We just got back from the island of Eleuthera yesterday. One word- Paradise.
We took a flight into Nassau and then caught BahamasAir flight to the Governor's Harbour airport. Next time we will try to get a plane direct from a U.S. city (Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Miami)to Eleuthera to avoid the time-consuming customs coming and going in Nassau and the chaos of luggage retrieval there.

At the airport, we were met by Mr. Stanton Cooper (nice man!) who had our van waiting as arranged. We paid him cash ($70/day) and went on our way. No papers to sign. As a lawyer, I found this wonderfully refreshing!

We stayed at Sunrise Villa, one of a number of private houses for rent on the Atlantic side of the Island just south of Palmetto Point. Some of the other villas we passed on the bouncy dirt road to our house were Conch'd Out, Kokomo, Round Hill, Tropical Impulse. Sunrise Villa was a gem- 3 seperate buildings perched on a small cliff overlooking a hundred shades of blue ocean and reefs. You walk down a small flight of stairs to get to the gorgeous sand beach. It comes with 4 kayaks (one glass-bottom) and 4 bikes - all of which we used every day. The snorkeling was amazing. Swim out 50 yards and the formations start. Swim out a bit futher and you see bigger and better fish and coral - even two humongous lobsters. No rays or nurse sharks, only brilliant fish. It's not the quantity of fish you may see in St. John or other great spots, but they are there everywhere you go.

The 3 separate buildings of Sunrise Villa are all very nice and had A/C. The main building at the top has the incredible see-forever porch, living area, dining area and kitchen, with Washer/dryer. The second building has 2 BRs each with private bath, each with their own entrance - hotel style. The bathrooms are cramped and old-fashioned, but hey, it's an out island. The third building has 2 more BRs each with a bath, but a connecting indoor hallway. The view from Sunrise Villa was just too incredible. The grounds are beautiful and very private - 4 acres with no neighbors in view. All this for $1,700 in high season. Incredible.

We never locked the doors - ever - and that was a treat in itself. No crime. We let the kids (all teens) ride bikes into Palmetto Point without a worry. The people who live on Eleuthera are SO nice and so welcoming. I can't imagine anyone comes to the U.S. and feels as comfortable as they made us feel.

Fortunately we brought some of our own supplies like condiments, cereal, snacks, juice mixes and coffee. Then packed a cooler of frozen meats as check-on luggage. Prices were astronomical ($7 for a gallon of milk, $8 for a box of Cheerios) because they have no income tax there - all revenue is from goods purchased. However, eggs, milk and bread were all very reasonable. We usually drank bottled water just because the local water had an odd taste for us.

We ate out several times. Mate and Jenny's in Palmetto Point had good pizza - a little high prices thought I think. Then we happened into Barbies on Church Street in Tarpum Bay - it's a tiny convenience store but has several tables for huge, tasty Bahamian dinners for $6 each. One day we had lunch at the Cove near Hatchet Bay -great views but a bit high ($133 for 3 adults and 5 kids) And a dinner at Tippy on Beach/Banks Road near Palmetto Point, where the food was good and it's on a nice beach, but we got chewed up by no see-ums while dining.

Most days we lazed around and snorkelled and swam and kayaked on the incredible beach at our house and saw nary a soul. One day we went sightseeing up to Glass Window Bridge (don't miss it!) and then found the Grotto and Hot Tubs about 500+ yards south of the bridge. (Drive south on Queen's Hwy from the bridge over an incline and park at the bottom and walk out to the Atlantic.) The kids got a big kick out of the "hot tubs". Then after lunch we took our flashlights and explore the Cave at Hatchet Bay (look for sign on the Caribbean side of Queens Hwy) That was a blast, but slippery footing and you follow a rope around the caves.

If you go, bring OFF- the no see ums were brutal for the females in our group and left the men alone. After 4 p.m. is the worst time for these little black specks. After that we'd put on jeans and shoes and spray our pants and that worked. Bring plenty of sunscreen and flashlights for the caves. There's something called "Bite Off" that a woman I met got in Canada and she says its a lifesaver once you get bitten, but we used regular anti-itch cream and took antihistimines at night time to sleep when it was itchy the first two nights (until we learned to wear pants and Off).

