Pirate's Cove beach and Hotel
Bahamas/Paradise Island Trip Report
Wife and I just got back from a 3 night trip to the Bahamas, and I am writing down some observations in case they're useful for anyone else planning a similar trip. This was our first trip to the Bahamas or any Caribbean Island. This account is, of course, very subjective, and your mileage may vary, etc.
We went there in the first week of January, 1997, and the weather was just superb - low 80's and only a few clouds. I mention this because I think good weather was crucial to our liking this vacation so much. All in all we had a terrific time, and hope to get back there again soon.
Preliminaries
We booked our trip through Island Hoppers, a travel agency in Kissimmee, Florida. They offer a wide range of air/hotel packages to various Bahamas destinations. I called a few of the hotels and airlines directly, and discovered that it was a better deal to get the Island Hoppers package rather than booking separately (of course, you should compare prices at other places too, before buying). They were also fairly prompt about mailing tickets etc.
We were booked to stay at the Pirate's Cove Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn) on Paradise Island. We wanted to stay on Paradise Island (as compared to Cable Beach) based on accounts of other travelers. In retrospect I think this was a good choice.
The Bahamas Dollar is the exact same value as a U.S. Dollar, and can and is used interchangeably in Bahamas. You don't need to convert any currency before departure.
The telephone area code for the Bahamas has changed to 242 as of Jan. 1,1997.
Arrival
We traveled from Miami to Nassau by Bahamasair, and this was overall a pleasant experience. There were no lines at check-in, and the plane (Boeing 737) was about half empty in each direction. It's a very short (45 min.) flight, and if the weather is clear I do suggest a window seat.
The airport at Nassau is small (i.e. uncrowded). There were no self service luggage carts in the baggage claim area, so we hired a porter with cart to take our luggage out. We went through immigration and customs very quickly. There is a tourist information desk just after you get out of immigration check (but before the baggage claim) where they had maps and other tourist info for free.
Our package included transfers to/from the hotel, and we quickly spotted the driver from "Bahamas Pleasure Tours" as he was holding a sign with our name on it. The transfer to Paradise Island being included in the package was a nice bonus as I discovered the regular taxi fare is about $30, one way.
The "taxi" was more like a minibus with seating for 20, but we were the only passengers. The airport is located near the western end of New Providence, and the road to Nassau follows the coastline in many places. The road can best be described as narrow and somewhat bumpy, and because of this it seems like people are driving too fast, even though they really are not. Traffic moves on the left side of the road, and for the most part it's safe enough. However, one should be careful to look both sides when crossing a road, and I don't think it's safe to rent and ride on a moped or scooter there, given the uneven roads and somewhat aggressive driving style. There wasn't much traffic on a Saturday afternoon, and we arrived at the hotel in about 30 minutes.
Hotel
(Note added 2004: I have since learnt that the Pirate's Cove Hotel has been purchased and demolished by the neighboring Atlantis property)
The Pirate's Cove is a very modern hotel located directly on the northern shore of Paradise Island. To get there from Nassau, you cross the bridge to Paradise Island, turn left and go about a half mile, then turn right and go to the end of Casuarina Drive (about a quarter mile). The lobby area is very nice and spacious, with many plants.
The hotel is a 16-story concrete structure that does seem out of place in the surroundings. Someone said it is the tallest building in the Bahamas. There is a very nice pool with pretty good landscaping. All the rooms have a balcony overlooking the ocean.
We were assigned a room on the 11'th floor, overlooking the pool and ocean. The room was very clean and spacious. I noticed only three minor areas that could be improved:
(1) The beds could be a bit more firm.
(2) The air-conditioner made the room too cool even on it's lowest setting. This may not be a problem in the summer.
(3) There was no description anywhere in the room about the services at the hotel (e.g. check out times, pool regulations etc.). When I asked at the front desk about this they said none was available. The "Do Not Disturb" sign was also missing.
These are all fairly minor flaws in what was overall a very pleasant say. The balcony is a very nice bonus for sitting in mornings and evenings. The staff were all very courteous and helpful.
Surroundings
Pirate's Cove is also the name of the beautiful lagoon adjacent to the hotel. It is circular in shape and surrounded by a coral reef. There is a narrow beach that surrounds the lagoon, and towels and chairs are available for use by hotel guests. The water here, as on neighboring Paradise Beach, is crystal clear and seems ideal for snorkeling. The color of the water seemed to range between turquoise and deep blue. Wave action is very gentle on account of the shape of the cove.
Between the hotel and the ocean there is a nice pool area, complete with waterfall. The three pictures below show the hotel and surroundings.
Pirate's Cove pool and beach - aerial view
Pirate's Cove pool and waterfall
Beaches
This is the main reason many people come to the Bahamas, and some of the beaches are very nice indeed. The weather was perfect, with light winds, while we were there, and we spent a day and a half at Paradise Beach, the nicest beach I have seen (in my limited experience).
There are two main beach areas around Nassau frequented by tourists. Cable Beach has many hotels and is a couple of miles west of downtown on the main island of New Providence. We went there only at night, so I can't comment on the beach there. The other main beaches are on Paradise Island.
Some of the big hotels (Atlantis, Radisson) on P.I. are located on Cabbage Beach. Other's (Pirates's Cove, Paradise/Paradise, Club Med, Chaplin House) are located near Paradise Beach.
In my opinion Paradise Beach is the nicest of all these. It is about 100 feet wide and a mile long, and has a classic comma shape. The water was as clear as it is possible, with many interesting shades of blue and green. In many places there is a very gentle sandy slope under the water, and it possible to wade out a good distance. The beach is somewhat sheltered at its eastern end by a coral reef, and the wave action was very gentle at all times while we were there. The sand is not very white, but it is very soft, and not many rocks or sharp objects.
The two pictures below show Paradise Beach.
Paradise Beach from Hog Point (N.E. end)
The beach at Pirate's Cove is very picturesque, but is a bit steep, and the bottom turns to rock very quickly if you wade out. Moreover, the hotel building throws a large shadow on parts of the beach. For these reasons we spent most our time at Paradise Beach, which is a short 2 minute walk from Pirate's Cove.
On the beach we were approached by vendors selling coconuts ($4 each), hair braiding, ski-jets, parasailing etc. but they were not bothersome, and a polite "no" is all you need. None of the beaches were crowded, and the western end of Paradise Beach is virtually deserted.
The eastern end of Paradise Beach ends in a coral reef named Hog Point, and seems like an excellent area for snorkeling. I saw several schools of fish, and people reported seeing a barracuda, though I didn't see any myself. The time we spent on the beach or in the water was my favorite part of the trip, and by the second day I found myself wishing that we had come for a longer time.
Food
On Paradise Island, the number of restaurants is very limited (i.e. expensive) and almost all are part of hotels. At Pirate's Cove, there were two restaurants, Paradise Grill and Junkanoo Cafe, with the latter open only for breakfast and lunch. There was also a snack bar open for lunch by the pool, plus a bar near the pool and one in the lobby. Of these, we ate only at the Junkanoo Cafe and the poolside snack shop, and found the prices not too bad, and the helpings generous. The Junkanoo Cafe in particular is one I can recommend highly, plus it has a location overlooking the ocean.
The other main eating on Paradise Island is at the Atlantis Casino, which claims 12 restaurants. The only somewhat reasonably priced one of these seemed to be the "Casino Cafe", located at one end of the main casino floor. It also seemed to be the most crowded, and we didn't eat there.
Neither of us eats seafood, so this prevented us from trying some of the local specialties, such as Conch.
At the Nassau end of the bridge to Paradise Island there is mini-mall with a few fast-food places, including Domino's Pizza, Burger King, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, plus a chinese restaurant. Domino's does deliver to anyplace on Paradise Island.
