8 of our best attractions
Don’t miss these top activities! Exciting things to do on holiday in Nassau
There is no end to the activities available to visitors to Nassau, Cable Beach and Paradise Island. When you’ve had enough sun, sea and sand for a while, check out our top attractions. The following will help to make your time in The Bahamas memorable. Here are eight of the best.
Ardastra Gardens
Book now at tel 323-5806
www.ardastra.com
Visitors of all ages will enjoy exploring the verdant sanctuary known as the Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Center in Nassau. Here you can get up close to more than 200 birds, mammals and reptiles from around the world, including the renowned marching flamingos. Some of the wildlife here are rare and endangered species from The Bahamas and the Caribbean, including the Bahama parrot.
The 51⁄2-acre tropical preserve is located just a mile west of downtown Nassau on Chippingham Rd, across West Bay St from The Fish Fry village of eateries on Arawak Cay and near Ft Charlotte.
The resident menagerie includes meerkats, iguanas, parrots, macaws, peacocks and peahens, kinkajous from Central and South America, monkeys, lemurs, margays (a small South American wildcat), tame boa constrictors and other snakes and a crocodile. Many waterfowl can be seen on Swan Lake, including black swans from Australia and several species of wild ducks.
The stars of the show, however, are the pink west Caribbean flamingos, the national bird of The Bahamas. This talented flock has been trained to march in formation according to a drillmaster’s commands. These colourful birds have performed their well-choreographed parade since the 1950s, when Ardastra’s original owner, Hedley Edwards, trained them to entertain guests. Shows are presented three times a day.
Visitors can also feed the friendly lory parrots in their spacious enclosure at 11am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm daily. This is an activity that’s especially delightful for children.
Guests enjoy strolling through the lush, shady gardens along signposted paths, where many of the most exotic trees are identified.
Opened in 1982, the conservation centre was the first zoo in The Bahamas. Before then, the natural attraction had been open as a botanical garden since 1937.
Chubasco Charters
To book a charter, call 324-3474
www.chubascocharters.com
Experienced anglers, novices and family groups will all feel at home when they go fishing with Chubasco Charters in Nassau, the largest sportfishing charter company in The Bahamas.
Captain Mike Russell, the owner and operator of Chubasco, is a seventh-generation Bahamian who knows these waters well. He and his crews take guests to all the best spots for hooking up with the likes of blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, blackfin and yellowfin tuna, mahimahi, barracuda, wahoo and other fighting fish.
Chubasco offers full- and half-day excursions on four different sportfishing yachts, from a 36-ft Tiara to a 48-ft Hatteras. All the boats are equipped with the best fishing gear available and everything else needed for a comfortable and exciting time on the water.
They make quick runs to deep-water fishing sites as well as to shallow reef areas. If you lack experience, don’t be shy, because you’ll have just as much fun as the pros. Forty per cent of Chubasco’s guests, they say, have never been deep-sea fishing before.
The Bahamas is renowned for its fishing, and Nassau is ideally located for the sport. “Our boats are fishing within 15 minutes of leaving the dock,” Capt Mike says, “and are often hooked in to fish within 30 minutes.” Big-game deep-water fishing begins just a quarter mile off the entrance to Nassau Harbour.
The shallow reefs to the east and south of Nassau and Paradise Island are also productive fishing areas, where you can catch barracuda, mackerel, mutton and yellowtail snappers using light tackle.
The local fishing grounds are also famous for the spring and summer run of yellowfin tuna. Blackfin and skipjack tuna, mahimahi and billfish are abundant during these months, too.
Chubasco has a “no splash, no cash” guarantee, meaning that every angler will make a catch during full-day, fishing-only charters.
You can charter a boat for deep-sea fishing, reef fishing, snorkelling and island picnicking or a combination of all four during a full day’s booking.
Flying Cloud
Book now at tel 363-4430
www.flyingcloud.info
You may not be able to “sail away for a year and a day,” but you can escape for a few hours of fun on the Flying Cloud, a jaunty 57-ft sailing catamaran.
