Trip report to CORAL BEACH (and other GBI INFO). Thanks to Terry and Larry Ash

Hi all-
I'd like to thank everyone who passed along valuable info on this forum...it really made our "adventurous" vacation go much more smoothly. I apologise that this trip report is so long..it's a play-by-play report written especially for our parents who will eventually want all this info when they go to Freeport. Hopefully they will bring me with them and leave me there...Grand Bahama Island is truly a Paradise.

So…we rented from Hertz this time, even though I got a lot of recommendations to use a local company (which was totally booked when I called). I also didn’t feel like taking the chance of having an experience like we did in Nassau with Econo Car Rental (total nightmare, from waiting over an hour to be picked up from the airport, to the car breaking down on the far side of the island). We waited outside the airport in a humid but comfortable 80 degree weather for the rental shuttle, which arrived about ten minutes later. Picking up the car went smoothly, and we went down to the Port Lucaya Marketplace to have a conch salad at Callie’s Bar & Grill and kill some time before hotel check-in time.

From the hotel, we took about a 40 minute drive toward the west end of the island to go snorkeling at Paradise Cove. It was almost 5 pm by then, but the property owner allowed us to go in until 5:30. This place blows all of my previous snorkeling experiences out of the water. It was about a 15 minute swim to reach the reefs, which are about 150 yards offshore. I didn’t go to the backside of the reefs that evening due to lack of time, but there was plenty to see on the front side. The water ranged from 10-30 feet deep in this area, and there were tons of fish hanging out near the reef, including a few that I haven’t seen before.

We drove around Jonestown and Eight Mile Rock for awhile afterwards, trying to find a particular place that had really cheap food. We drove off the main road back toward the beach, and passed Sunset Village, which looked quite a bit like the fish fry in Nassau…a bunch of brightly painted shacks with some tables out front. Unfortunately, only two of the dozen or 15 shacks were open, so we passed them by, continuing our search for N&A snack shop on the north side of the main road. When we found it, we were a little disappointed- it was pretty busy (which I generally use as an indicator of quality), but there weren’t any tables to sit at, and we were hoping for a sit-down meal.

Driving around, we soon realised that most of the places named “Snack Shop” only did food to go, so we ended up getting food to go from Praise The Lord Snack Shop. The portions were huge, and the food was decent. The rice and beans (kidney beans, not the usual peas) were particularly good, and I really enjoyed the “baked macaroni” (mac n cheese). I had ribs, which were properly tender, even if the sauce needed a little smoke flavor, or something. Phil had curry chicken (a popular Bahamian dish, probably from British influence), which tasted great, but the meat was a little dry. Both meals also came with fried plantains, which I’m generally not crazy about, but they made a nice dessert. $17 for enough food to feed four people. We took the food back to our hotel and ate on the back gazebo overlooking the marina, while watching lighting flashes off in the distance.

Sunday- We got up around 7, and went to The Pepper Pot for corned beef and grits, which may be my new favorite breakfast food. 4 bucks fed the two of us, and we headed back out to Paradise Cove. Although this place is expected to get busy for Spring Break, it’s a quiet, perfect place to spend a day or week. There’s two cottages right on the beach for $225/nt or $1400/wk, a large deck with sunny and shady areas, bar and kitchen service, and equipment rentals (snorkels, boats, floaties, etc). They’ll take you out to the reef by motorboat for $35/pp and keep an eye on you while you snorkel (they watch from shore with binoculars, too) for 1.5 hours. This time, we swam to the far side of the reef and saw large schools (50 or more) of fish just hanging out, a couple sharks, and some weird long thing that was maybe a sea eel? I haven’t been able to find anything on the internet that would help me identify these things, but I’ll keep looking. If anyone can send me a link it would be much appreciated.

After about two hours in the water, we hung out on the deck with some cheap conch fritters and beer, while I tried to get my front half as red as my back half (we left the sunscreen in the car and were too lazy to go get it.) Then we took the scenic route back to town in search of fresh seafood to grill. We drove through the Freeport International Bazaar (a lot like Nassau’s Straw Market), which was nearly completely closed, except for the carnival rides and games. We stopped at a quiet bar for a few Kaliks and use of their phone book, and talked a bit with a few locals who came in after us. They gave us all the info we needed, including the fact that there was practically zero chance of us finding seafood on a Sunday. We settled for cheeseburgers that night, and spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the nearby hotel beaches, which were pretty, and empty. Apparently, February is not a popular time to come here.

