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> Destinations > The Bahamas > Trip Reports > Trip Report
My wife and I took our first ever trip to GBI on Thursday, July 18th. We flew directly from Charlotte to Freeport. We stayed at "Our Lucaya" ("Reef Village" section). Before we boarded the plane in Charlotte we met a couple that was staying at the same hotel so we decided to split the taxi fare from the airport to the hotel. So instead of having to pay $19 for the two of us we paid $25 for all four. The taxi driver took us to the "Manor House" section for check in. We arrived at 1:45 pm and the couple that rode with us in the taxi was able to get their room right away but they told us that it would be 3:00 before our room would be ready. So we waited in the lobby for about thirty minutes and then I decided to see if we could get our room. After a few minutes they told us that we could go ahead and check in.
Even though "Reef Village" is the older section of "Our Lucaya" it was still very nice. The rooms were clean and it is in a very good location. Of course, we would have loved to have had an ocean view room next door at "Breaker's Cay". "Reef Village" has a very nice pool ("Sugarmill Pool") for children but it is also nice for adults too. They played music and had limbo dancing and other activities for kids. The pool at "Breaker's Cay" ("Serpentine Pool") seems to be better suited for couples since it has a swim up bar but of course while we were there it closed by 5:00pm. We walked over to take a look at "Lighthouse Pointe". It had the very nice "Infinity Pool" (which resembled the "Serpentine Pool") but everything over in that area just seemed too deserted. Not much was going on.
After check-in we walked around "Port Lucaya Marketplace" and ate at "Fatman's Nephew". The food was pretty good and the prices were pretty reasonable. We had blackened Red Snapper, conch fritters for the first time, and "Kalik" beer for the first time. Their conch fritters were the best that we had the whole time and we enjoyed their local beer. While we ate my wife took pictures of the Bahamian men climbing the trees and picking coconuts.
We were not very impressed with the shopping at the "Port Lucaya Marketplace". All the straw markets had about the same stuff. We bought a few souvenirs in the "LMR Drug Store". We had heard about how much cheaper jewelry and watches are in the Bahamas. We both bought watches at one of the jewelry stores only to find out that once we got back to the United States we could have gotten the same watches for $30 cheaper over the internet, but at least if someone asks us where we got our watches we can tell them that we bought them in the Bahamas. We did find that the liquor was much cheaper than in the U.S., but beer was very expensive even in the liquor stores. Their cheapest beer was "Kalik" and it was about $2 per beer in the liquor store. We brought back four bottles of Bahamian Rum and one bottle of Crown Royal. If the marketplace would have been anything like "Broadway at the Beach" in Myrtle Beach, SC everything would have been perfect.
Thursday night we rode the bus over to the casino. We both allowed ourselves $20 each since we are not gamblers. I lost all $20 in about 20 minutes while my wife broke even by spending $20 and winning $20. We took the bus back to the hotel and had a few drinks at the "Prop Club". I would much rather waste my money on beer than at the casino.
The next morning (Friday) we had breakfast at "Zorba's". The food and the prices were ok, but the service was not so good. We could not even get any refills on our coffee. The only time the waitress came to check on us was when she brought the bill. We did give it another try on our last day (Sunday) since nothing else was open. The service was much better that day, but we still preferred breakfast at "Giovanni's". We had breakfast there on Saturday. The restaurant was much nicer and seemed a lot cleaner plus the service was better.
We tried "Billy Joe's Beach Shack" next to the "Reef Village" section of "Our Lucaya" on Friday afternoon. We had conch salad, grilled conch, cracked conch, and "Kaik" beer. We enjoyed it very much. A guy was selling conch shells at the end of "Billy Joe's". My wife asked how much for the white ones and he said $20, so a few minutes later I walked over there and put $9 in his hand and told him that my wife would really love one of these but that was all the cash I had on me at the time and he let me have it.
We did the "Bahama Mama Booze Cruise" on Friday night. We met some nice people and had a great time. I just drank one too many Bahama Mamas and so afterwards my wife had to help get back to the hotel room. If you do the booze cruise be careful with those Bahama Mamas. They will sneak up on you!
Saturday we did the "Reef Tours" snorkeling. This was my first time. This was very nice. We bought one of those underwater cameras and took some great pictures. The tour lasted about 2 hours which was plenty of time and they were very good about instructing you of what to do.
Saturday evening we started to eat at "Willy Broadleaf's" until we saw the price. The buffet was $30 per person. We figured if we ate $30 worth of food we would not be worth a flip the rest of the night. We decided to try a place called "Caribbean Café". It is located next to "Giovanni's". This was the best meal deal we had the whole time. We ordered the seafood platter for two which consisted of about four pieces of grouper, four large jumbo shrimp, four pieces of cracked conch, two salads, and two bahama mamas. The price for two people was $30 and this was more than enough for two people (half the price of Willy Broadleaf's).
After dinner we hung out at "Count Basie Square" in the "Port Lucaya Marketplace". They had a band playing and limbo dancing. We had a few "Kaliks" at "Rum Runners" which had the best deal on beer (two "Kaliks" for $5). The only other cheaper place we found was in the liquor stores.
Sunday morning we left for the airport to come back home. Overall it was a good trip. I just wish we would have spent more time on the beach and pool at Our Lucaya and less time at the shops at the "Marketplace". It's too bad that the "Sugar Mill Bar and Grill" and "Hammerheads Beach Bar" close so early. It would be nice to be able to go out there late in the afternoon and have a drink and enjoy the water. One good thing is that it never rained the whole time we were there.
Thanks to Robert for this trip report ...
August 2002
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