Frugal Vacation Destination: Nassau 1.11.12

Blog tour update: Next week you'll be seeing a guest post by me on Hobbies On a Budget. This week they'll be opening up a giveaway for a copy of my book in conjuction with Sharon's review of it. Please go check it out. Coming soon: A guest post on traveling London on a budget on a new blog called The Travel Guru. And I've been picked up as a regular weekly contributor on FareCompare! Here's my latest.

*     *     *

Ah, the Bahamas. They sound so tropical. So exotic. So…Expensive. It’s true. Many places can be, but you can pretty much find affordable things to see and do everywhere you go if you know where to look. Lucky for you, I have come up with 10 (actually 14) things that you can do that are fun, educational and won’t break the bank. I really had no expectations of what Nassau would be like, but aside from the obvious poverty, the city was colorful and the people were so lovely and welcoming. Where else can you meet a homeless man who can tell you the whole history of the island in 10 minutes and then chat to you about your favorite basketball team (that would be the Portland Trailblazers)? Okay, possibly that is more common that I think, but if so, this is the first and last time I have encountered it.

Government buildings

Zoo – Ardastra Zoo is a little bit off the beaten path and probably unlike any other zoo you’ve ever been to. The dangerous animals in cages don’t have a barrier to keep you from getting up close and personal with them. Some animals aren’t even in cages and roam freely. You can also see a stand (flock) of flamingos demonstrate how they can be trained and respond to commands. And again with my love of the lorikeets. For just a few dollars you can go in and feed them unlimited amounts of apple slices – which is much better than fruit juice, because you don’t end up with half the juice down your arm and 9 birds trying to stand on one tiny cup. The admission fee is a little steep, but you can spend a good part of your day here.

Remember to follow the signs and just walk the few blocks from the main road to get to the zoo. You’ll end up going through a neighborhood, but it’s free. We snickered as we saw some tourists drive by in a cab. They were obviously too afraid to take the bus or walk. At least they left their resort though, so I'll give them that. If you have some extra time and they’re open, you might try stopping into the botanical gardens. They are right on the way to the zoo from the main road and only $1!

The Cloisters

Versailles Gardens – This is probably one of the coolest things you will see anywhere, well, probably garden-wise and outside of Versailles. It’s a short walk from the Atlantis, which is a somewhat longer walk from downtown Nassau (even though it didn’t look that far on the map). The gardens are beautiful and make a nice romantic backdrop, since it’s also very private. All of the statues that live in the gardens were shipped from France, as well as The Cloisters, the remains of a 14th century monastery, which is set in its own plot of land. Originally purchased by William Randolph Hearst, it was purchased and finally pieced together by Huntington Hartford, the (then) owner of what is now known as Paradise Island.

Take the bus – Jitneys, or vans that are used as a bus system, can be found on most of the main thoroughfares. They still cost just a little over a dollar, plus US dollars are accepted everywhere, so you never have to change your money. In fact, I’m a little disappointed that I never saw a Bahamian dollar the whole time I was there. The regular bus will cost a bit more if you want to go to further out, like we did when we went to the Bacardi factory. Again, don’t expect any personal space on jitneys. At particular times of the day, they become quite crowded and fold-down seats make the aisle non-existent. Say hello to your neighbor – 2 inches away. Once we came back on a totally full jitney with a lady who had just rescued a cat at the animal shelter. Wonder how she got him back to the States…

Not for the claustrophobic either...

Explore the Straw Market – While most of the market stalls have the same things (fake Coach bags, fake Louis Vuitton wallets, fake Kate Spade bags, fake Raybans, etc.,) you will find some interesting handmade merchandise here and at very good prices. You can practice your haggling and also take home some fun souvenirs. Hold on to your wallets though, because 9 vendors will start yelling at you at once telling you that they have what you want. They probably don’t. If you can’t say no, this probably is a bad place to go, or just leave your wallet with someone else (preferably trustworthy) in your party. My husband came back with a selection of wallets and I ended up with two faux Coach purses and some shell necklaces. So not what we needed to go home with.

