Advice on Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

[andman433]

Taking our first trip to the Bahamas in 19 days. Our first stop is Half Moon Cay and just had a couple questions. Our Primary Activity for this stop will be a Beach day, Is the Beach close to where the Tender brings you to the Island or do you have to take a Shuttle/taxi? Also, Any other tidbits of information would be very helpful. Thanks so much! :)

[pghsteelerfan]

It would all depend on what area of the beach that you'd like to be at. It's a very short walk from the tender to the beach. That is the section of the beach that tends to get very crowded so if you'd rather have a little more seclusion, then it would be about a 10 minute walk down the beach (or you could take the shuttle if you'd prefer). When we were there in May 2010, we wanted to avoid the crowds so we walked down to where the last cabanas were and got loungers there. There were other people, but we all had our space and weren't crammed together. We made it a beach day and I walked down to the end of the beach (far right if looking at the water from the beach) and the scenery looked like a post card.

 

There's a thread under "Ports of Call; Caribbean; Private Islands" (attached link for your convenience) with all kinds of information on Half Moon Cay. I believe it's down to the second page under "Private Islands" but there's a post titled "All Things Half Moon Cay" with some great information.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=406&order=desc&page=2

 

I'm attaching some pictures:

 

Area of beach closest to the tenders (where it tends to get crowded):

 

View from our chairs, right were the last cabana (#15) is located (it was less crowded)

 

View from our chairs toward the "deserted" end of the island. This is where I walked that looked like a post card - beautiful area.

[andman433]

Awesome! Thanks for the Info. And thanks for the Info on the Half Moon Cay Subsection. As you can see, Im relatively new to these boards. :) Thanks again! Ill check it out...

[Tabbymom]

HMC is a private island owned by the Carnival corp so it's really just an extension of the ship and the chairs and food are all included. There is a complimentary island shuttle that takes people to the further reaches; I saw it at the Water Sports Center, for example. But most everything is walkable; we were there on an overcast partly rainy day and I took the inland path all the way to the stables, then back along the beach. Took maybe an hour and that included time to look down at the sting rays in their cove. No problem getting chairs on my day due to the bad weather; most people were holed up in the bars or little shopping area.

 

 

This is a fact sheet which gives a good overview of what's available; not sure how current the prices are: http://www.cruiseone.com/travel/cruises/Editorial.html;jsessionid=BFBA18EC8C4DD388130470746BF2D4F8.tomcat1?edType=Custom+Page&pagename=resources_privateislands_hal_ccl&ad=no

[Typhoon1]

Only fifty acres of the island has been developed. It is mainly all beach. The tenders will drop you off right at the beach.

 

Make yourself at home.