Public Beach, Nassau - Good Experience

[LSEA]

Just thought I would post that we had a very good experience at the public Beach - Junkanoo? - just past the British Colonial Hilton. Scubagirrl recommended this location, thanks Scubagirrl!

 

It was about a 10 minute walk and we were some of the first people there around 10 am. Others arrived shortly after us and after about an hour there were maybe 25 or so people total. We only stayed for about an hour so I don't know how crowded it was throughout the day. There were, I think, 5 ships in Nassau on Saturday.

 

The beach was clean and there seemed to be places to buy drinks, not sure about food. The vendors were not at all aggressive. A nice woman asked if I would like a massage but I needed to keep my eyes on my daughter so I declined. I did see some people negotiate with a man for beach chairs but I don't know the cost. Not a lot of shade spots available so go heavy on the sunscreen.

 

The water was clear blue and DD and I enjoyed looking at all of the big ships. If you are looking for that tropical island view you won't get it at this beach but it is a nice place to spend a few hours.

[betty215]

ditto that. Just got back from our cruise on the 7th. We went to that beach. It was wonderful. There is this cement sort of pier that we were jumping from. Sounds dangerous but it was actually quite safe. There are vendors there that you can get a drink from. Best pina colada I have ever had and it only cost me 3 bucks!! It was not full at all, the water was beautiful. We negotiated with the man (I think his name was Peter??) and got to use both lounge chairs and umbrella for 15 bucks. Cool guy. we also met another local there by the name of Romeo. He was a cool guy too. He had us all entertained with his back flips. That beach was more fun than Cocoa Cay. We ate at a local fish fry and the food was amazing!!

[newcruiser08820]

Just thought I would post that we had a very good experience at the public Beach - Junkanoo? - just past the British Colonial Hilton. Scubagirrl recommended this location, thanks Scubagirrl!

 

It was about a 10 minute walk and we were some of the first people there around 10 am. Others arrived shortly after us and after about an hour there were maybe 25 or so people total. We only stayed for about an hour so I don't know how crowded it was throughout the day. There were, I think, 5 ships in Nassau on Saturday.

 

The beach was clean and there seemed to be places to buy drinks, not sure about food. The vendors were not at all aggressive. A nice woman asked if I would like a massage but I needed to keep my eyes on my daughter so I declined. I did see some people negotiate with a man for beach chairs but I don't know the cost. Not a lot of shade spots available so go heavy on the sunscreen.

 

The water was clear blue and DD and I enjoyed looking at all of the big ships. If you are looking for that tropical island view you won't get it at this beach but it is a nice place to spend a few hours.

 

I am so glad that you posted this.We will be there next week. We were considering going to BHC but prices went up. We have two small children so the question is how is the beach. Is it too rocky when you enter the water?

[betty215]

I am so glad that you posted this.We will be there next week. We were considering going to BHC but prices went up. We have two small children so the question is how is the beach. Is it too rocky when you enter the water?

 

Yes, it is a lil rocky. Water shoes will help that. But everything else was fabulous.

[LSEA]

Yes, bring water shoes. The rocks are minimal. The sand is very nice, we took a bucket and shovel and had a good time building castles.

 

I considered BCH but knew we wouldn't spend very much time there so I didn't really want to spend the money. Although, even with the price increase it still seems like a good deal. Hope you enjoy this beach, just keep going past BCH a block or 2 and you can't miss it.

[newcruiser08820]

Yes, bring water shoes. The rocks are minimal. The sand is very nice, we took a bucket and shovel and had a good time building castles.

 

I considered BCH but knew we wouldn't spend very much time there so I didn't really want to spend the money. Although, even with the price increase it still seems like a good deal. Hope you enjoy this beach, just keep going past BCH a block or 2 and you can't miss it.

Thanks for the info. How was the water temperature? Comfortably warm or on the chilly side?

[LSEA]

Thanks for the info. How was the water temperature? Comfortably warm or on the chilly side?

 

We didn't venture too far in but what we experienced was comfortable. betty215 could probably give you better feedback since they enjoyed jumping from the pier into what had to be deeper water. That sounds like fun.