Monday- Again, up at 7, in the car by 8 to drive out to the east end of the island. We didn’t realise how deserted this island is once you get out of the Freeport/Lucaya area, so had to settle for a tuna salad sandwich for breakfast in McLean’s town, at 60 miles away, the most easterly “town” on the island. There were probably thirty houses, a bar, and a “restaurant” that was serving only sandwiches that day. No seafood market to be found, but the restaurant owner called a few of her neighbors to see if they had anything they could sell us. No luck there, either.

We didn’t do too much exploring, because most of the roads branching off the main road are unpaved, and very rough. But if we had rented a Jeep, we probably could have found dozens of isolated beaches on the southern coast. Twice, we pulled off the main road, and found a couple of pretty places to stop for a bit. The first spot had very shallow water for a good 60 yards, but the water was too cold. The second place was just west of the filming studios where ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ was made, and I waded in a creek flowing toward the ocean for a bit, fished out a giant empty conch shell, and moved on.

We stopped for beers, and later, lunch, at Bishop’s in High Rock. High Rock is about halfway between Freeport and McLean’s town, and small enough that we blew right past it on the way out east. More friendly people helped us with some directions, and soon we were at another beautiful beach with a tiki hut bar right on the ocean. We enjoyed the view with a round of Kaliks, then headed into the restaurant for some fried snapper. Very good, and inexpensive food here.

Our next stop was Barbary Beach, which we had a hell of a time trying to find. When heading west from High Rock toward Freeport, there’s a roundabout with signs pointing toward Freeport- go left instead. After two or three minutes, you’ll hit a roundabout, and another roundabout shortly afterwards. I think the correct way to go is right, both times. (We made a few wrong turns, but figured it out pretty quickly.) I had heard that Barbary Beach was a popular lobster fishing spot, and I had assumed that there would be a bit of a town, hopefully with someone trying to sell some lobster. No luck, as there was nothing there but a few pull-offs to park in, and beautiful, soft white sand stretching as far as you’d feel like walking. The water was warmer here, so we hung out awhile before continuing our fresh seafood hunt. Nice place for some swimming and a picnic lunch, far away from the tourist beaches.

We picked up a whole snapper, some grouper steaks, and a couple of turbot at Carib Market and Seafood on Kennedy Drive, behind the Boulevard Gas Station. There were a few other fish species to choose from, but I particularly wanted to grill a whole fish, and Phil really likes grouper. Kennedy Drive is not on the tourist map, but is very close to The Pepper Pot. At the intersection of East Sunrise Hwy and Somerville Dr, turn north, drive just past the gas station, and turn left. Carib Mart is right there, on the right.

The rest of the evening was spent grilling fish and drinking Kaliks.

Tuesday- We went back to Port Lucaya Marketplace to have breakfast at Zorba’s Greek Cuisine. (They do a lot of Bahamian dishes as well.) I had corned beef and grits again, while Phil ordered the pig feet souse and grits. Neither of us were sure what he was thinking. The waitress even gave him a strange look. Word of warning: Souse in Bahamian cooking is apparently not headcheese, it’s more like meat in broth. So Phil got a bowl of pig feet in broth, with grits on the side, not the headcheese he was expecting. He tried to eat a few, and decided he just couldn’t do it, but the broth was okay. My corned beef and grits were good, but only about half the portion that we got from The Pepper Pot for the same price.

We had a few hours to kill before we had to return the car, so we picked up the next day’s breakfast from TPP, took it back to the hotel, and headed to Grand Bahama Brewing Company on Logwood Rd, near the airport. This is a true locally owned microbrewery that makes Lucayan Lager, Lucayan Light Lager, an amber ale, and a stout. The brewer didn’t have any stout when we visited, but we tried the lager and the amber. Phil prefers the Lucayan Lager over Kalik and Sands, but Kalik Gold is still my favorite, followed by regular Kalik, then the Lucayan, then Sands. Sands is a recent addition to the Bahamian beer market, and the locals are really hyping it, but it pretty much tastes like any old American megabrewery lager beer.