We did not eat anywhere in downtown Nassau, but the choices there seemed limited, and almost everything (except some restaurants) seemed to be closed after 5 PM.
We also noticed a Tony Roma's near Cable Beach, plus Sbarro's, and a Pizza Hut. In general the number of less expensive places may be more around Cable Beach. Most of the eating places add a 15% tip automatically to the bill.
(Judy Sacks adds:
In Nassau City we like a couple of really good restaurants with inexpensive local cuisine: The Bahamian Kitchen, which caters mostly to area businessfolk, and a "take-away" right across the street from Coin of the Realm (a stamp and coin shop). Sorry I don't recall the street names, but you can find that out. If you're vegetarian you can get potato salad, coleslaw, and peas and rice; we do eat the conch and it's really good. Another super, and well-known, local-cuisine restaurant is Traveler's Rest, a cab ride outside of the Cable Beach area. Not sure what you might find there if you don't eat seafood, however--but great draft beer and good company at least. It's been five years since we were there, but these are long-standing favorite spots. Re Traveler's Rest, it faces the ocean and is great at sunset, and some very interesting types wind up there (local rural Bahamian folks mixing with video-divers for National Geographic, that sort of thing). In particular, they have great draft British beer (Watney's or the like), and the food is the best.
The jitneys (little buses) on Cable Beach are a lot of fun, cheap and cheery with loud radio music.)
Getting Around
Options for travel to/from Paradise Island are limited. There is a free shuttle bus that runs between Pirate's Cove/Paradise-Paradise and the Atlantis Casino (about 1 mile). This shuttle runs about half-hour each way until midnight. There are no other buses on Paradise Island.
For getting off the Island, there is a water taxi that goes from the end of Casuarina Drive (about a 5 min walk from Pirate's Cove) to downtown Nassau. The fare is $2 per person. It's about a 10 minute trip, and they seem to operate from 9:30 AM to 6 PM. There seems to be some confusion about where the water taxi departs from at the Nassau end, but I would try the wharf just outside the Straw Market first. I was somewhat concerned about the safety of the water taxi we rode, as "life vests" seemed to be really worn our cushions that did not appear seaworthy, and the boat itself was riding pretty low in the water.
The other option is a taxi. There were plenty of taxis available outside all the hotels at all times. They will also slow down on any road and ask if you want a ride if they spot you walking. Taxis in Nassau seem to come in all shapes and sizes, and many are in fact minibuses or stretch limos. The only way to distinguish a taxi is to look for the word "Taxi" printed on the driver's door. It is best to negotiate the fare before getting in. We were charged the following : $14 for Pirate's Cove to Cable Beach, $10 for Pirate's Cove to downtown Nassau, plus there is a $2 toll everytime a car/taxi crosses the bridge to Paradise Island (but none the other way). In most cases the taxi driver will expect that you know this and will ask for an additional $2 at the toll booth. Many of the taxis will also charge extra if there are more than 2 people in the group. All the taxi drivers we met were friendly and reasonably safe.
I was told there is a minibus service between Cable Beach and Nassau where they charge 75c per person. We did not try this.
After Dark
There seemed to be very limited activity on Paradise Island after dark. The contrast was striking as we had just spent 4 nights at Miami Beach. Nightlife here seemed limited almost entirely to the two Casinos. The casino on P.I. is the Atlantis, and on Cable Beach there is the Crystal Palace.
We went to the Atlantis twice, and it is a pleasant diversion. We are not into gambling, but it was interesting to see the many different machines and games. Some of the players seemed really intense. Dress code at the casinos seemed casual. Ties or jackets are definitely not required, though it may be good to have long pants and shoes.
Besides the casino and restaurants, the Atlantis also has very extensive landscaping, complete with many waterfalls, a lagoon with many fish incl. sharks, an underwater tunnel and many tropical plants.
