Hoi
Wij zijn eind april in Miami- Florida en zijn de optie aan het bekijken om dagtripje of tweedaagse naar Grand Bahama te maken.
Iemand ervaringen of tips hiermee?
Best op voorhand te boeken of toch in Miami beter/goedkopere te vinden?
Kan je (rental car) parkeren aan die haven?
thanks
Deze kom ik iedere keer tegen http://www.discoverycruiseline.com/home/homepage any good?
Dit wil ik ook wel graag weten, wij zitten in augustus in Miami en willen ook graag een dag cruise maken.
gr
DIt is een handige reply van dezelfde vraag die gesteld heb op het lonely planet forum.
Ik denk dat ik wijselijk Grand Bahama cancel.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?newPost=true&messageID=18170601
I’ve not done the day cruise but I have some friends who have done it and have talked to others I’ve met who’ve done it. I understand that the seas can be kind of rough and many complain of seasickness, so if you are prone to that sort of thing that’s something to consider.
The cruise goes to Grand Bahama so a little background on GB may helpful to you. GB will really seem like an extension of Florida to you … you’ll hardly notice the difference other than folks drive “on the other side of the road”. GB is a flat and scrubby island without much to see or do other than diving and some nice beaches. I will say that if you want to do some scuba diving, the diving is very good, inexpensive, and is a short distance from the beach so it only takes about 5 - 10 minutes in a boat to get out to many of the sites. The diving is better there than anywhere in Florida in my opinion. I also noticed that one of the cruise and stay options is Our Lucaya. I’ve stayed there before and loved it, and one of my friends has gone there a few times and loved it as well. We are both divers and that’s the primary reason we went, but the hotel is very nice, has several great swimming pools and a nice beach, although no better than South Beach in Miami or the beach in Ft. Lauderdale.
If you decide you want to go to GB, the cruise option would be your cheapest. It’s easy to fly to the Bahamas from Ft Lauderdale but it looks like airfare is around $200 each to either GB or Nassau (the capital). Nassau (on New Providence island) is OK, but not worth much hassle or expense to go to. From Nassau you can get ferries to most of the other islands, although these can be lengthy and not cheap so it’s not something particularly good for a day trip. The “quaint” Bahamas that you might be imagining will not be found on GB or NP, it is in the outer islands like Elbow Cay, Eluethera, Harbour Island, etc. Getting there will cost more, either due to more expensive airfares from Ft Lauderdale or ferry connections from Nassau and I wouldn’t bother with the connections and expense if you just have a couple of days.
I wouldn’t bother going to GB for just the day trip. You’re not going to see anything of note and you may just have a rough ride. Another day in southern Florida is certainly better in my opinion. Which brings me to my alternative suggestion … why not more time in Florida? Spending a couple of days renting a car a driving through the Florida Keys will be FAR more rewarding in my opinion. It’s a beautiful drive going from island to island via the bridges (the only downside is that traffic can sometimes be bad … avoid the weekends if at all possible and don’t even think about going down there over Easter break). Key West is a unique town worthy of a day or two. FAR more interesting than either Grand Bahama or New Providence in the Bahamas. If you don’t want to stay in Key West, there are many sleep little keys (islands) along the way where you can stay, but by all means do visit Key West. Also, be sure to visit South Beach in Miami. The beach is great and I love all the Art Deco architecture! There are also many other places in Florida you could consider spending a day or two, such as Disney World, that are far more interesting than a couple of days in GB in my opinion. BTW, I used to live in Florida and know my way around pretty well, so if you have any questions about Florida just let me know.
So, to sum it up … I don’t think it is worth leaving southern Florida and going to Grand Bahama unless you want to do some diving, then by all means go (although there is decent diving int he FL Keys). A far better choice, in my opinion, would be to go to the Florida Keys. If you decide to go and stay over in GB, I can highly recommend Our Lucaya (it also has a great marketplace across the street with lots of good reasonably priced restaurants … you won’t need a car if you stay there). Also, the cruise boat is your cheapest option. If you are wanting to see the more charming side of the Bahamas though you’ll need to spend more time and money and go to the outer islands.