[LESLIEKURZ]

Thanks so much for this info. Since our traveling companions are staying on the boat to lounge by the pool we've been looking for something more casual and short than a ship excursion or booze cruise. I think after reading the above posts Junkanoo beach and maybe a drink at Sr. Frogs may be it. Yay!

[betty215]

We didn't venture too far in but what we experienced was comfortable. betty215 could probably give you better feedback since they enjoyed jumping from the pier into what had to be deeper water. That sounds like fun.

 

i"m a chicken, so i personally didnt jump. my 10 year old did, and so did everyone else in my group, as well as other folks who saw us do it and decided to join in. i did however go waist deep in the water. it wasnt warm, but it wasnt cold either. it prob felt just slightly cool for the first lil bit you get in, but then once you wet your whole body the initial cold shock goes away. It was really hot that day so the coolish water felt really good and refreshing. There was a little girl I would say was about 3 years old who was playing in the water with no problems.

 

The sand was pretty nice. Not as powder soft as I expected (I went to jamaica last year, and experienced powder soft sand, so I kind of assumed that the bahamian beach would be like that as well). There was a very tiny part of the beach that was a lil crappy, but once you go past that part, and into the part where the vendors and bathrooms are, it was a huge improvement.

 

The water was beautiful. As previously mentioned before, it is a lil rocky. Not at the beginning of the water line. Just "pebblish" i would say about mid leg (i'm 5ft 2"), sort of like a row going across and once you cross that, no more pebbles.

 

Out of the whole trip aboard the cruise, and Cocoa Cay, jungaboo (sp?) beach was the most fun we had. I took pics and videos if you want to see.

[betty215]

I forgot to mention that the original plan was to go to BCH, but since the prices went up, we decided against it. The beach was quite a walk, but i think it was because I was already tired and hot from going to the [temporary brain fart....the shopping place with the souveneirs, bamboo village perhaps? Or was that what it was called in Jamaica? Hmmm:confused:]. There are vendors at the beach where you can get drinks (a can of soda was a $1). The pina colada was awesome and it only cost me $3 (virgin, i'm not a big drinker). I didnt really notice if there were food vendors there since we knew we wanted to eat at the fish fry (the cracked conch was awesome!!). Also, the bathroom was clean, and there was a shower in there that you can use, with a door for privacy.

[LESLIEKURZ]

Thanks all. BTW, I love pics if you have them available. From what I've read this looks like it for us. Sooooo exciting.

[STARFISH*4]

WOWWW what a difference a few months make basically in january (off season) it just was JUNK beach...wish it could be like what YA'ALL have EXPERIENCED when i go back there in december!!--still undecided where we will go!

[betty215]

Thanks all. BTW, I love pics if you have them available. From what I've read this looks like it for us. Sooooo exciting.

 

I do have pics available but they are home on my laptop. I'm at work now. We just got back from our cruise this past friday so the pics I will share are dated May 5. I will try to upload the pics & videos to photobucket, and post the link to it here. I am going to do my best to do it tonight (cant promise tho, i'm a wife and mom. I have cooking duty tonight). If I dont do it tonight, I will def do it tomorrow night.

 

When are you headed over there?

[betty215]

WOWWW what a difference a few months make basically in january (off season) it just was JUNK beach...wish it could be like what YA'ALL have EXPERIENCED when i go back there in december!!--still undecided where we will go!

 

From what I read on these forums, the beach is a dump during the off season. But the government comes during peak season and cleans it all up. maybe we just happened to go during the right time of year cuz we thought it was awesome. i also think that one of the reasons we had such a great time was the people we were with. It was a group of 9, consisting of 4 adults, two young teens, and three kids. We all had an awesome time. We met a few locals, chatted up a bit, and our group of 9 turned into like a few more folks hanging out with us.

 

But of course, no matter where you go, you cant get to confortable. believe me when I say my eyes were always watching the kids and our stuff.

[LESLIEKURZ]

Leaving tomorrow morning. Can't wait.

[Camdenscott4]

From what I read on these forums, the beach is a dump during the off season. But the government comes during peak season and cleans it all up. maybe we just happened to go during the right time of year cuz we thought it was awesome.

 

Hmm now I'm wondering what 'peak season' is. We're going in early July. To me that is peak season. But peak season varies from place to place. Anyone have a clue on that?