Visit the Slave Museum – Located right next to the entrance to the Straw Market you will find the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation. I always like to check out the local history of a place. Not only was this the story of the Bahamians, but also of slaves in America. You aren’t allowed any pictures inside the museum, but if I could have taken them, all of what you would see would be really depressing. The museum is pretty interesting, for the subject matter. I learned a lot that I didn’t know and probably wouldn’t have wanted to know about how slavery worked and what they had to endure. Personally, I think they should charge more for entry fees for all they have there (original documents, photos, shackles and other artifacts), but at just $1 per person, it’s quite a budget education. A lot of reading is involved, but the museum itself is small, so there won’t be much walking. There is even a cute little gift shop at the end to purchase books, handmade goods and local Bahamian treats.

The history of the Pirates of Nassau be here – Yarr! Enter at your own risk! Okay, it’s not so much risk, but it is a pretty interesting museum all of its own. This is one of those places where they tell tourists not to go; however I saw it from the bus and was like “Pirates of the Caribbean? A tour and a gift shop?? I’m in!” At $12 a ticket, it’s not cheap, but it took us several hours to walk through the entire thing and learn a lot we didn’t know about pirates, like the Pirate’s Code. Did you know they had one? Neither did I! Learn about famous pirates, pirates you’ve never heard of, how captured pirates were punished by the government and by other pirates. At the end you can peruse some of the fancy weaponry used. Guns and swords? What’s not to love? I’m still using my fancy skull and crossbones mouse pad I plundered from there. I mean, I gave them money for it and then ran down the street holding my bag of loot in the air as a sign of my victory over their gift shop. And I ran all the way to the Hard Rock…

Hike up to Queen’s Staircase and Water Tower – Unfortunately, I did not run all the way to the Queen’s Staircase and so I never made it to this gem. You can go to the top for free and see amazing views. We didn’t realize there were three separate forts in Nassau until too late and then couldn’t figure out how to get to the one this is closest to. According to TripAdvisor travelers, we could have easily just followed the signs from downtown. Ah well! It’s not the first time we have been bad at maps.

Pretend to defend the island – As mentioned above, there are three forts on Nassau. We made it to two and they also offer amazing views at free or cheap rates. We actually got to one right at closing, but the guard let us in for free to roam the grounds and take some pictures. Budget! I would go earlier next time though, so you could do an actual tour and learn more of the history and how they were used. You can still see all the original tanks and most of the walls still stand.

Watch a game of cricket – Why isn’t cricket more popular than baseball? Like, why don’t we play it in America and televise it for the world to see? Unfortunately, when we visited, there were no games going, but you can watch a live game on a cricket pitch right in the middle of Nassau. At the Cricket Club Restaurant and Pub, you can have a meal and sit on the balcony and watch cricket on the weekends or just admire the ocean. Of course, if cricket isn’t on the menu, you can always watch other sports on their many TVs. Enjoy both British and Bahamian fare here with a full English breakfast or guava duff.

Loved this place. Sit out on the balcony and listen to live music.

Eat out – Despite what people told me, I found the price of food in Nassau to be extremely affordable. Of course, we also ate at local joints and hole in the wall places most tourists wouldn’t even think of entering. Bahamians love fish and they also love to fry fish. So, unless that fish was no good to begin with, you’re going to be pretty safe with any choice you make. You simply cannot go to the Bahamas and not order a batch (or 12) of conch fritters. It’s pronounce conk and it looks like a giant snail, but don’t think about that when you eat them, because they are delicious. If you love ceviche, then try it with conch. Eric swooned. One place not to miss when dining out is Café Johnny Canoe’s. It’s a landmark, affordable and on weekend evenings you can experience karaoke and Junkanoo! I read that since my last trip they closed, but were looking for a new location, so if they have, make a point to drop in at least once. We were only there a week and ate there twice.

That's a conch there. Kinda like a snail...or mussel.

So, don’t think that the Bahamas are too rich for your blood. Nassau was a wonderful vacation destination and, if you stay away from tourist trap restaurants like Señor Frogs, it can be fairly easy on your wallet. Save that money to bring home amazing handcrafted ceramics and linens from their more upscale boutiques to make your home Bahama chic! Or just waste it on conch fritters and rum cakes or expanding your pirate wardrobe. It’s your vacation afterall.

