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Golden Rock Beach


Cruzgal31
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So we are sailing to Freeport as one of our ports with Carnival next year and I really want to see Gold Rock beach because I hear it's beautiful. But there doesn't seem to be any official ship excursions there. Can anyone offer tips on ways to get there and /or excursions you've done there. Or is it too far away for a day trip?

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It is not too far for a day trip. I just got back. You could probably hire a local taxi to take you there. I booked through Viator with H. Forbes, which is a local tour company. As soon as we walked off the ship to the excursion/taxi area, I could see their buses. Unfortunately for me, the Carnival Freedom was stuck in some storms and delayed arriving, and the tour had left without us. The guides couldn't have been more friendly and helpful - they got us on another bus and raced us across the island to their next pick-up stop at the hotels to catch us up to the tour. We hopped on and they gave us great information on the bus about the local history and areas we were seeing. Very informative and interesting. We arrived at Lucayan National Park and quickly toured the small caves, then headed across to Gold Rock beach where we had about an hour or so on our own. It's a beautiful beach! After leaving Lucayan National Park, we went to Banana Bay for a lunch break (at our expense) and more beach time. We had another hour and a half or so here, and the beach here is just as beautiful if not more so! Food was delicious! We hopped on another bus which stopped at a rum cake place and souvenir shop for about 30 minutes, then back to the port with plenty of time to spare (hours to spare!). We spent some more time walking around the port area, drinking and shopping.

 

We loved Freeport! I'd heard less than stellar reviews about Freeport, and it's true you arrive in a more industrial area. Take an excursion and see more of the island - it's lovely and far less crowded than Nassau. The people are great and the beaches are beautiful!

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  • 1 month later...
So we are sailing to Freeport as one of our ports with Carnival next year and I really want to see Gold Rock beach because I hear it's beautiful. But there doesn't seem to be any official ship excursions there. Can anyone offer tips on ways to get there and /or excursions you've done there. Or is it too far away for a day trip?

 

We rented a car the last time we were in Freeport, to drive around at our leisure. Lucayan National Park is very interesting ... there is a really neat underwater cave system (one of the largest in the world), and Gold Rock Beach is simply amazing ... void of tourist crowds and very pristine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You did all of this with a tour company? Or on your own? It sounds like you had a wonderful day. We are going to be in Freeport next month and I am still undecided about what I want to do while there. My last time there, we spent the day at Junkanoo beach but I want to do something different this time. :)

 

It is not too far for a day trip. I just got back. You could probably hire a local taxi to take you there. I booked through Viator with H. Forbes, which is a local tour company. As soon as we walked off the ship to the excursion/taxi area, I could see their buses. Unfortunately for me, the Carnival Freedom was stuck in some storms and delayed arriving, and the tour had left without us. The guides couldn't have been more friendly and helpful - they got us on another bus and raced us across the island to their next pick-up stop at the hotels to catch us up to the tour. We hopped on and they gave us great information on the bus about the local history and areas we were seeing. Very informative and interesting. We arrived at Lucayan National Park and quickly toured the small caves, then headed across to Gold Rock beach where we had about an hour or so on our own. It's a beautiful beach! After leaving Lucayan National Park, we went to Banana Bay for a lunch break (at our expense) and more beach time. We had another hour and a half or so here, and the beach here is just as beautiful if not more so! Food was delicious! We hopped on another bus which stopped at a rum cake place and souvenir shop for about 30 minutes, then back to the port with plenty of time to spare (hours to spare!). We spent some more time walking around the port area, drinking and shopping.

 

We loved Freeport! I'd heard less than stellar reviews about Freeport, and it's true you arrive in a more industrial area. Take an excursion and see more of the island - it's lovely and far less crowded than Nassau. The people are great and the beaches are beautiful!

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Renting the car - is there a rental place right near the port? Was it expensive to rent for just a few hours? Thanks! :)

 

We rented a car the last time we were in Freeport, to drive around at our leisure. Lucayan National Park is very interesting ... there is a really neat underwater cave system (one of the largest in the world), and Gold Rock Beach is simply amazing ... void of tourist crowds and very pristine.
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Renting the car - is there a rental place right near the port? Was it expensive to rent for just a few hours? Thanks! :)

 

We actually flew to Freeport from FLL and stayed on the island a couple of days, so we rented our car at the airport, and it was rather inexpensive. There is a car rental agency near the port, although I am not sure of the rates. Having our own car was by far the best way to get around and see a lot more of the island.

