What is the difference between Nassau and Paradise Island??
 

Okay - I admit that I'm a total novice to the carribean scene. But my husband is dying to go lay on a beach somewhere, so we're considering the bahamas. I've heard, though, that Nassau is very touristy. What is Paradise Island like? Also, we're considering bermuda, but hear it's pretty expensive. We're only able to get away for a 3 or 4 day weekend from Washington DC, so long flights are out of the question, but if there are other suggestions out there, I'd love to hear them. thanks!

You'll fly into Nassau, but definitely stay on Paradise Island where the beaches are better and the area is much safer. You can then go into Nassau during the day for some shopping. At night, always take a taxi. It is not the tourists that you should be concerned with, but the very aggressive locals.

Do the Turks! Short flight from DC and Great empty beaches, wonderful snorkeling and if you like DIVE.<BR>Paradise Island IS Nassau, just across a toll bridge and you are there. Talk about touristy...Atlantis is Tourist Heaven! (or hell).<BR>

I think both stink, frankly. Bahamas are close- go to one of the "out islands". Eleuthera is beautiful- Spanish Wells is cool. Harbour Island is really unique- pristine pink beaches, quiet little island, no high rises, no crime. Totally opposite of Nassau.

Beachbound; What type of experience do you want? If you want peace and quiet, and to really experience an atmosphere that's different, than Nassau or Paradise Island is not for you. I agree with the above posts that the out islands may be better for you. But, with limited time, the island of New Providence has dozens of vacant beaches which you can find on your own via rental car. My wife, daughter and I toured the entire island, and beieve it or not, there are still isolated beaches where you can spread out a towel and sunbathe, and snorkel. For example, drive out of Nassau on East Bay Street around Fort Montagu, Montagu Bay and Dicks Point, and continue around on Easter Road to Eastern Point and McPherson's Bend. We found unique places to relax, and were the only ones around, especially in the South Beach area. At times, you think you were on an outer island. Island exploring on your own, during the daytime, is fun. You could also drive to the South Ocean Beach and sunbathe plus take a snorkeling excursion with Stuart's Cove to great reefs. Believe me, if you pre-plan your stay, you'll find New Providence is much bigger than Atlantis and Paradise Island. You could island hop all day long, then return to your hotel and dinner in the "big city" at night, which it sounds as if you may want to avoid. Robert

Since you are considering Bermuda, I would recommend spending what ever it costs to go there. You will not regret it. There is absolutely NO comparison between Bermuda and Nassau/Paradise Island. I have lived in both places. Forget the main island (Nassau--technically New Providence). Nothing to recommend it. Paradise Island is like Vegas in the islands. Nice beaches, but crowded. Not a very restful vacation. For sheer beauty, history and elegance, Bermuda all the way!

Nassau is a dump. Paradise Island is its only saving grace. It is beautiful! To be honest, skip the caribbean altogether. The people on the islands have extremely bad attitudes towards tourists. I have experienced this on Nassau, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Martinique and Barbados. My recommendation is to go to Mexico. Try Cancun, Cozumel, Ixtapa or other coastal resort towns. You will still have the beautiful beach plus you will be treated well.

I'm confused. Paradise Island is the 'saving grace' and Nassau is 'a dump'. What is Nassau? The town? The Island? <BR><BR>What about Cable Beach? Do you even know what that is? How about Compass Point? <BR><BR>For a long weekend, or to get away for a few days, for my money Nassau is a great trip. Either you people don't know what you're talking about, you've been going to the wrong places when you get there, or you've been going to Paradise Island. Quite a blue collar group we have here.

I go to the Bahamas whenever I can get away, and love the warmth of the people there. Nassau is a city surrounded by beautiful water and beaches and you can find peace if you know where to look.<BR><BR>Paradise Island is beautiful and the Atlantis complex huge, lush and beautiful. Lots of guests and tourists visit the property annually so peace and quiet is probably not a good description, lots of activity and lots to see and do.<BR><BR>The Bahamas are nice this time of year and the water is warming up already, Bermuda is off the coast of the Carolina's so it is not beach weather there just yet.<BR><BR>If you are going for a first time, I would suggest looking into Compas Point, which is on Nassau (New Providence Island), but feels like an outisland. The accomodations are small huts on the beach with lush surroundings, great food and far enough away from downtown that you will feel a world away.<BR><BR>You can fly directly into Nassau and it is a short cab ride to the resort.<BR><BR>Another suggestion would be Harbour Island as another poster suggested. It is a beautiful jewel in the Carribean, lots of publicity is being done recently on the island, through magazines and the Travel Channel. It is said to have one of the 10 best beaches in the world. <BR><BR>You can fly from Nassau or take the Fast Ferry over each is around $100rt so you can take the ferry over and fly back.<BR><BR>Hope this helps and if you need any other info on the Bahamas, please let me know.<BR><BR>tweedy<BR><BR>

