Jealous

[JJ]

My 17 year old daughter leaves tomorrow to spend 3 days at Port Lucaya on one of her friend's family boat. NOT the Abacos, but I am jealous nonetheless. It is her 17th birthday tomorrow, so a great present for her!

Here she is (on the right) with her sister last year, jumping for joy after snorkeling reef off of north Green Turtle Cay. (I love this photo and just had to post it again)

[BahamaAngie]

Happy 17th Birthday to her and wish her a good time!

[vharrison]

Happy Birthday to her! We found a great deal for Lucaya, air included for 500$ each for 5 nights. We have never been to that island, anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

[BahamaAngie]

I want to say "Stay out of the water" Isn't that where that man lost his leg due to a shark attack??? On the positive side, don't they have night life, like casinos, etc????? It is suppose to be really nice but I get the feel it is more like Paradise Island which is nothing to sneeze at.

[JJ]

Night life, yeah, that's what I want for my 17 year old. I'll take the sea sharks over the land sharks, lol.

[BahamaAngie]

JJ, I did NOT mean for your 17 year old, I meant for V....no, I would not night life for a 17 year old either but I am sure they probably would!

[JJ]

She at first was told they were going to Atlantis, so she was a little disappointed to be going to Lucaya instead, but I think it will be fun. And yes, you are right, SHE will probably be happy to hear about the night life!

[BahamaAngie]

Atlantis is wonderful. It has the lazy river tubing and such a great spot for swimming, waterslides....too bad it wasn't there. They probably will have jet ski rentals at Lucaya which she probably will want to do. It really is fun. I use to love riding ours. Now with those sea nettles in the bay, I wouldn't put my toe in, yuck! She'll have a great time. Are YOU nervous?

[gummy67]

Port Lucaya is basically Freeport on Grand Bahama. We were there last year. They have a Port Lucaya Marketplace with shopping,restaurants and bars.In the center is Count Basie Square.The casino is across the street.Good conch salad at marketplace near dock at Count Basie.Really good conch salad a Joe's Conch Shack(I believe that is the name,I will look it up)

[gummy67]

I found it, this place is great.

http://billyjoesbahamas.tripod.com/

[vharrison]

Gummy, thank you so much, my husband loves conch. Where exactly is that place?

[gummy67]

It is on the beach to the west of the Westin. Their is a sidewalk that will take you there.The Westin is next to the Casino.

[divapam]

We honeymooned there 4 years ago. The marketplace was fun! The Casino was also a good place to eat a nice inexpensive dinner or lunch.

[Marty]

The conch place is on the beach side, next to the Sheraton which is next to the Westin. The casino is between the two on the street side.

We've been to Port Lucaya/Freeport several times. It is NOTHING like Abaco, but it has it's moments. It's touristy, busy, but easy and cheap to get to.

The Port Lucaya marketplace is where most things are located. Plenty of bars, restaurants and shops. Pisces is a must-do for dinner. Love the curry, any seafood dish, and their pizza. Zorbas is a great little greek place that has AWESOME Gyro omeletes for breakfast. Lunch there is good too. The infinity pool at the Westin is fun. Cool bar in the pool. The pool bar over at the Sheraton is ok also. There's a kids pool with a waterslide at the Sheraton.

The diving is ok, but it's cheap and a very short boat ride. We went with Caribbean Divers who operate out of the Bell Channel Inn. Good operation if you have your own equipment and are an experienced diver - i.e. you only need a boat ride to the dive sites. UNEXSO is a great overall operation that offers loads of trips for all experience levels including a couple dolphin encounters. They've got a nice shop at Port Lucaya also.

If I only had a couple days, I would probably go back. I doubt I would spend more than a long weekend there.

Marty

[vharrison]

We've been to Port Lucaya/Freeport several times. It is NOTHING like Abaco, but it has it's moments. It's touristy, busy, but easy and cheap to get to.

operation .

If I only had a couple days, I would probably go back. I doubt I would spend more than a long weekend there.

Marty

That is the thing, cheap and easy to get to. It will be our first time there, so I am sure we will have fun. Lobster season will be open, so we are looking to book a charter with Captain AJ of Exotic hoping to catch some bugs.
I am looking forward to the infinity pool.

[JJ]

I was looking into travel options there after Vharrison's comment and it is cheap. You can get accomodations for 4 nights and airfare for less than airfare alone to the Abacos, BUT I would never look at going there in place of the Abacos, just an extra sometime. My daughter is a lucky girl as she has flown down on her friend's private jet and is staying on their yacht which they keep moored at the marina at Port Lucaya. I am guessing that is close to the marketplace and the hotels, too.

[vharrison]

Yes, from what I have discovered, the Port of Lucaya is right near the marketplace. There is a hotel at the Port that is very reasonable, and we considered staying there, but for just a little more, we opted for the beach.

[Marty]

The marina is essentially right in the middle of the marketplace. There is a hotel/condo place there, but we also opted to stay oceanfront. The Sheraton currently has rooms in August for $90/night! The Westin right next door is about $125/night I think. Still a great deal for a nice room with a comfy bed. It is closing in on peak hurricane season, but it's still a good deal for a quick long weekend.

[gummy67]

Anything longer than a long weekend would be too much.

[BahamaAngie]

I would think the airfare would NOT be worth it!

[gummy67]

Discovery Cruiseline has a day cruise over(cheap).

[JJ]

I would think the airfare would NOT be worth it!

I saw advertised specials for Sheraton and Westin that were in the range of $500 for 4 or 5 nights and INCLUDED airfare. vharrison has seen the same thing or something similar. There may be a catch, but that really sounds more than reasonable reasonable.