Get Your Food To-Go

You know how I like to use products that are eco-friendly and convenient. Well, over the holidays we came across a fun product by To-Go Ware. It’s a reusable bamboo utensil set that comes with a fork, spoon, knife and chopsticks. Fun, right? Even more fun is the tagline: Reduce Your Forkprint. The utensils are made of sustainable bamboo, which are stain-resistant, doesn’t absorb flavors (so you can eat spicy shrimp with them and then have chocolate cake without any shrimpy aftertaste) and it’s lightweight. 

The pouch is made from recycled plastic bottles, so less waste in landfills! It’s called RPET, which stands for Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate, or recycled polyester. All those plastic water bottles that people use and then throw away instead of recycling are going to go somewhere. Most will end up in landfills and eventually pollute the sea creatures in the Pacific, but many lucky ones are destined to become a new product, like this fancy little pouch to hold my utensils. It even has a caribiner clip to attach to your bag, backpack or anything else you’re walking around with.

To-Go Ware is fantastic for travel, because you always have something to use for street food, farmers’ market finds and more. Ever get something and a utensil isn’t included? Well, now you don’t have to worry about it. Throw a set in your desk drawer or your glove box. Don’t contribute to the amount of plastic ware that gets thrown out every day. Already, it’s enough to circle the earth 300 times – each year! Convenience has its consequences, but when you have this handy little set, you have convenience and you’re doing the earth a favor. Wonderful! You can also purchase on Amazon for free super saver shipping.

Live and Learn: Nassau 1.7.12

The Bahamas always sound so glamorous, don’t they? Attractive people lying on the beach sipping on beers and drinks with umbrellas in it. Well, it’s not all fun and games in paradise, even when you’re on Paradise Island. Fortunately, not too many things went wrong on our Bahamas trip, but maybe that’s because we are so used to things going abnormally, so when things go a bit sideways, it doesn’t even phase us. Who knows? At least we’re laid back and are able to roll with the punches.

Call to confirm tours before traveling – I was so excited to find out that you could tour the Bacardi factory in Nassau that I planned to take the bus out there and whoop it up with free cocktails while learning how delicious, delicious rum is made. Once the day came for us to jump on the bus and make it to the factory, we called to find out what times the tours happened and were met with confusion over the line. Tour? Well, needless to say we decided to make the trek anyway. Nowhere did it say after your approximate 90 minute bus ride would you have to then walk a mile to get to the Bacardi property. Partway up the road we were stopped by a guy in a truck asking if we were going to the factory. He said he was also going that way and could get a ride. Score! For the record, this is never a good idea and we did it on the way there and on the way back to the bus stop.

Bus stop for Bacardi

Apparently, the website was incorrect and tours had been closed for quite some time (Damn you, Bacardi!), so we hung out in the free bar and tried some of the different flavors of rum and then headed to the gift shop (yay!) to check out their gear and a video. Unfortunately, we were also not in time or too early for the video about the history of Bacardi and how sugarcane/molasses becomes my favorite alcoholic beverage. So, we disappointedly started back to the bus weighted down with our heavy bags of bottles and other souvenirs after less time than we had been on the bus. As we were heading out, a tour bus showed up and we found out that they still do tours, but only if there were 10 or more people to go on one. Lame.

Hey! We got bread, too!

Stock up on snacks – If you travel in the off-season as we do, you are likely to end up in the Bahamas during hurricane season. They won’t tell you that they have a lot of hurricane issues. In fact, most of the damage that was caused by the big storms really don’t get repaired, which makes leaving your resort a bit of a disappointment. The big buildings can be beautiful, but the smaller, less stable buildings kinda look like rubble patched together. Well, we did end up getting caught in a hurricane watch and everything closed up shop in anticipation.

We had food stocked up in our fridge, but we made wandered the streets for lunch anyway and found the only restaurant open in the city. Of course, they couldn’t cook anything new, so they said told us they had two lasagna plates left if we were interested. We were! We had lasagna and salad with two bottles of random flavored Snapple they had on hand still. It wasn’t the best lunch we’ve ever had, but it was fun and we had a good time with a few other people who didn’t want to eat in. 