I stayed on New Providence Island for New Year's Eve 2000 at Orange Hill Inn, about 8 miles west of the capital, Nassau. While Cable Beach, downtown Nassau seemed very touristy and not get-away-from-it-all places, where we were on Western New Providence, we had the beach and ocean practically to ourselves and the views of the turquoise water were absolutely gorgeous. Orange Hill Inn runs about $100-$150/night depending on what room you choose. The hotel is not glamorous, but homey with plain, yet comfortable rooms and friendly ambience. I loved it, but it's not for everyone. More upscale, Compass Point is also on western New Providence, and the least expensive rooms (cabanas) there are about $200/night. <BR><BR>At the time I booked my tickets, there were no direct flights from DC to Nassau (maybe it's changed, but last I checked it hadn't), so it'll take you about 5 hours to get there with connection/customs in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. The airport is also in western New Providence, so if you were to catch say, a 7 am flight, assuming no major delays occurred, you could get to the beach by 1 pm. You may want to look into places with direct flights from DC (possibly San Juan, PR) as well, which will save you connection time and get you to a beach as quickly. <BR><BR>Good luck. Have fun! DAN

I too agree that the Orange Hill Inn(OHI) is my kind of place. It is homey, coomfortable and rustic in the restaurant/lounge area. It is laid back, frequented by scuba divers from all over the world, and the owners were the friendliest and accomodating people there. We were booked in by their daughter, who was home for Xmas bread from University of Florida, and she was bubbly and told us all we had to know about jitney service, places to see and when to see them, etc. The grounds were full of banana, coconut, mangoe, and lemon trees. All the guests got to know each other well, and many great talks in the bar area occurred each night. The beach out front, down a hill, was fun to snorkel in. Robert

If you do decide on Paradise Island, stay away from Atlantis- IT SUCKS!!

Although I'm sure Lorraine's comment was really helpful, I would have to disagree with her thoughtful, articulate response. Atlantis does not suck. Like every other resort, it depends what you are looking for in a vacation. I found Paradise Island, and the Atlantis in particular very nice. The beach was beautiful, great pools, good restaurants and enough nightime activity (casino, lounge, nightclub). I think it is a good, convenient choice for a long weekend.

I agree with Lorraine - it sucks. If you want Las Vegas, go to Las Vegas. If you want to learn a little about where you've gone and 'catch a vibe', stay somewhere else, preferably not on Paradise Island. Atlantis, like pacman, is eating up the entire island.

I feel Paradise Island has gone downhill with the over development. It smacks of what has happened in the U.S. As I stated in an earlier post, we used to take a small ferry over to Paradise Island, formerly called Hog Island, because the PI Bridge wasn't built. Only several small hotels were on the island, and there was no private beaches or properties. Miles of beaches, forests of palm trees, and inter-mingling with the Bahamian people, and no traffic, over-crowded swimming pools, etc. The Corona Beer commercial, where the couple lounging on a beach throws their pager in the gin-colored, turqoise waters from a peaceful, uncluttered, and lonely beach was the old Paradise Island. Now, it's Americanized and is just another urban sprawl which most of the younger generation only knows of. Too much cement and pavement; pesticide-controlled, manicured lawns; and Disney World type entertainment for those tourists who need a schedule to amuse them; and lack of natural, laid-back, solitude...that's what Atlantis and Paradise Island has become. Why go there? You aren't experiencing anything different or exotic anymore. I'll take the older, mom and pop motels on an outer island anyday. Robert

I might stay at Paradise Island were I to win a vacation trip, however I would NEVER chose to stay at the "Las Vegas" of the Bahamas. If you like lines of people, doormen, limos, pure NYC and Las Vegas glitter this is the place for you.<BR>I have stayed at Compass Point 3 times and LOVE it. Peace, beauty, excellent food - NO pretention here. Give it a try.

o.k. I've just read this entire thread, with definite different views of Paradise Island and the Atlantis.<BR>Now, if you have teens that enjoy the glitz of Vegas and the lights of Time Square, but you want to take them to the Caribbean for their first visit, isn't Paradise Island a good choice? <BR>We're from NY, need a flight that's not going to tie up an entire day. Want to snorkel with them. Have read here about some excursions to outer cays that sound awesome.<BR>What's the real deal? With all the hype and advertising regarding Atlantis ~ isn't it worth checking out for one's self?<BR>The Cayman's would be our second choice, but I'm thinking it would be definitely more expensive to feed my teens there. I'm open to suggestions.<BR>More opinions??

Hey.. NY.. Delta has a morning flight out of Laguardia at 8am (Flight 471) arrives around 11 am and an evening flight at 7:20pm (flight 420). It gives you 2 full days extra of fun in the sun.<BR>As far as the Atlantis, do a day or two there if you must, then go relax somewhere else. If you're a New Yorker, you'll be disappointed by the food there. Expensive doesn't mean great. <BR>Snorkeling at Atlantis is not very good, since the lagoon is man made. You can walk a miles or so West to Paradise Cove, or take a snorkeling trip to the sea Gardens or one of the private islands (Either Sea Island Adventure or Robinson Crusoe has good snorkeling, include lunch and a relaxing day at a private island)<BR>

First,<BR> If you have teens that enjoy glitz, then Atlantis is the place for you. Your teens will love it. The slides and lazy rive, aquarium and Dig will keep them well occupied. So many people slam the Atlantis. We love it, and apparantly a lot of other people do too. You won't know until you try it.

Yes, although I do slam Atlantis, it would be a nice place for teens to visit. I also think Scubagirl has a good idea for a well-rounded vacation for them, too. Go snorkeling with the dive op she's mentioned above, or one of the other nice ones too, such as Bahama Divers. Get a dive op that will pick you and your teens up and deliver you back to your hotel. Your teens can experience colorful reefs teeming with reef fish and critters of all kinds, not in aquariums. The best kept secret of the Bahamas lies underwater. It would be an exciting adventure for them to experience. Robert