[patw]

I don't think there is a catch. Tourism is down, especially in Freeport. They are desperate for tourists. I read a Bahamian forum and I read stories all the time of businesses that are closing down in Freeport. Its happening all over the Bahamas. In MH, Subway has closed and also Hummingbird Restaurant has closed.

[vharrison]

I would think the airfare would NOT be worth it!

100$ a night, airfare included? It's worth it to me, but I am a hop, skip and a jump from there! I wasn't even going to mention we were going, because, well, it is not the Abaco's, but I could not resist the price.

[gummy67]

I like swinging over to get my Heineken and conch salad fix. I don't like casino's or tourist ****.

[Marty]

Getting there from FL is a breeze. US Air flys direct from Charlotte to Freeport also. I can get a R/T ticket for around $250-300 from DC. Sometimes less. Lots of hotels and/or travel agencies are bundling hotel and airfare deals that can't be beat. I've also seen deals including several hundred dollars in casino action included.

I would go there for a cheap, quick long weekend getaway. But as has been mentioned earlier, I would not substitute Freeport/Lucaya for Abaco for a real vacation.

The infinity pool (& bar) at the Westin is (are) sweet.

[JJ]

Marty, are you in the infinity pool in that picture? If so, it looks like it is really right on the beach!

My daughter snorkeled yesterday and she said it was comparable to the Abacos (other than freshwater springs, the Abacos are the only place she has snorkeled). Sounds like it would be good for a long weekend trip sometime.

[BahamaAngie]

Wow, they are really good deals!!!! Let's see how can we incorporate this to continuing onto Abaco and back????? Can I ask, well I want my return to be 5 weeks from now????? You guys are lucky to be able to scoot over like that, it's great. My mentality is if I am going to spend a substantial amount on airfaire then I want to stay awhile.

[JJ]

Not sure how you would coordinate the flights, but Regional Air flys from Freeport to The Abacos. Brad has mentioned their rates before. So maybe you find a deal on a 4 night stay including airfare to Freeport then add on a Regional Air trip from Freeport to the Abacos.

[Marty]

Yep. We were sitting at the edge of the pool. It's about 5-10 feet above the level of the sand, but it is right on the beach. The water runs over the edge like a waterfall into a drain about 2-3 feet below the lip of the pool. Makes a great picture. The bar has two levels, one at the pool deck level and one literally in the pool. The bar stools are about a foot below the water level.

The snorkeling was ok. I wouldn't say it was comparable to Abaco at all. Way too many people on the 'cattle boats' jumping in the water, stepping on the reef to fix a fin or mask.

I snorkeled right off the beach at the Sheraton. Found a big plastic bag on the bottom AND filled it up with trash in less than a half hour. That's trash from the bottom just off the beach, not on the beach. They rake the beach and keep it clean. No one sees underwater.

I posted a picture when we got back last year of the "reef" I found off the beach with a resident lion fish. It was an old tire. Maybe 15 yards off shore in about 10 feet of water.

[JJ]

The snorkeling was ok. I wouldn't say it was comparable to Abaco at all. Way too many people on the 'cattle boats' jumping in the water, stepping on the reef to fix a fin or mask.

She went out on her friend's private boat so she probably did not go to the same place as the 'cattle boats'. She is also only 17 so her perspective may not be the same as ours, but it sounds like if you go to the right place, it may not be so bad. Can you rent your own boat there?

[Marty]

I've heard you can rent a boat, but it is nowhere like Abaco. It is not standard operating procedure to get a boat and a house. Most accomodations are hotels or condos and everything is on the same island. No real need to have a boat to get everywhere, unless you want to go diving or snorkeling a lot.

JJ, they probably went to the dive sites which are a little farther away from the beach areas. They're nice, but not quite up to par with Abaco. But I would rather be there than sitting here typing this right now!:D

[BahamaAngie]

I remember seeing a tire once in the waters of Cozumel...how does one drop a tire in the ocean????

JJ, how would we get back, that is the 64K dollar question?

[JJ]

You would have to see if the people offering the deals to Freeport can work with you on the return flight. If they could make the return flight a week or so (however long you want to stay in the Abacos) later, then you could fly into Freeport on the hotel/airfare deal, stay the few days in Freeport, then fly Regional Air to the Abacos. After your stay in the Abacos return to Freeport on Regional Air then catch the return leg of the hotel/airfare deal flight. If you are limited on vacation time, this could mean cutting down on your time in the Abacos, which is not a good idea.

Regarding the tire, people deliberately put things like tires and junker cars in the ocean (carry them out via boat or barge) to create an artificial reef.

[JJ]

Just got off the phone with my daughter. She said yesterday they got some conch while snorkeling and she said they took it to some guy to make conch salad for them which they are picking up today. Wondering if it is the place you were talking about gummy! Funny thing is, my daughter is the pickiest eater when she is around us but is obviously more adventurous with her friends. She generally does not like seafood, the only exception is that she eats cracked conch from Laura's Kitchen on Green Turtle. Other than that it is chicken fingers or burgers for her whenever we go out for seafood (the way she groans about seafood, I sometimes wonder if she was switched a birth -- how could a child of mine not like seafood?!?). She said they ate a little conch fresh from the shell with lemon yesterday and is anxious to try conch salad. Something she would have never done with us.

[BahamaAngie]

Kids are amazing!

[gummy67]

Jo Ann We have had conch salad from a little stand at Count Basie Square next to the dock at Lucaya Marketplace and Billy Joe's Conch Shack.She probably had the guy at the conch stand make it.Have her take some pictures!

[vharrison]

(the way she groans about seafood, I sometimes wonder if she was switched a birth -- how could a child of mine not like seafood?!?).

JJ, my oldest is like that also.:rolleyes: