Grand Bahamas: A backpackers guide

A quiet, lush, beautiful island of the Bahamas. Grand Bahamas is a large island and is the most northern island of the Bahamas islands chain.

Freeport is the major city of Grand Bahamas. It used to be known to the locals as the "magic city", as it was the first to come out with major hotels and famous casinos, it was seen and was a bucket list travel destination, it even brought Hollywood stars to the island to film!

Unfortunately, it has been hit with a few dire hurricanes, one just 2 years ago (Hurricane Dorian) that the island is still recovering from.

We travelled to Freeport for 4 days, from Nassau, Bahamas in October 2021. And 4 days was plenty. I would say 90% of the restaurants are closed and while downtown used to be bumping, it is not anymore.

STILL it was such a beautiful island, with a few magical natural formations that you HAVE to visit. They make the trip all worth it.

Things to know:

You need a rental car.

Unlike Nassau, Grand Bahamas doesn't have a very efficient transport system and taxis are expensive anywhere you go.

Opt for a rental car. We went with Hertz rental company and were able to rent a car for $30USD a day. Super cheap. We rented a basic 4 door sedan, it enabled us to reach all the magical natural formations that this island has to offer. However, to reach one of these hidden natural beauties (the Owl Hole) it is about 40 minutes down a bumpy, muddy, pothole filled road and a SUV or Jeep would be better. But not necessary, just drive slow.

We made it out scratch free and air in all 4 tires - you can do it too.

Also this way you can be sure to explore all corners of the island, leaving no tile unturned. All the hidden gems of this island are a decent drive away from the Freeport hub, and I couldn't even imagine the journey and COST it would be with a taxi.

West end vs. East end

The airport that you arrive in will most likely be Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO), it is located right in Freeport on the eastern-centre of the island. I recommend you stay in an Airbnb located close to this central area.

Following the Queens Highway to the west coast of island you will find a really wonderful snorkelling experience at Deadman's Reef. Or even experience the fake "Famous Pigs on the Beach." However, I wouldn't recommend (we didn't do it) as it is more like a petting zoo and is not the original famous pigs that you hear of when you think of the Bahamas. The owner keeps these pigs in pens and only let them out to the beach when you pay for an overpriced petting tour. But if you do not plan to go to Exumas Islands where the original Swimming Pigs are, then it could be a good alternative. There is also one of my favourite places on the island over here, called the Boiling Hole.

Deadman's Reef.

Following the Grand Bahamas Highway to the east coast of the island (its a long way, about an hour from downtown) you will find various residential houses that have been devastated by Hurricane Dorian and at the end of the road you will come by the Pinder's Ferry system. It is a show-up, first come first serve basis, cash only ferry that will take you to the surrounding islands such as Abaco Island for $130 round trip. Half way down this highway there is the haunting and exciting Owls Hole, where you can cliff jump into. A bit further down the highway you will come across Lucayan National Park with a mangrove boardwalk to the Gold Rock beach and a shorter boardwalk into two caves with an important indigenous history.

Lucayan National Park.

Read further down for more information and photos on these spots under "Must see"!

Where to eat:

Like I said, 90% of the restaurants that you see online are actually in fact closed.

We attempted to go to a few restaurants near the Lucayan Market and other than a few bars (that didn't serve anything other than alcohol) and the Greek Athena Restaurant, they were all closed.

However, the resorts such as The Grand Lucayan and Taino Beach Resort have restaurants in them and they are, in fact, open. We avoided these though, as we find restaurants in resorts are often pretty pricey.

One restaurant that takes the cake in all of Freeport is "Pier 1". They have a huge menu, decent prices, and delicious food. Not to mention you are right on the edge of the Caribbean water. While we enjoyed our sushi lunch we got the view of a mama Nurse Shark and her baby swimming around, and a massive Grouper, just 20ft away.

Pier 1 Restaurant.

We cooked most of our own meals and ate at fast food restaurants to help out our diminishing pocket books.

Our lil fav thing to do was to stop and get some fast food like Wendys, KFC, or pizza and take it to this perfect little drive up beach to eat and enjoy the sun as it sets. This beach was called Williams Town beach and just a short drive from downtown. ALSO there are always potcakes (Bahamas stray dogs) wandering around and they are surprisingly really friendly and CUTE!

Williams town beach.

Where to stay:

AIRBNBs all the way

You can opt out for the lovey resort lifestyle if your budget can afford it.

The Grand Lucayan has a pool, various restaurants, beach front property for around $100 a night. Taino Beach Resort offers the same as Grand Lucayan Resort for around $150 a night.

We stayed at the "Flamingo Mansion" in a separate apartment. It had a pool, was right on the ocean harbour and just a walk away from the Ocean Reef Yacht Club. Plus our Airbnb host had a couple of boats and took us out for a boat ride (in exchange for gas money) to Banana Cove, where we swam around and enjoyed a couple Kalik beers and radlers while the sunset.

Most definitely a perk of staying at Airbnbs, you can build relationships, get local advice, and often perks (such as this boat ride).

Boat ride out to Banana Cove.