 

Thanks for the tip on the public beach too! :)

[betty215]

Leaving tomorrow morning. Can't wait.

 

omg...i need to upload them today then!!! i going to absolutely try my best to get them done!

[betty215]

Here you go. I didnt post the pics because they are on the other camera that i didnt download yet. Here is a video of everyone jumping off the peir thing. as the cameraman zooms around, you will see the sand and beach. at some parts the water looks like it has seaweed but it doesnt. not sure why it looks like that. It was almost crystal clear. Enjoy!

 

[scubagirrl]

Hmm now I'm wondering what 'peak season' is. We're going in early July. To me that is peak season. But peak season varies from place to place. Anyone have a clue on that?

 

Thanks for the tip on the public beach too! :)

 

The "peak season" for this beach starts with starts with Spring Break. This beach is used as Spring Break Headquarters and has been cleaned up each season.

Once the summer is over, the beach is neglected again.. by the holidays, it's littered with glass and debris.

The government announced this year that it was going to "maintain" the beach. We'll see.

[LESLIEKURZ]

Thank you so much! I am crawling out of my skin with excitement. Yay Bahamas!!!!

[itgeek]

Sorry to resurrect an older topic but I have pictures. :)

 

I actually went to the public beach on Paradise Island (Atlantis) this past November. We enjoyed ourselves. You may want to consider this one instead of the public beach near downtown.

 

It was a little shady walking in... we were offered all kinds of things from chairs, drinks, weed, and "anything you want". I just kept walking and repeating "no thank you" and once we got to the beach and away from the folks near the main entry, all was good. There were also folks renting jet-skis further down the beach.

 

Also learned the trick that if you enter from down further instead of at the main place where the taxis drop off and congregate, you don't have to deal with the peddlers. Just follow the sidewalk down the street, walking away from Atlantis/etc and go through the next opening you see.

 

Take them up on the massage if they're there! A very professional group and much less than the price you'll pay on ship. I actually got the email addresses of 2 of the gals so I could email them pictures I took of them and find out where they'll be stationed next time we're there (which looks like this October).

 

We had looked for a good massage in Freeport but struck out and looked around in town near the port in Nassau but didn't find anything that looked decent. I asked at the Chamber of Commerce and was told to go to one of the resorts so we gave up. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble onto them doing beachside massage! It was 1 guy and 2 gals doing massage. Cash only. I think it was ~$60/hr, don't quote me on that. FYI, if you forget to bring cash (I only brought $40 cash w/ me into port, $10 of which had gone to the taxi driver), the nearest ATM is in the Atlantis casino next to the casino cage. Oddly, it's a fee free ATM! So it's a good place to get cash if you need it for the rest of your cruise. The cage will change Bahamian Dollars into US Dollars if you ask.

 

Taxi Tip: Ask for "Public Beach, Paradise Island". If you use the word "Atlantis" in the conversation, you'll be dropped off at Atlantis and you've just bought yourself a 15 minute walk through the hotel, convention center, around another hotel, and down the sidewalk. Ask for "Public Beach" instead and you'll be dropped off right at the entrance to the public beach.

 

Pictures:

 

 

 

My traveling companion (shown above) had an hour and a half massage followed by a great time swimming in the ocean here. He grew up on the beach in FL but said the ocean swimming here was better than anything he'd done before.

 

- IT Geek

[itgeek]

Just found out they actually have a website! http://www.cabbagebeachmassage.com/

 

- IT Geek

[khank]

ITGeek - are there restrooms and showers at this beach?

[scubagirrl]

ITGeek - are there restrooms and showers at this beach?

 

there are no restrooms or Showers on cabbage Beach. You can rent a chaise and / or umbrella from the locals.. and they sell rum drinks and water out of coolers.

 

The only public beach (free) beach with restrooms is Junkanoo (lighthouse) beach, which is located just west of downtown Nassau. About a 10 minute walk from the port.

Beach is not as nice, but there are facilites, concessions etc.

[hoopsielv]

I have a couple of questions about Junkanoo beach- How do you get there from the Straw Market? And since it's a bit rocky- can you see any fish if you snorkel?

 

Thanks!