This boat leaves from the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal seven days a week for one of several different cruises. The most popular one with short-timers is the 31⁄2-hour excursion to Rose Island, not far away, where you can snorkel over a vivid shallow reef or relax on the beach. Snorkelling lessons and gear are provided. This trip is offered twice a day from Tuesday to Saturday and on Monday afternoons.
You can also take a 21⁄2-hour evening cruise, which departs at 6pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. “There’s nothing more enchanting,” says Operations Manager Michelle Major,” than watching the sun set while nibbling on complimentary hors d’oeuvres,” along with a cold drink, of course.
Beginning at 10am on Sunday, Capt Craig and his jolly crew take guests on a leisurely five-hour cruise to Rose Island for snorkelling and plenty of time on the beach to play volleyball, take a walk and sunbathe. Included in this outing is a delicious barbecue lunch with fresh fruit and unlimited rum punch drinks.
The Flying Cloud may also be chartered for a private dinner cruise that includes a three-course meal prepared by the crew and a complimentary glass of wine, with a cash bar available.
The cost of all cruises is a real bargain, and children from three to 11 are charged half the price (under three free). Round-trip transportation from hotels is included in the fare.
Bon voyage!
Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas
Book now at tel 362-4171
www.stuartcove.com
The Bahamas’ greatest treasure is its spectacular water world, and the best way to see it is with the help of Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas. This is the largest and best known dive company in The Bahamas, in business since 1978.
The top-notch operation is located on the southwest coast of New Providence Island on the former Flipper movie set. They have a fleet of dive boats as well as buses that transport guests comfortably from the major hotels and back again. If you need any kind of diving and snorkelling equipment, you will find everything you need there.
Food, drinks, clothing and souvenirs are available there, too.
Stuart Cove and his expert crew have worked on a number of hit films, including the recent James Bond film Casino Royale, along with Into the Blue, Open Water, After the Sunset, For Your Eyes Only, Splash and Cocoon. Divers can visit famous underwater locations such as Elkhorn Gardens, where the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was shot.
More recently the dive company has been featured on the television shows Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs, and every year they’re highlighted on the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.
Stuart Cove’s offers unforgettable experiences to everyone from novices to certified divers, with a varied snorkelling programme, dives on wrecks, reefs, walls and former Hollywood movie sites and a thrilling shark-feeding dive.
If you don’t know how to dive but want to learn, there’s no better place for scuba instruction. Not for you? Then you can enjoy a similar experience by exploring a colourful living reef by riding a SUB (scenic underwater bubble), a sea scooter with a large, air-filled helmet.
To get into the swim, contact the tour desk at your hotel or call Stuart Cove’s.
Atlantis - The Dig and Aquaventure
Book now at tel 363-3000
www.atlantis.com
What did the legendary Atlantis look like, assuming that it ever existed? The Greek philosopher Plato had his own vision of that lost civilization, and so did the designers of the Atlantis mega-resort on Paradise Island.
The Atlantean fantasy is uniquely expressed in an attraction called The Dig, which allows guests to explore what Atlantis may have looked like 11,000 years ago. Here visitors wander through underground halls and rooms filled with imaginative artefacts, inventions and ruins and gaze through window walls into a vast aquarium.
This gigantic fish bowl is one of the largest man-made marine habitats in the world. About 50,000 sea creatures live here, representing about 200 different species, including sharks and a giant manta ray.
That marine display is just one special feature of Atlantis’s sprawling Aquaventure, a 141-acre water park where the whole family can enjoy “20 million gallons of water and a billion gallons of fun.” Here you can feel the rush of the Leap of Faith water slide, an almost vertical plunge down the side of a six-storey Mayan temple and through a clear acrylic tunnel in a shark-infested lagoon.
The Serpent and Challenger slides are located at the Mayan Temple, as well. If that’s not enough excitement for one day, then go to the Power Tower nearby, where you can find more thrills riding The Drop, The Abyss, The Falls and The Surge.
