Stocking Island St. Francis Hotel?
 

First let me say that my wife and I spent a wonderful week on Elbow Cay at HopeTown. We enjoyed it so much. The village of hopetown was so cute and we loved the gingerbread houses..

The beach is slightly pink and there is a reef 2 feet off the beach. So that being said, we are looking for something similar. It appears there is nothing quite like it ...but Stocking island has much to offer..the back bay seems opitmal for finding sandy beaches.

We are looking at St. Francis hotel..has anyone been there...it gets great reviews!

John

runawayhill.com or Pink Sands on Harbor Island

Extremely pink perfect 3 mile crescent beach

valentinesdiving.com great to

Angela's Starfish Restaurant for Lobster and cracked Conch

prettier better than Hopetown for me been to both

Treasure Cay in the Abacos nice vibe and area also

We stayed at St Francis a couple of years ago and highly recommend it. Very nice owners, nice deck/patio area overlooking the dock and gorgeous water. Rooms are spacious and have a balcony looking out on to the other side of the island where there is a long stretch of beach almost all to yourself. I recommend renting a boat to explore the calm waters of the harbour to seek your own private beach for the day. It's also by Chat-N-Chill, the local watering hole with a great conch burger and goombay smash. It's only accessible by boat and was almost swimming distance to St Francis. They also have kayaks if you want to use them.

Great choice and would stay there again!

With all due respect to Qwovadis, in my opinion if you loved Hopetown then I am not sure you would love Harbour Island. I have been to Hopetown several times over a 18 year period and have been to Harbour Island twice and would not go back. The vibe is totally different on the two- HI is more upscale and chic with more fine dining and actually much less beach ultimately than you would find on Stocking Island and for a very high price. If you liked the simplicity and casualness of Hopetown then I think the Exumas might suit you. I have been to Great Exuma and visited SI but never stayed at St. Francis- I think it might be a great place to research for you! I am currently planning a return visit to the Exumas- been there twice but not in a couple of years. Happy travels!

>>With all due respect to Qwovadis, in my opinion if you loved Hopetown then I am not sure you would love Harbour Island.<<

I agree. Abaco and Harbour Island, while both beautiful, are a different feel to me, too.

Great Exuma has many deserted beaches to explore - all powder white sand and turquoise blue water. Georgetown is just across the harbour to dine, shop and wander through the straw market. On Friday nights is the big fish fry which brings in tourists and locals to enjoy cool libations and of course, fried fish. Lots of music keeps people dancing late into the night.

Rent a car to explore either end of Great Exuma - go south to one of the top beaches in the world, Tropic of Cancer Beach.

Thank you all !!!

I have looked at HI over and over.. Has some of the feel I am after but ultimately it's the water.. I do like the golfcart thing and different rest but water is top on list.. Looking at many pictures and reviews, yes beautiful beach but water can be ruff.

The bay at SI has what I am looking for although no town.

If this is my biggest problem, I guess I am kinda lucky :)

JohnB- I just got back a couple of weeks ago from Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos- it has a lot of what you are looking for if you want to do more exploring in the Abacos- quaint little town, cart around, quite a few places to eat and grocery stores,liquor store, etc for supplies. I am not sure where you stayed on Elbow (rental home or one of the "resorts") but there are both available on GTC also.
Do you need a town or just a place that has a restaurant and bar with the gorgeous water? you might look at Cape Santa Maria resort on Long Island (calm blue water), Bahamas or even at Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the Exumas if you can drive a 13' Boston Whaler. Don't let the words "resort" or "club" mislead you- they are both tiny little places.

Good stuff.. Looking at everything

Thanks so much.. Really!!!

Oops- thought of one more place where the water is pretty much always calm- Cocodimama Resort on Eleuthera (http://cocodimama.com) - I have been to Eleuthera but did not stay there (it was closed at the time).The food is supposed t be very good, too. It is a few miles- not many- outside of Governor's Harbour so you would want a car to explore since the island is very long. If you are more interested in a rental house then you might look for ones on Ten Bay as it is usually very calm as well. You would want a car anywhere on Eleuthera.

