Bahamians have the most fun!
Written: Aug 08 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The natives
Cons: Snotty tourists!
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| ajbean's Full Review: Nassau |
If there was a vacation that I could take every year it would be to the Bahamian islands. To date, I have been there twice and have never been disappointed. My travel tips? Get to know the natives. The Bahamas are all about relaxation, sun, and fun...who knows how to take advantage of that better than the Bahamians?!
During the day, most of my time was spent on the beach-front property of the hotel that I was staying at, however, every hotel I've visited has activities during this time around the bar/cafe area and music playing in the background. Walk down the beach to visit other beach front properties and see what they have to offer. You won't ever be turned away if you are willing to participate to have a good time.
Take advantage of the knowledge of the hotel staff. Snorkling was one of my favorite activities, but it was frustrating not knowing what kind of sea-life I was looking at. One simple question to the water games area staff and I was handed a book. Let me tell you how shocked I was to find that I had been snorkling with Baracudas!
The night life was my favorite part of Nassau! One night, my friend and I decided we wanted to experience a local place and not a tourist attraction. We took the bus to the central downtown area and started walking. After seeing all that we could see at the local markets, we met a group of cab drivers. We explained that we wanted a real Bahamian tour and asked which would be willing to be our guide. We found a volunteer and then shocked him by taking our cab driver out to dinner. Surprised? Don't be! We paid for his meal (which was only about $10) and he took us to one of the best local restaurants around. Being a small, family-run restaurant, we were seated by the 10 year old son, waited on by the 15 year old daughter and the food was cooked and served by the parents. What a great experience! They gave us extra dishes to try of conch and grouper fish since we had never eaten those before and gave lots of good advice on local fruits and fishes to eat.
Our taxi driver (Note: most drivers are just taking you around in their personal cars for a flat fee...don't be shocked by the prices. Gas in the Bahamas costs twice what we pay for in the US!) was so excited by our willingness to try new things that he took us to a local festival practice. There were about 300 native Bahamians dressed in festival garb and playing music in preparation for the Junkanoo. I definately recommend traveling in the Bahamas between November and February. Junkanoo is the new year festival. However, before that time they practice and celebrate quite a bit.
Finally, if you are religious, take advantage of your church in Nassau. It was quite a trial to find the small building we met in, but after services were over, we mingled with the other members and ended up with a home-cooked meal, a ride to paradise Island and an invitation to stay at a member's home the next time we took advantage of the beautiful Bahamian Islands!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ajbean
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Location: washington, DC
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
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