Just as much fun is tubing through a maze of waterways, lagoons, tunnels and exciting whitewater rapids. Then you can take in other marine exhibits such as Stingray Lagoon and the Reef Lagoon. At Predator Lagoon you will marvel at an amazing variety of sea life as you stroll through a transparent underwater viewing tunnel.
Guests can also go snorkelling in a seven-acre saltwater lagoon, float through the tropical gardens of the Lazy River Ride or cool off in an array of swimming pools. Other popular pastimes include basking in the sun on a splendid beach and swimming in the crystal-clear sea.
Atlantis - Dolphin Cay
Book now at tel 363-3000
www.atlantis.com
One of the most magnetic attractions at Atlantis’s vast water park is called Dolphin Cay, a 14-acre marine habitat where everyone in the family can experience the thrill of meeting one of the most intelligent and lovable creatures of the sea–the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.
The dolphin programme here is known for the intimacy enjoyed by guests and their new Flipper-like friends. Groups of no more than 10 people at a time don wetsuits and wade into shallow water to meet the dolphins face to face.
“You’re right next to them,” says Don Strickler, senior director of operations. “You’re not just sitting on a dock with your feet in the water. There’s no barrier.”
Visitors can pet the dolphins, hug them and even steal a kiss from one. And if you want to feel what it’s like to swim with these fun-loving mammals (who wouldn’t?), you can go into deeper water wearing snorkelling gear and cruise along with them by using your own personal scooter. Swimmers can choose to stay on the surface or go underwater with their scooter.
“The dolphins will follow and stay right next to you,” Strickler says. “It’s just a very unique experience.”
Guests who are at least 10 years old and able to swim without assistance in deep water can also enjoy the exhilarating “foot push.” In this thrill ride a trained dolphin propels you across the lagoon with his blunt nose against your feet. Everyone describes this unforgettable experience as a real “rush.”
Dolphin Cay also offers guests an opportunity to meet equally friendly marine mammals–California sea lions–in a hands-on, shallow-water interaction programme. These playful animals are quick to shake hands, they love hugs and they’ll probably steal a kiss from you.
A visit to Dolphin Cay is sure to be a highlight of your visit to The Bahamas.
Blackbeard’s Cay - Stingray Adventure
Book now at tel 322-8446
www.stingrayadventure.com
If you have never met a member of the Dasyatidae family, then you should sign up for the Blackbeard’s Cay Stingray Adventure.
This family-friendly excursion is a great way to spend a day enjoying the Bahamian sun, sea and sand. But the popular outing offers even more. You will also get to meet a school of about 40 Southern Atlantic stingrays, some of which are as big as a coffee table.
The adventure begins when you board a 65-ft catamaran, the Coral II, which takes you on a pleasant, 25-minute ride from Nassau Harbour west to palm-fringed Blackbeard’s Cay, located near the Cable Beach shoreline.
During your visit to this little island you can swim in the clear aquamarine water, snorkel a reef just offshore, stroll along the beach or just relax in a lounge chair with a frosty tropical drink. In addition, you can get face to face and skin to skin with the friendliest stingrays you’ll ever meet.
The stingrays are the star attraction of a two-acre, protected marine park. Guests can pet, play, feed and snorkel with these wonderfully flexible cartilaginous fish, which are related to sharks but much more agreeable.
Your close encounter with these fascinating creatures is completely safe, because they’re de-barbed painlessly every two to three months. No incidents have been recorded in the park’s eight-year history. Expert attendants hold a briefing about the stingrays beforehand.
You don’t have to be a swimmer to meet this family. You can remain in ankle-deep water, or you can wade in up to your chest. Either way, you can thoroughly enjoy a unique experience that’s guaranteed to make everyone smile.
When it’s time to take a break, you can go to the bar and grill for a delicious lunch, snacks and drinks.
Whatever you choose to do, your visit to this island getaway will be a memorable one.
Lyford Lure Yacht Charter
Book now at tel 362-5558
www.lyfordlure.com
You can enjoy all the thrills of deep-sea fishing and more in comfort and luxury when you sail with the Lyford Lure Yacht Charter crew.
