Nassau Workcation 2020

We had the idea to go somewhere warm in the early spring of 2020, not a full vacation, since I still had to work. We wanted a place where we could get work done, but also wake up to the beach. We ended up choosing Nassau because of how easy the flights were, the abundance of places to stay, and we liked the idea of getting a different perspective from what is traditionally a cruise stop.

Our primary goals on this trip were to get plenty of beach time, see the sites, try the food, understand what might be worth it and what wouldn’t for the next time we are here on a cruise, and not have to use many vacation days from work.

This trip also happened at the onset of the COVID pandemic in North America. We brought sanitizing wipes for the flight and were one of the few people doing that on the way out, but everyone was doing it on the way back. We began to realize that this might be our last trip for a while as the news was getting worse and worse.

The Logistics

Like most destinations, Nassau required a layover for us out of St. Louis. We ended up flying American Airlines and had to stop in Charlotte, one of the least known busy airports in the country. This airport always seems to be under construction or has something going on and this trip was no different. After arriving on time, we sat on the tarmac for nearly an hour. We later found out that there had been a fire in the control tower. Luckily, that delayed all flights and we still made our connection. Arriving in Nassau we spent another hour on the tarmac because, as it turns out, they too have construction going on. They seem to only turn the flow of traffic once an hour and we had just missed our window. This would come to haunt us on our way home as our flight ended up being two hours late to depart and we had to quickly change to a later flight to St. Louis. The take home story here is that, whenever possible, build time in to your layovers and pick a layover airport that has multiple flights to your destination.

Transportation on the island is hit and miss in both its choices and cost, a cab ride from the airport to downtown typically costs about $30-35, the buses do not run to the airport but anywhere else they go is usually $1.25-$3 each way. All of the buses do their own circle and end up right back in the middle of downtown. They cater to the cruise ship passengers so you have to map it out like you’re one of them. Once in town, scooters and ATVs are available to rent. There are cars too, but the roads are busy and narrow and they drive on the left side, so try that at your own risk. We stayed at one of the many AirBnB’s on the island and it was exactly what we desired, except that it wasn’t as close to the beach as we had hoped. There are plenty of resorts that are close to the beach, you just have to decide if it’s worth the cost.

It’s easy enough to walk around, but places are a little further than they feel like on the map. Also side walks can be hit and miss. Street names change a lot, sometimes three changes in one mile so have offline maps or detailed instructions. Also, know how many cruise ships are going to be in port if you’re there for more than one day. The days we were there ranged from one to seven ships which makes a huge difference trying to get around.

The Sites

Nassau has a number of historic and commercial sites that you can find on TripAdvisor, we did some light research and settled on a few places we thought we’d like:

1. Queens Staircase - Easy walk from the cruise port, probably a good place for pictures but it’s really just a small garden area with a staircase leading to…

2. Fort Fincastle - One of the highest points around but you have to pay extra to go to the top, the view was an extra $3 that just didn’t seem worth it.

3. John Watling’s Distillery - Free tour with one included sample, we also did the four drink sample that was way more rum than either of us needed, even sharing. We also got frozen mixed drinks.

4. Graycliff Chocolatier - This place has a lot of great looking and tasting chocolate. But the staff is a little aloof, so good luck getting answers to any questions you might have. We bought a couple of single pieces and a mixed container of chocolate legos.

5. Bahama Barrels by Graycliff - As the only real winery on the island, this place was absolutely on our list of must-visits. They have tours of the facility and then a small room that does samples, they give you one of their choosing for free, and then it’s $1 a sample after that. The grapes are transported in from Italy and then the wine is prepared on the island.

6. Straw Market - I’ve been to the straw market before, it’s a little dark and kind of dingy, but it was being renovated during our trip and everything was setup outside along the harbor road. There are a lot of great items here if you’re looking for tourist stuff and bartering is welcome.

7. The Bahamas Rum Cake Factory - A short walk from the cruise area, this place has a number of different flavors of rum cakes with some free samples. The prices were very reasonable and they have multiple sizes that are vacuum sealed and boxed.

The Food

We ate a few meals at home to save money, there was a grocery store within about a mile walk so we stocked up on breakfast and lunch items. We also found a store that caters to restaurants that is also open to the public where we got soda, snacks, and alcohol at reasonable prices (The Restaurant Supply Co.). There are number of restaurants near where we stayed just west of downtown that are gone, they were destroyed by the last couple of hurricanes that came through and the area hasn’t been rebuilt yet.  

For dinners, and a couple of select lunches, we went out on the town but we quickly realized that Nassau seems to be centered around the cruise traffic and many places open late and close early. We found ourselves eating fast food a couple of times and a pizza one night because we didn’t take that into account. The restaurants we did make it to were:

1. Pirate Republic Brewing Company - Good beer and above average bar food. This place doesn’t open until 11 and even then they just let you in, the first day we went we were waiting outside with a large group of cruise passengers and probably weren’t actually served until 10 minutes after the door opened.

2. Green Parrot Bar and Grill Harbor Front - We came here twice and ordered the same thing both times because we liked it so much, the Caribbean Chicken Sandwich and the Blackened Salmon. Alcohol is pretty expensive here and they’ll give you bottle water if you don’t specify tap.

3. The Bearded Clam - Partially owned by a St. Louis native, there are Blues, Cardinals, and Mizzou decorations all over the place. There are daily drink specials and we had the Bahama Mama’s here, which were very good. The food was very good as well and reasonably priced.

4. Kentucky Fried Chicken - Right? But it was good, it was nice to see Americano done elsewhere, don’t forget to try things like this just to see how it’s done in other countries.

The Beaches

We made it to two beaches while in the Bahamas, three if you count an area that was a bit separated from the main one. Cabbage beach is your typical resort bordering beach on Paradise Island. It’s a pretty good walk from downtown Nassau with a steep bridge that we had to walk over or there are cabbies looking to pack there 8-12 person vans for $4 a person per ride, not a bad option if you’re willing to wait for them to fill it up. The beach seemed to go on forever with umbrellas and chairs for rent. The sand was very loose and smooth and overall, it was just a great experience. We didn’t get pictures here for some reason, but you can probably imagine what this one looked like

The second beach we visited was Junkanoo, the main beach is a tourist trap with everything you can think of to rent and bars to serve you drinks, but if you keep walking you get to a place called Long Wharf Beach. It’s not one of the more widely known ones, and it’s a little longer of a walk. But for that reason, you get the place nearly to yourself. It’s also right next to a row of small food stands and a short walk to Fish Fry. Easiest way to find it is to search for Gone Fish’n Beach Bar and Grill and you’re there. There are only two seats to rent on the whole beach and you get to keep your distance from the crazies. There was a kid at the beach that went out into the water and caught a lobster, then he walked it around to all the tourists for pictures, pretty good hustle.

We had a good time in Nassau, getting to live the island life while also not taking much vacation. We’ll know where we can spend the time we have next time we swing through on a cruise and what areas aren’t worth it. There were some good beaches, good food, and good drinks, all a short walk from the cruise terminal, some more hidden than others. We came home to empty store shelves, closed restaurants, and COVID lockdowns. It was nice to get one last trip in before things started to get ugly.