One night we took the last ferry (6 PM) to downtown Nassau, but found it very deserted (maybe because it was Sunday?). We walked around for a while but there were few people around, and wife felt a bit unsafe, though I personally didn't get that feeling. We met some people at the British Colonial Hotel who were taking a cab to the Atlantis, so we shared the ride with them. Spent the rest of the evening at the Atlantis, where it was at least more lively.
On our third day a family from Quebec we met at the beach gave us tickets to the "Las Vegas style" show at the Crystal Palace casino, so we decided to go there. Found the casino at Crystal Palace slightly larger than the one at Atlantis, but very similar in most respects. They do have a "Philadelphia style" deli at one end of the casino, near the sports betting area. There's also a Sbarro's Itlaian fast food place just east of the casino on the main road.
Tried our luck at the slots, won a bit but lost it all back plus more. It was exciting when the lady just next to us won $1500 at the slot machine. The landscaping at the back of the Crystal Palace is very sparse compared to that at the Atlantis. Unfortunately the show theater was closed on Mondays, so we could not see the Las Vegas show.
There was also a steel band playing live every night in the lobby area of the Pirate's Cove. This was fun to listen to, though somewhat loud in the confined space.
Nassau City
We spent a few hours Monday morning in downtown Nassau. There are many shops on Bay St. selling all types of stuff. There is also the Straw Market where they sell lower cost souvenirs and cheaper local handicrafts. I was not overly impressed by the shopping scene, but I am not much of a shopper. It is a bit depressing to see some of the poverty around the straw market. It is difficult to browse, because the momemt you start to leave the vendors start offering to sell the goods at much reduced prices. Still, we picked up a nice wood carving and some assorted knick-knacks.
Our limited time did not allow visits to some other sights around Nassau, such as the zoo etc. The sample picture below shows Parliament Building, located just off Bay Street.
Downtown Nassau - Parliament Building
On our final day, as we were driven in a minibus from hotel to airport, the driver decided to take a more indirect route due to traffic conditions, so we got to drive around the bylanes of Nassau away from the tourist areas. Traffic was slow moving, but this ride gave us a glimpse of the real Nassau. It is a strange contrast between rich and poor neighborhoods. There were fancy government buildings and broken down shops with bars on windows. Even though there were many signs of some poverty, there were no widespread slums as we have seen in some other places.
People
We did not have any real contact with local people other than those in the tourist trade. The people we did meet, taxi drivers, hotel workers etc., were all friendly and helpful.
There were always a group of taxis parked near the hotel entrance, and it is a bit disconcerting to keep declining their offer of "taxi" each time you walk out. In general there were many people around the hotel and beach offering all types of services, but no one offered to sell drugs, and we never felt pestered. Any tip was always accepted with a smile. My overall impression was that the people are somewhat poor but not miserable.
Departure
Not much to report here except that there is a $15 per person departure tax that is collected at the airport, and which is usually not included in travel package. Allow for at least one hour travel time between Paradise Island and the airport during rush hour. U.S. customs and immigration are cleared at Nassau airport, which is a plus since it's a lot less crowded than Miami.
Bahamasair has a nice in-flight magazine.
Next Time
I am sure there will be a next time, because we did enjoy our trip. I would probably favor staying at Paradise/Paradise even though it's a simpler looking hotel. One of the guests staying there told us the beds there were firm, and the location is hard to beat. But if they were full I would see no problem staying again at Pirate's Cove. Club Med on Paradise Island also has a very nice location.
Would also try to make it 7 days instead of 3 next time.
Unless you like casinos or have business in Nassau, there isn't much to do when it's raining. Being from Wisconsin, warm and sunny weather in January was essential to our enjoyment of the trip.
If visiting Paradise Island, you may also want to check with Paradise Island Airlines. They seem to have direct flights from Miami to a small airport on P.I. itself.
Further Reading
The following links are ones I've found useful for reading about the Bahamas.
If you have any questions or comments about this page, please send them by e-mail to kochhar@physiology.wisc.edu
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This page last modified on : Dec. 9, 2004
Paradise Beach, looking north