The weather was phenomenol the week we were there- very little wind, highs in the 80s lows in the 70s and sunshine all day, every day. But I hear you can usually expect some rain and some windy seas where we were on the Atlantic side.

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll be happy to answer them. Happy travels!

Jill,
Thanks so much for posting your trip report. I am taking my first trip to Eleuthera next month and I appreciate any input. I am a bit suprised at the grocery prices... I expected them to be high, but not that high. Where did you shop? Did you go to the store in Rock Sound? I hear it is the largest. I really don't want to carry food if I don't have to.
We are taking the same route as you. We are planning on taking carry-on only and not checking luggage, but we only have a one hour window to make our connection in Nassau to Bahamas Air. I hope that without checked luggage, this will not be a problem. Any comments? I was hoping to find a lot of fish and near shore snorkeling. I have been to STJ many times and was hoping to find some similar snorkeling in Eleu. Did you try different beaches all over the island?
We are staying in the rainbow bay area.
Any additonal comments would be appreciated.
Thanks

Hi Mewmom -
You will love Eleuthera! We kept comparing it to St. John as that was our previous favorite place in the world. Although I didn't find the snorkeling as wonderful as St. J, I liked other things (the non-touristy part, the friendliness, the abundance of sandy beaches) even better.

We had planned to snorkel several places that I had heard good things about - Ten Bay,Double Bay, Cupid Cay, and Twin Cove among them, but we enjoyed the snorkeling from the shore of our house so much, we stayed there.
I've heard Ten Bay is really good.

Yes, grocery prices were higher than we thought too! If you like eggs and bread (omelets, french toast, etc) you're in luck though. I went to the big Rock Sound grocery store once and prices were comparable to other places, although the selection was larger than other places. Is Rainbow Bay near Gov. Harbour? The Shell station/grocery store at the main corner of town had a good store with better prices, in some cases, than Rock Sound. And you can hunt around for some small restuarants where residents go and probably get some great food and good prices.

Your one-hour in Nassau worries me a little. We had 2 hours and it was just enough. We came into Nassau from the U.S. on a Thursday afternoon and were in the line for Customs for one hour. There were about 6 lines open, but some moved at a snail's pace (due to the officer's slowness) while others processed folks fairly efficiently. Luckily we were in a quick line. So, get off your plane as quickly as possible to get in a customs line. Watch the customs officers up front to see who moves people through faster and switch lines if necessary. You would only pick up checked bags after customs, so that shouldn't be an issue for you. After you get through customs, you will move quickly past luggage and keep going to your right to the BahamasAir counter. There is a line to check-in for flights. It was getting close on our flight, so our porter got the attention of a BahamasAir lady monitoring the line and told her, she called ahead for the flight to wait, and moved us to the front of the line for check-in. Don't be shy - if you are running close on time, let them know.

Leaving Eleuthera from Gov. Harbour was so different - no ID required and no metal detectors for us or luggage! But when we got to Nassau, it was more complex. First you deplane, get your checked luggage and then walk to the newest terminal at the end. There you get in line at your airline's counter to get your boarding passes. Next you get in another line to go through "security." There should be two lines to chose from. Eventually you go through a security check, then a US Homeland Security check, then a US Customs officer and then one more security check!!! It took about 1 and 1/2 hour total. Very odd set-up though - you'd think they could combine a couple of those check points.

When you get back, post a trip report please so we can hear about your journeys. I miss Eleuthera already!!

Thanks for posting your trip report. We are visiting the Abacos in 2 weeks and are very excited. Eleuthera is definately one of the islands we want to visit in the future.

Jill,
Thanks so much for the additional information. The customs process in Nassau does worry me as well. Worst case scenario, I guess we can overnite.
Coming back we have a 3 hour window, so it should be ok. Thanks also, for the grocery info. I will post a report when I get back! We are going the end of May.

Mewmon - are you back from your trip yet? I'd love to hear about it.