Must sees:

Deadman's Reef

This reef and beach are situated on a land that is run by a local man. I never caught his name, but he is kind and provides a lot of insight about the island and where he thinks you should spend most of your time. There is a little pub there that provides tropical drinks, beers, or basic burgers and fries. Snorkelling equipment can be rented for $20 USD or if you bring your own (like we did) you can snorkel for $4. You can also rent paddle boats, floaties, and have a guided snorkel tour all for a really good price.

This is a reef that is being conserved. They have an artificial reef system in the shallows that is helping the coral reefs and local marine animals to replenish and survive. It is an important cause to support; our marine life and habitat is disappearing as you read this.

While we snorkelled for about an hour, we came across 3 sea turtles, a lot of various bright coloured fish such as parrotfish or pufferfish, and squid. But apparently if you are lucky enough you can bump into southern stingrays, spotted stingrays, lemon sharks, reef sharks, nurse sharks, and even manta rays. To see the best of these things you need to swim out past the first set of shallow reefs and into the deeper reefs. Only do this if you are a strong swimmer.

Deadman's reef.

Boiling Hole

Hands down the coolest place I have been.

The boiling hole is a pool carved out by erosion from the waves and is often a site where the nurse sharks and stingrays lay with their young. It is connected to the ocean by a carved rock formation, beware of the tides, when the tides were going out I could feel a bit of a pull taking me out towards the rocks and out to the sea. The part of the hole closest to the road is the deepest and you are able to cliff jump into the water here. Make sure to bring your snorkel and mask, there are lots of crabs, fish and conch all around this blue hole.

We went there 3 times in our visit, it was one of my favourite places on the island if not THE favourite. But one thing to be aware of, is that there is sometimes a man there that is collecting conch shells to sell. We encountered him twice, he asked us for a "donation" claiming he was the "custodian" of the place, but we just told him we had no cash and he "allowed" us to swim anyways.

Don't feel the need to give him money. Unless you are wanting to purchase one of his conch shells!

The Boiling Hole.

Owl's Hole

Hauntingly beautiful.

Trust me when I say this is a leap of faith.

This blue hole is definitely a bit of an adventure to reach. It is about 40 minutes down a very bumpy road, ideally a 4x4 vehicle would be preferred. However, it is not impossible to go in a rental car. Just make sure your tire pressure is good before you go and that you don't rush the journey. Take it slow. Down the rugged road you will find a small clearing that passes as the parking lot.

Okay, so I defined this place as a haunted beauty. I say that because while it is in the centre of lush beauty, it is a deep dark water hole in the middle of nowhere.

You walk in from where you park your car about 5 minutes down a small path, you will see a huge metal ladder sticking out of the ground, and then the hole, impossible to miss.

There is 2 main cliff jumping points, one closest to the ladder is about a 20ft jump and directly across from that is about 25ft jump.

The hole is a limestone sinkhole, so the middle of the hole is full of deposits, when you jump you need to ensure you jump straight down (not out) near the edges of the hole (not the centre). It is also home to nestling owls during April and May, but we weren't lucky enough to see them.

I have a fear of heights. (I know, its silly) But I COULD NOT get myself to jump from the top. While my partner was happily doing jumps and flips into this deep, dark hole, I was standing at the edge with my heart beating so fast I thought I might pass out. With much effort, my partner managed to convince me to climb halfway down the ladder and jump from there. With some hesitancey, I managed to jump in and enjoy the waters.

The Owls Hole.

Lucayan National Park

Lucayan National Park has two sections. On one side of the national park is a parking lot, which has a boardwalk loop that takes about 15-20 minutes to do depending on how long you spend in the 2 caves. And on the other side, across the road, is the mangrove boardwalk that leads to the Gold Rock beach. This walk will take you about 15 minutes to walk one way. There is a park operator at the parking lot, to explore this park they ask $5 per adult.

The cave system you find here is one of the worlds longest chartered underwater cave systems. It is a culturally important site for the Lucayan Indigenous group. The two caves are Ben Cave, which is a scuba diving cave but in the past was used as a freshwater reservoir, and the other is Burial Mound Cave, which was used as a ceremonial grave site. When a Lucayan indigenous person would pass away they would drop their body into the cave as an offering and to be taken back into nature.

The caves offer stairs and boarded paths down and around the caves to really check them out. Various birds, bats, fish and spiders can be found in these two caves.

The boardwalk across the road walks you through a mangrove ecosystem and is a birders heaven. So many birds. Make sure to bring your telescopic lens for some killer shots.

At the end of the boardwalk you are welcomed by an exceptionally long white sanded beach, called Gold Rock Beach. Offshore from Gold Rock Beach is a coral nursery that is being preserved to bring back the reef system in this area, however we didn't snorkel I am sure it would be good.

One hidden gem for those that made it to the end... Shh...

We found this when we were out boating but it is accessible by car.

On Silver Point Drive, just off of Bahamas Reef Boulevard by the man made trench that our Airbnb was situated on was a rope swing!

We spent a few hours here hanging out, drinking kalik and swinging in the water when we got too hot. Seems like this may be an area where people socialize as there were a few beer cans littered around. But we had it all to our selves when we went!