Afterwards, we returned the car to Hertz, and were pleasantly surprised to find out that their courtesy shuttle would take us back to Port Lucaya Marketplace at no charge. We stopped at the Pub at Port Lucaya for some Lucayan Lager on draught for Phil, and some Pusser’s Pain Killers (a strong rum drink with coconut, pineapple, orange juices, and probably a few other ingredients) for me. From there we went to Rumrunner’s to satisfy my need for conch fritters. It was the liveliest bar in the Marketplace, and had cheap food, but otherwise not worth recommending. Behind Rumrunner’s, across Count Basie Square, was a freestanding shack with a guy making conch salads. We picked one up, and it was the best conch salad I’ve had.

We took the ferry back to Flamingo Bay Hotel ($5 r/t, 5 minute ride) and spent the rest of our afternoon hanging out at the Taino Beach pool bar. It was cool, windy, and raining a little at this point, so we didn’t sit in the water (which was also a little too chilly), but we had a great time drinking happy hour 2-for-1 Goombay Smashes, and chatting with fellow tourists.

That night, we grilled the whole turbots, onions, and peppers. Turbot (known outside the Bahamas as Queen Triggerfish) is officially my new favorite fish…or maybe I just cooked it properly? It was mild, very moist, a little fatty, with little bits that remind me of the grey, fatty part of salmon. What a feast.

We had a crazy, windy thunderstorm with heavy rain that night, and awoke Wed. morning with no power…meaning no microwave to heat my tuna and grits, or Phil’s Stew Fish & grits. We packed, got our ride to the airport, and eventually ate our cold breakfast (still pretty good) before heading home. Our flight out was delayed by about 1.5 hours, but there’s a bar to keep yourself entertained. Word to the wise: You’re allowed to sit at tables in the airport with beers brought or bought from the store across the way…one of them sells all their beers for $2.25 each (but no Kalik Gold), and the store next door has Kalik Gold for $2.45. Once you get past security, beers run more like $5 or $5.25 a bottle.

About our hotel: We got what I consider to be a great deal on a vacation package: r/t flights from Seattle and 4 nights at Flamingo Bay for just under $500/pp. Flamingo Bay was perfect for our budget; the rooms were clean, airy, and spacious, with a microwave, mini-fridge, toaster, coffee maker, sink, and dishes/glasses/utensils. We had access to the pool and beach at the more upscale property across the street, with free beach chairs, towels, and some non-motorized watersports equipment. There is a ferry that leaves from behind the hotel to Port Lucaya Marketplace every hour. If you’re looking for a fairly relaxing vacation, there’s no need to rent a car for a four or five day trip.

About car rentals: The people on the Grand Bahama Newsgroup highly recommend Brad’s Car Rental. I waited until the last minute to book a car, and ended up with Hertz, which I was very happy with. If you’re like me, and wish you could explore every unpaved road, I would suggest Island Jeep and Car Rentals. They have a counter at the airport, and their prices are reasonable.

About booze: Drink rum. Beer is expensive, unless you go to Grand Bahama Brewing Co, where the owner sells 6-packs for $7, and cases for $24 (a little more for the amber and stout.) Call to arrange a visit (242)351.5191. If you’re thirsty for Kalik, go to one of the the Butler and Sands liquor stores, where Kalik Gold is sold for $12/6-pack, maybe a bit less for Kalik regular or light. There is a B&S Liquor store in the Port Lucaya Marketplace, and one kinda near the International Bazaar. But seriously, pick up a liter of Bacardi Anejo for $16, and go to town.

About fish: Unlike Nassau, where there are a few places to buy fish directly from the fishermen, I wasn’t able to do so here. So here are your best bets if you want to buy fresh fish:
Carib Market and Seafood, Kennedy Dr (242)373.2281
Lightbourne’s Seafood, Queen’s Hwy (242)352.5094
Butler Specialty Foods, Yellow Pine St (242)352.2082
G&L Seafoods, Peel St (242)351.2299
Grand Bahama Foods, G.B. Hwy (242)352.9801
Atlantic Meats & Veg Market, Queens Hwy @Keats St, open Mon-Sat