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So we are sailing to Freeport as one of our ports with Carnival next year and I really want to see Gold Rock beach because I hear it's beautiful. But there doesn't seem to be any official ship excursions there. Can anyone offer tips on ways to get there and /or excursions you've done there. Or is it too far away for a day trip?

 

 

Hi. My mother and I went with Jeff Pinder through Grand Bahama Eco Tours (he still took us even though we were the only two people who signed up!!). It's his Eastern Heritage Cultural Tour to Grand Lucayan National Park and Gold Rock Beach. He was the nicest guide imaginable -- took us to a great restaurant on another beautiful beach for lunch. The whole trip is about 4.5 - 5 hours. I would highly recommend him.

 

 

Trying to attach a picture...but I'm not sure how to

file:///Users/Wendy/Desktop/DSCN0086.jpg

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Hi. My mother and I went with Jeff Pinder through Grand Bahama Eco Tours (he still took us even though we were the only two people who signed up!!). It's his Eastern Heritage Cultural Tour to Grand Lucayan National Park and Gold Rock Beach. He was the nicest guide imaginable -- took us to a great restaurant on another beautiful beach for lunch. The whole trip is about 4.5 - 5 hours. I would highly recommend him.

 

 

Trying to attach a picture...but I'm not sure how to

 

 

OK... Trying once again to attach a couple pictures of our tour.

** And at Gold Rock Beach, the water was very shallow - it's like being on a sand bar. People were still standing in knee deep water very far out. So I don't think it would be a good place to snorkel.

Gold Rock Beach : Lucayan Natl Park.pdf

Grand Bahamas Eco Tour.pdf

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  • 1 month later...
Hi. My mother and I went with Jeff Pinder through Grand Bahama Eco Tours (he still took us even though we were the only two people who signed up!!). It's his Eastern Heritage Cultural Tour to Grand Lucayan National Park and Gold Rock Beach. He was the nicest guide imaginable -- took us to a great restaurant on another beautiful beach for lunch. The whole trip is about 4.5 - 5 hours. I would highly recommend him.

 

 

Trying to attach a picture...but I'm not sure how to

 

Hey there - I am also interested. How long did you get to stay on Gold Rock beach? Did you get round-trip port transportation?

 

OK... Trying once again to attach a couple pictures of our tour.

** And at Gold Rock Beach, the water was very shallow - it's like being on a sand bar. People were still standing in knee deep water very far out. So I don't think it would be a good place to snorkel.

 

Hey there - I am also interested. How long did you get to stay on Gold Rock beach? Did you get round-trip port transportation? I have never done excursions before, so I am naturally even a little more anxious to go with an outside company.

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Hi lumpyspaceprincess, (love the name!)

 

We stayed on Gold Rock Beach at least 45 minutes to an hour. It was still pretty early - maybe 10am, and he told us to take as long as we wanted. My Mom & I just waded out a little ways, took some pictures and enjoyed the beauty of it all.

 

I can't seem to find his website anymore though. It used to be under grandbahamaecotours. It might be renamed. I saw his name (Jeffrey Pinder) under Bahamas Interisland Tours when I did a Google search. It gives his phone number (242)727-7463. You might also try looking up his Facebook page if he has one. (?)

 

Otherwise, I saw the same exact excursion on shoreexcursioneer, but it says you need a minimum of 8 participants.

 

I'll keep looking and let you know if I find anything else. Now I'm curious!

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So, I looked back on my paperwork from April 2016 when we did this tour to Gold Rock / Lucayan National Park. There was a toll free # that you could try: 954-400-5368. And I have the email address he gave me when we were communicating about the tour: it was jpinder.west@gmail.com. I just tried to email him tonight (9/2) to see if he's still doing tours. I'll let you know if he responds.

-- And yes, it was roundtrip transportation. He was our own "private tour guide" for the day, from and back to the port.

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UPDATE: Yes, Jeff Pinder is still in business. He emailed me right back from last night. He gave a phone # of 804-4898. I'm assuming that's local, so area code 242 maybe.

 

But you can just email him at jpinder.west@gmail.com (keep an eye on Spellcheck though - it will change the p). Request the Eastern Heritage Cultural Tour and tell him which ship you're arriving on & the date.

 

I highly recommend him.

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