM
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Hi Kris,
Spanish Wells is a very interesting island just north of Eleuthera. Getting there, fly into N. Eleuthera and take a taxi to the ferry (water taxi) over to the island.
There are only a couple of restaurants on island, mostly locals, very few tourists, and only 2 hotels on island.
The settlement is a old dutch settlement, and you will actually hear it in the speach patterns.
Yes you can snorkle right from the beach or you can have someone water taxi you out to a deserted cay for the day.
The only website I can think of that might have some info on Spanish Wells is www.eleu.net. I don't even think there is any info on the www.bahamas.com site, which is the official site of the tourist board.
Until the last few years tourism was not welcome on island, but that has changed with the tide as Harbour Island has become very popular.
Hope this answers a few questions.
Spanish Wells is a very interesting island just north of Eleuthera. Getting there, fly into N. Eleuthera and take a taxi to the ferry (water taxi) over to the island.
There are only a couple of restaurants on island, mostly locals, very few tourists, and only 2 hotels on island.
The settlement is a old dutch settlement, and you will actually hear it in the speach patterns.
Yes you can snorkle right from the beach or you can have someone water taxi you out to a deserted cay for the day.
The only website I can think of that might have some info on Spanish Wells is www.eleu.net. I don't even think there is any info on the www.bahamas.com site, which is the official site of the tourist board.
Until the last few years tourism was not welcome on island, but that has changed with the tide as Harbour Island has become very popular.
Hope this answers a few questions.
Mar 27th, 2006, 04:46 PM
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Hi wantsomesun! Thank you so much for the info, that www.eleu.net is particularly very helpful. I was reading some of your earlier posts and sounds like you are the guru on the out-islands. =)
We're looking for a laid-back vacation and Spanish Wells looked very intriguing. We don't need fancy, and actually are not into resorts or hotels. We definitely prefer more of a small, cute little cottage by the beach where there's not a lot of people. As long as it's clean, we don't care that it is simple.
We tend to cook or grill our meals when we can, especially if we can get fresh seafood, and enjoy casual restaurants when we want to go out. We like to travel light, so don't want to get all dolled up for dinner or anything. ;-)
During the day we like to just lay out on the beach and enjoy some snorkeling from the beach. We prefer calm, relatively shallow waters.
Do you think Spanish Wells fit the bill? Are there any other out-islands you might recommend for us?
Thanks again for your help.
Kris
We're looking for a laid-back vacation and Spanish Wells looked very intriguing. We don't need fancy, and actually are not into resorts or hotels. We definitely prefer more of a small, cute little cottage by the beach where there's not a lot of people. As long as it's clean, we don't care that it is simple.
We tend to cook or grill our meals when we can, especially if we can get fresh seafood, and enjoy casual restaurants when we want to go out. We like to travel light, so don't want to get all dolled up for dinner or anything. ;-)
During the day we like to just lay out on the beach and enjoy some snorkeling from the beach. We prefer calm, relatively shallow waters.
Do you think Spanish Wells fit the bill? Are there any other out-islands you might recommend for us?
Thanks again for your help.
Kris
Mar 27th, 2006, 10:21 PM
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Spanish Wells would fit the bill perfectly, and it's pretty easy to get there these days. You can fly into N. Eleuthera or take the fast ferry over and I believe it actually stops at Spanish Wells a few days a week. You can check that at www.bahamasfastferries.com
You may have read that I litterally ran into a couple visiting New York from Spanish Wells, I happened to be on the corner of 34th St and saw a couple very lost, and I asked if I could help and in a Spanish Wells accent, they said yes so I was shocked, and told them I knew they were from Spanish Wells, and they were shocked because they knew my name from my trips down to Harbour Island, just goes to show it really is a small world.
For a fun day you might take the water taxi over to Harbour Island for some site seeing, or maybe rent a car and see some of Eleuthera.
Spanish Wells IS the definition of laid back so you will have a great time.
You may have read that I litterally ran into a couple visiting New York from Spanish Wells, I happened to be on the corner of 34th St and saw a couple very lost, and I asked if I could help and in a Spanish Wells accent, they said yes so I was shocked, and told them I knew they were from Spanish Wells, and they were shocked because they knew my name from my trips down to Harbour Island, just goes to show it really is a small world.
For a fun day you might take the water taxi over to Harbour Island for some site seeing, or maybe rent a car and see some of Eleuthera.
Spanish Wells IS the definition of laid back so you will have a great time.
Mar 30th, 2006, 04:59 AM
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Since there are relatively few, if any, posts on Spanish Wells, you should be aware that one was posted yesterday on Trip Advisor ( zambeza ) about a very disappointing stay.
Given the expense of a trip it's worth reading.
Given the expense of a trip it's worth reading.
Mar 30th, 2006, 07:50 AM
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Hi RobertoB! Thanks for the heads up. I did see that post, and funny enough we were looking at the same cottage mentioned. I appreciated the post mentioning that the cottage is not right at the beach, because the website was a bit misleading.
However I have to take that post with a grain of salt. It's fine to say you didn't like the island or it didn't live up to your expectations, but I thought it was rather offensive when the poster referred to Spanish Wells as a "cultural wasteland". I didn't think that was necessary to post and actually made me wonder how seriously I should take that post. It just made me think how close-minded the poster was to other cultures.
Kris
However I have to take that post with a grain of salt. It's fine to say you didn't like the island or it didn't live up to your expectations, but I thought it was rather offensive when the poster referred to Spanish Wells as a "cultural wasteland". I didn't think that was necessary to post and actually made me wonder how seriously I should take that post. It just made me think how close-minded the poster was to other cultures.
Kris