Where the non-cruise ships "dock"

Don’t shop near the port – This is something that is easily understandable. Nassau is a port for cruise ships. Apparently, everyone wants to go to the Bahamas! They have some shops near the dock that are there specifically for tourists and cruisers. These shops can be double the cost of others that sell the same merchandise and are only a few blocks away. The crew on the cruise won’t tell you this. In fact, they will tell you that they are “[cruise line]-approved” and encourage you to spend your money there. Don’t do it. There are the same shops offering the same goods at lower prices, literally, 2-3 blocks away. You just can’t see them until you walk around the corner.

This might be the saddest beach I've ever seen

It isn’t always warm in the Bahamas – In all honesty, there’s not even all that much beach in some areas. When we booked our stay, we (and by we, I mean Eric) were lured in by the promise of a private beach at the timeshare rental we found. We got there and looked around. Our bungalow was awesome. Our pool was pretty kick ass. The open-air bar was lovely. The beach…uh…where was it? Oh! That 20 foot stretch of sand that nobody is interested in? Well, it does make it private. Both times we went out to survey its usefulness, it was cool and windy, so if you got in the water, you didn’t really want to get out. I laid by the pool, which was a mere 12 feet away from the murky ocean, for about 15 minutes before going back inside.

View from a fort

Bring some good walking shoes – If you plan to take the bus, then you will also be doing a lot of walking to things off the bus route (if you want to save money and not hire a taxi). For this reason, you will want to take along some walking shoes that will hold up to hills, concrete and more. One day you may be walking up to the Queen’s Tower, the next you may be going four blocks to the nearest grocery store and the next hiking through the aquarium at Atlantis.

Straw Market: Enter at your own risk

Learn to say no – If you go to the Straw Market (which is highly recommended), you will be yelled at from all sides from vendors trying to sell their wares (many of which are knock-off designer bags). I think their motto is “everyone wants what you have”. I suppose that could be true, but I really don’t want a fake Kate Spade bag or 42 shell necklaces. What I thought I did need was two faux Coach bags…after being harassed for 15 minutes after I stopped and expressed the smallest amount of interest in a handbag. So, I wasted even more time haggling for a bag, which turned into two, that I didn’t really even want. At least I helped that guy out that day with a sale, plus I was able to sell one to a friend (fakeness disclosed) for almost the same price I paid for both bags.

One of the many Atlantis pools that were closed

Atlantis is not as great as it seems – There are parts of Atlantis resort that are awesome, but after wandering around for the better part of a day, I can’t imagine spending $300 a night to stay there. I assume if you have kids that just want to swim all day long, it might be a consideration, but eventually you’re going to want to do something else. You can take advantage of movies they have in their movie theater, but they are movies that you have probably already seen on DVD and you also have to pay to see them. The casino in Atlantis also leaves something to be desired. Not only do they need to replace the carpets and décor, but they need to have a bigger selection of smaller denomination slots. Not everyone can afford $1 and up, mostly because they just dropped $300+ on a night to stay there. Everything in Atlantis is set up to part you with your money (Shocking, I know!)

Random view from our cab

Taxis are not the enemy…if you can find one – If going across town, this is when I would suggest getting a cab. If not, you can certainly catch the bus (which you can get anywhere on the road along the route) and/or walk. We paid $10 to take a cab from Atlantis back to our resort, plus received a mini tour of the city from our driver. [PS – Anna Nicole Smith died in a really badly constructed looking hospital.]

Those are not armrests

Don't expect personal space on the bus – The smaller buses are called jitneys. you can hail one anywhere along the road and get off anywhere you want along the route, which is SUPER convenient when your lodgings are right next to the main road. Generally, the jitney (which is like a big van) has pairs of seats along each side; however they won't actually turn down passengers and there are pull out seats on each side that will enable more people to sit per row. Of course, this means there is NO aisle, so hopefully you don't have to get off when this happens and you are seated in the back. If you do, then everyone has to move and then re-situate themselves. It's a great way to meet your fellow tourists or some locals just trying to get around.

Pool and covered poolside bar

So, as depressing as some of this may sound, the Bahamas really can be beautiful. The people are awesome and there is a lot to see when you find the beach inadequate or too cold. Wednesday I'll talk about some great places to go on a budget in and around Nassau. You'll see that there is plenty to keep you busy for a week or more. Did you have any less than ideal moments on your Bahamas trip?