This company, established in 2006, offers discriminating guests “the ultimate fishing trip” aboard its beautifully appointed, 60-ft Viking sportfishing yacht.
The sleek craft may be chartered for full- and half-day trips to exciting deep-sea, deep-reef and flats fishing sites nearby. It’s equipped with professional sportfishing gear, outriggers and an expert crew to help anglers land the big one. All charters are run by a certified captain and a knowledgeable fishing guide.
You may sail into deep waters in search of blue and white marlin and sailfish, mahimahi (dolphin), wahoo and tuna or to a reef to catch such scrappy prey as barracuda, mackerel and yellowtail snappers using light tackle. Lyford Lure also offers deep-drop fishing with automatic reels and fly-fishing for bonefish on the flats.
The luxurious yacht can carry an inflatable tender and a bonefishing boat, if needed.
The Lyford Lure boasts all the comforts of home, including three en suite staterooms with bathroom and shower, a comfortable leather sofa, flat-screen TV and DVD player and a full kitchen. Food and beverages are served on request, and guests may arrange for catering services as well as special needs.
Besides fishing, the deluxe yacht may be reserved for snorkelling (equipment provided) and scuba diving trips to the best local sites. Guests may hire a private diving instructor to accompany them.
Pleasure cruises to the Out Islands may also be arranged. One choice is an excursion to the beautiful Exuma Cays, an easy day trip from Nassau. There you can snorkel, picnic on the beach of a deserted island and visit Allan’s Cay, the home of hundreds of iguanas. Or you could cruise to Hoffman Cay in the Berry Islands to dive in a blue hole.
Week-long charters can be booked. Gourmet lunches are served on all day trips.
“We try to meet the needs of every type of client,” says a company spokesperson.“The Lyford Lure offers the perfect yacht to enjoy the waters of The Bahamas.”
The yacht is berthed at the Lyford Cay Marina on the west side of New Providence Island.
Nassau on your own
There are many reasons to get out of your hotel for a day and see the sights around Nassau–and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
For example, you could start with an inexpensive horse-drawn surrey ride around the historic downtown area. Your guide will take you past the pink Parliament buildings on Parliament Square and point out the eight-sided public library on Shirley St (it was once Nassau’s jail), among other points of interest.
Or you could find a Bahamas Trailblazer Maps (they’re available free all around town) and see the sights on your own.
These include Government House with its imposing statue of Christopher Columbus overlooking downtown Nassau. Magnificent Christ Church Cathedral on George St is certainly worth seeing, too, as is The Central Bank of The Bahamas (with a gallery of Bahamian art), Balcony House (purportedly the oldest wooden structure in Nassau) and–in front of the British Colonial Hilton–the statue of Woodes Rogers. He’s the Royal Governor who kicked out all the pirates who had gathered in Nassau at the turn of the 18th century.
This hotel was built on the site where a military fort stood in the 1700s. Nearby–on Charlotte St, just off Bay St–is a building that used to be the old fort’s bomb-proof powder magazine. You can’t miss it, because this historic landmark is now home to Coin of The Realm, one of Nassau’s favourite jewellery stores.
Among Coin of the Realm’s treasures are historic coins from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which sank after wrecking on the Florida Keys, as well as Greek and Roman coins dating back to the 4th century BC, along with a treasure chest of modern jewellery.
Nearby are The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas and St Francis Xavier Cathedral, the oldest Roman Catholic Church–located across from each other on West Hill St. Farther afield are Fort Charlotte, crowning a hill overlooking West Bay St and Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Center just around the corner on Chippingham Rd.
There are two other forts worth seeing–Fort Fincastle on Bennett’s Hill near the Water Tower and tiny Fort Montagu, whose cannon overlook the eastern approaches to Nassau Harbour. Again, for these and all other locations, check the maps, which also provide a lot of interesting information for tourists.
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WBN10 - SeeDo_8OfTheBest
8 of our best attractions
Don’t miss these top activities
Exciting things to do on holiday in Nassau
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