Coming from Florida, most or NEARLY everyone takes a cruise. Its cheaper and its “more fun” as people put it. I have heard so many negative things about Nassau. Its boring. Its dirty. blah blah blah. One obvious factor that separates me from these people is that I am nothing like them. I don’t look and turn another direction I sight see and i enjoy every opportunity i get. Nassau isn’t a pretty city but look at New York. Sure its got its pretty parts but its a very old city dating back 200 years. Nassau goes back even further than that if I am not mistaken and I loved that.
So instead of the USUAL cruise ship getaway, I happily flew from Orlando into Nassau to get the true Bahamian experience in a short 3 night stay. Originally, I was going alone but thankfully I found someone to join me and make this trip 100 times better. Thanks to HostelWorld, i found a really good hotel in the heart of Downtown, Nassau with a close proximity so restaurants, shops, straw market, cruise ship ports, clubs, and bars. I left America with a budget as I did for Arizona and once again succeeded in watching my money as well as enjoying myself with no issues.
One thing I want to make clear is that if you fly into the Bahamas, go strictly with a large airline. BahamasAir is not reliable and the service is terrible. My friend arrived 7 hours late the first day we arrived and all the employees gave different reasons. (I flew with JetBlue 😉 the best airline out there.) Once we got things settled we grabbed something to eat and discovered downtown’s’ nightlife for drinks and good music.
Flying into Nassau
Bahama Joes
Next day we took a ride over to Paradise Island to fullfill our reservations to the secluded Rose Island. (Which I found on Google Earth the year before.)
Rose Island – Found this on Google Earth
When we returned we enjoyed Downtown Nassau nightlife once again 🙂
The last day we walked along the Downtown shopping district for souvenirs also stopping to taste some delicious Rum Cake. At some point i needed to buy a hat so protect my already sun burnt head :(. We then headed over to the imfamous Senor Frogs not realizing it was Cinco de Mayo getting free shots and getting wild with a bunch of locals and cruise ship people.
Downtown Nassau
Cruise Port
Senor Frogs – Cinco De Mayo
During the evening, we toured all around the heart of Atlantis walking through its museum and aquarium and all around its towers imagining what it would be like staying there. I’d assume a week wouldn’t be long enough!!! Ironically we found a nice spot on Paradise Island to eat called Anthonys where i had a delicious Conch Pizza. When we headed back to the hotel we decided that sleep was for when we arrive home since we both had an early flight. We enjoyed our last night having drinks and listening to good music at the Bambu nightclub in Downtown.
The Atlantis Resort
Overall, this was a great and memorable trip. I know I would have enjoyed myself going alone like i did in Key West but just one additional person can make a trip more memorable than you can imagine. I hope to return and hop islands for a real Bahamian experience. Happy Travels Everyone!!
