How to island hop to/from Bahamas
Jan 16th, 2022, 07:30 AM
#1
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How to island hop to/from Bahamas
Hello - I'm planning a trip to the Bahamas and beyond this spring. I'm looking to island hop but avoid air travel at all possible times. Does anyone have any good water transportation options to/from the Bahamas to get to a different Caribbean island that won't cost an arm and a leg (i.e., not interested in hiring a private boat). Thanks!
Jan 16th, 2022, 12:20 PM
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I see you posted a separate question about island hopping from Jamaica (I posted a response on that thread that you might find informative).
Are you planning two different tips or trying to combine Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Caribbean islands in the same trip? Pleas clarify and let us know how long a trip you are planning and what type of budget you have for travel between destinations. Just so you are aware, travel around the Caribbean is not always easy or inexpensive.
Second, what exactly do you mean by "planning a trip to the Bahamas and beyond"? Do you mean you want to travel to several of the Bahamas Out-islands or d you mean you want to visit one or two islands in the Bahamas then island hop to other islands in the Caribbean?
If you really wanted to visit the Bahamas as well as other Caribbean islands I'm afraid you won't be able to do that by small boat or ferry. You see the Bahamas are much too far from other Caribbean islands. The Bahamas are actually in the Atlantic and are much closer to Florida than they are to any island in the Caribbean. Unless you are a very experiences "open blue water sailor" and have several weeks to make the crossing the only practical way to get from any place in the Bahamas to the Caribbean is to fly. A trip by boat can take weeks and it won't be cheap.
If you want to island hop around the Bahamas, that is certainly possible but you'd have to plan your itinerary carefully. There are over 900 islands in the Bahamas spread out over some 5,300 sq. miles. The distances between some of the islands can be quite long. For instance, the ferry between Nassau and Georgetown on Exuma takes about 14 hours. Speaking of the Exuma, it's a chain of of some 300+ islands and cays. You can spend an entire year exploring the chain and not see all the islands.
You might want to look a a map of the Caribbean so you get a feel for the distances between islands. Any distance more than say 25 miles is going to take quite a lot of time. Distances over that are usually not possible in small boats due to sea conditions.
If you want to visit a number of different islands in one trip consider taking a Caribbean cruise.
Are you planning two different tips or trying to combine Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Caribbean islands in the same trip? Pleas clarify and let us know how long a trip you are planning and what type of budget you have for travel between destinations. Just so you are aware, travel around the Caribbean is not always easy or inexpensive.
Second, what exactly do you mean by "planning a trip to the Bahamas and beyond"? Do you mean you want to travel to several of the Bahamas Out-islands or d you mean you want to visit one or two islands in the Bahamas then island hop to other islands in the Caribbean?
If you really wanted to visit the Bahamas as well as other Caribbean islands I'm afraid you won't be able to do that by small boat or ferry. You see the Bahamas are much too far from other Caribbean islands. The Bahamas are actually in the Atlantic and are much closer to Florida than they are to any island in the Caribbean. Unless you are a very experiences "open blue water sailor" and have several weeks to make the crossing the only practical way to get from any place in the Bahamas to the Caribbean is to fly. A trip by boat can take weeks and it won't be cheap.
If you want to island hop around the Bahamas, that is certainly possible but you'd have to plan your itinerary carefully. There are over 900 islands in the Bahamas spread out over some 5,300 sq. miles. The distances between some of the islands can be quite long. For instance, the ferry between Nassau and Georgetown on Exuma takes about 14 hours. Speaking of the Exuma, it's a chain of of some 300+ islands and cays. You can spend an entire year exploring the chain and not see all the islands.
You might want to look a a map of the Caribbean so you get a feel for the distances between islands. Any distance more than say 25 miles is going to take quite a lot of time. Distances over that are usually not possible in small boats due to sea conditions.
If you want to visit a number of different islands in one trip consider taking a Caribbean cruise.
Jan 16th, 2022, 04:05 PM
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Choose carefully and a cruise is a good way to see quite a few of the islands. Unfortunately, many cruises have been canceling this week because they have experienced some Covid outbreaks, and some island ports are temporarily closed to ship passengers. When the current Covid surge subsides, that problem should go away. Besides cruises departing from the US mainland, cruises departing from San Juan offer some really great itineraries, visiting some wonderful islands.