>>yes beautiful beach but water can be ruff.<<

I've not experienced any rough waters on my 4 trips while swimming on the pink sand beach. I guess you could if you are on the harbour side, where I wouldn't swim anyway. The water is beautiful and the sand truly is a salmon pink. It really is a charming island but more chic than the remote islands of the Bahamas.

Regarding Stocking Island, it's just a short 5 minute ride from Great Exuma to Stocking Island so the area is really all the same, imo. You <i>could</i> stay there exclusively but you would be missing out on what the area has to offer which is lots of beaches. Renting a boat to explore is what it's all about for us.

Beachgirl...vicariously vacationing through all of you..thanks so much..good to know about HI...still on future list but want the boat thing this time around.

SO ARE you suggesting staying on Exuma instead of SI?? But can't do car and boat...any places to stay with beach and boat access on Exuma?

johnb

I still vote for Stocking Island. It's the best of both worlds. You can walk out to a secluded beach on one side or hop in your boat on the other to explore the beautiful beaches, and a quick zip over to Chat-N-Chill or Georgetown.

www.chatnchill.com

I can't remember Stocking Island's owner's name but their friends at Club Peace & Plenty overheard me asking for a car and they took care of arrangements. Just drop your boat off and pick up a car for the afternoon to explore Tropic of Cancer Beach. I highly recommend visiting this spectacular beach. It is out of the boating range that Mimm's allows you to take your boat. I saw people do it but it was the same group who ran out of gas and Mimm's had to rescue. They say they will not rescue you if out of their approved boating area. I'm sure they will though for a large fee!

You are picking one of the most beautiful places in the world, imho. Especially by air.

I think we will stick with St. Francis! Thanks for everyone's help. Keeping the rest on our short list :)

I hope you have a wonderful time- I think St Francis looks like a great place and I think you made a very good choice! (I have discovered after many, many years to just listen to what speaks to me and trust it- your instincts are rarely wrong once you know your personal travel style- this seemed like the right place to you so it probably is!!). I have a deposit on a house in Great Exuma next April and look forward to seeing SF then. Please post a trip report and let us know all about it - I will be anxious to hear. You are SO going to love that "Windex colored"- blue water in the Exumas- I love the Abacos (Hopetown was my first love) but I think the Exumas might just have an edge on them for the water color and clarity. Happy travels to you!

of course..!

We have a US reentry question; My wife feels that we did not do customs in Miami after returning from Marsh Harbor..We have a tight connection coming in from Exuma.

How bad is connecting and is there customs to deal with? We have 2 hours if eveything is on time.

Appreciate it!!

You go through customs/immigration upon re-entry into Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. I prefer Ft. Lauderdale as it is smaller and is a little quicker than congested Miami.

Is the 2 hours your tight connection from Exuma?

I would feel alright with two hours but no less as you never know when you will encounter returning cruise passengers or a late island departure.

your going to hate me !!!!

I read about the famous Friday night fish fry...

1. Can we boat back to Stocking Island after dark?
2. Where is it located?

BTW..when we hit Georgetown..where can we park our boat while walking around??

sorry again

You did do customs in Miami after returning from MHH- we did that less than a month ago so I am sure. If you have returned to the country from Nassau in recent years though then you did do it in Nassau. Sometimes things like that run together for me but this one is still fresh in my mind if that helps any.

First, I could not hate anyone excited about the Exumas!!
Regarding the fish fry, we had no lights on our boat so we were not able to go after dark from the fish fry or anywhere for that matter. If you have lights then that's possible. If the owners are going over to the fry from SI you might be able to ride with them.

Parking your boat: there are docks after you go through the pass through (and you will know what that is when you get there) that you can park your boat. There is a dock at the grocery and one by Mimm's which is right by each other. Really, it is of no concern. It's the islands. It's easy!

About where the fish fry is located, just ask them (St. Francis owners) when you get there and they will direct you to the right area. It's all close and very easy to find! Enjoy!!