Large family of 7 (5 kids) planning for Nassau and Half Moon Cay

[Midwifelife7]

My husband and I, and our five children  (16,11,10,9,8) will be going to Nassau and half moon cay in early June. We are looking to make the ports as inexpensive as possible but still enjoyable. I think we will be happy with a good beach, but looking for any tips or tricks or must-see things. 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Half moon cay: don't need to spend anything. Best beach ever. Even lunch is free!

 

Nassau: lots of options, depending on interests. Private beach for 7 would be pricey, and not as nice as half moon cay. 

 

Pirate museum is near the port. That won't take very long to see. 

 

Atlantis aquarium is nice. 

 

Snorkeling excursions aren't too expensive and a lot of fun. 

 

 

[Midwifelife7]

lunch is provided without buying any sort of excursion to half moon cay?

Do you know the cost of the pirate museum?  

What about just taking a bus/cab to a local beach? worth it?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Yes,, lunch is included at Half Moon Cay.  Carnival owns the island, so only ship passengers (and staff) will be there.  The buffet is really good, also.  We’re going there for the third time in Aug.  

 

I don’t know the cost of the pirate museum. We did it as part of a historical tour, so admission was included in the tour cost.  But, I think it was only a few dollars a person.  

 

I haven’t been to any of the public beaches. 

 

Do any of the Carnival Nassau excursions look good to you?  Even if you don’t want to book a Carnival excursion, it may give you ideas of what you would like to do, and then look into doing it with a 3rd party tour provider, or even on your own (such as the historical sites and pirate museum).

 

 

[Sailin_Pirate]

Nassau has a public bus type system called Jitneys that are 1.25(unless its been raised) per person each way.

There is also a free beach in walking distance from the port call Junkanoo.

 

 

From http://www.piratesofnassau.com/admission/

 

ATTRACTION ADMISSION

Adults………………….. $13.50

Child (age 4 – 17)….. $6.75

 

[mjkacmom]

Nassau is tough, almost all of the hotels that offer day passes are now AI. With our 5, we’ve done the Hilton ($15 pp then, way more now), Melia ($25 pp then, over $100 now), Atlantis twice ($$$$), and the RIU (AI, now adults only). Junkanoo beach is walkable from the port, free, restrooms food and drink for purchase, but I wouldn’t call it a nice beach. Public areas of cabbage and cable beaches are beautiful but no amenities. I’ve looked into Saunders beach, restrooms and I think you can take the jitney.