Activities listings for Nassau and Paradise Island, Bahamas
January-June 2007 cultural activities, water and land sports, excursions and more
WHAT-TO-DO – NASSAU, CABLE BEACH & PARADISE ISLAND – JAN 2007 EDITION
Napping beside the pool is a relaxing way to spend your vacation. But if you’re a person who likes to be on the go, there are lots of things to see and do in Nassau and Paradise Island. Take a cruise, for example, swim with dolphins, play tennis, dive with sharks, visit tropical gardens, gamble with high rollers, play golf. The list of things to do is long and interesting. Let the following listings be your guide.
- Art galleries
- Bridge
- Car rentals
- Carriage tours
- Casinos
- Children’s activities
- Cinemas
- Cruises
- Cultural activities
- Diving/snorkelling
- Dolphin Encounters
- Eco-adventures
- Forts
- Fun run/walk
- Golf
- Museums
- Out Island excursions
- Tours
- Undersea adventures
- Watersports
ART GALLERIES
Visit one of Nassau’s art galleries. Aitken Imaging, tel 328-7065; Balmain Antiques, tel 323-7421; Central Bank Art Gallery, tel 322-2193; Chambers House and Garden, tel 362-4034; Chan Pratt’s Art Gallery, tel 364-4047; Doongalik Studios, tel 363-1313; Josephine’s Treasures, tel 322-1404; My Ocean Body & Home, tel 325-3050; Nassau Glass Company, tel 393-8165; National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, tel 328-5800/1; New Providence Art & Antiques, tel 328-7916; Paradise Tees, tel 363-2609; Popop Studios, tel 323-5220; Post House Gallery, tel 327-7562; and Third Eye Artworks and Collectibles, tel 326-6803.
BRIDGE
The Bahamas Contract Bridge Club, a sanctioned club of the American Contract Bridge League, is open to all bridge players. Games take place Tues and Fri at 12 noon or 12:30pm at SuperClubs Breezes; Wed 7:15pm. Call ahead to confirm location. Cost is $10 per visitor. Refreshments served. Contact Noreen Wurdemann, tel 327-7455, for reservations and partners.
The Bahamas Bridge Association (National Contract Bridge Organization of The Bahamas) welcomes visitors to its regular sessions. Tel 323-6593, Matthew William or 356-6740, Kim Collie-Minors.
Night Bridge, Thurs 7:15pm at Sandyport Beaches Resort. Cost is $5 per visitor. Contact Valda Feldman, tel 323-4753.
Paradise Bridge Club offers sessions every Sat 1:30pm at SuperClubs Breezes, Cable Beach. ACBL sanctioned. Tel 362-1246, Val Jeanne Virgil or 324-6565, Delores Smith.
CAR RENTALS
Budget has an office at Lynden Pindling International Airport, tel 377-9000.
CARRIAGE TOURS
Surreys (horse-drawn carriages) are based at Woodes Rogers Walk. Cost is $20 for up to two adults, $10 for children. Max passengers: two adults and one child or three small adults. Horses rest 1-3pm in summer, 1-2pm in winter.
CASINOS
Casinos are located on Cable Beach at Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino and on Paradise Island at Atlantis. Both are open 24 hrs (game tables 10am-4am), seven days a week and feature slot machines, craps, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, Caribbean stud poker, big six wheels and more.
The 50,000-sq-ft Casino at Atlantis, on Paradise Island, is surrounded by panoramic windows with views of the ocean. The casino has more than 850 slot machines and 78 gaming tables. The casino’s newest addition, Pegasus Race & Sports Book, features wagering on all major sporting events, including live simulcasts from US racetracks. Tel 363-3000.
The Crystal Palace Casino on Cable Beach has 700 slot machines and 50 table games with 5x odds on craps and liberal table maximums. The casino also has a state-of-the-art sports betting facility with 15 TVs and stadium seating for betting on professional or collegiate teams, with games live via satellite. Feel the thrill of countless races broadcast live from all over the US on six big-screen TVs at the Racebook. Pari-mutuel betting also available. Tel 327-6200.
CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES
The Discovery Kids Adventure™ at Atlantis combines education with fun. Participants explore one of the world’s largest man-made marine habitats in the Atlantis waterscape and take part in a wide range of other fun and educational activities. Open Mon-Sat. Hourly sessions to full-day programmes 9am-5pm. Reservations are required. Tel 363-2000 ext 65946.
CINEMAS
See first-run movies at one of Galleria Cinemas’ two locations, Galleria 6 on John F Kennedy Dr or Galleria 11 at The Mall at Marathon. Tel 380-FLIX (3549).
CRUISES
Take a high-speed sail aboard the Flying Cloud, a 57-ft catamaran, for a half-day of sailing and snorkelling (gear and lessons provided). Boat departs Paradise Island Ferry Terminal at 9:30am and 2pm Mon-Sat and 10am Sun. Evening cruise Mon, Wed and Fri at 6pm. Charters available. Space is limited so book early. Children 3-11 yrs half price. Round-trip transportation to the boat included. Tel 363-4430 or book through your hotel’s tour desk.
See also Undersea adventures, below.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Performances at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts include plays, musicals, concerts and ballets. Box office open 10am-4pm. Mackey St, tel 393-3728.
Festival Place is located on Prince George Wharf. Designed by award-winning Bahamian architect Jackson Burnside, this vibrant, colourful marketplace features authentic Bahamian arts and crafts by more than 40 artisans and tradespeople. Services include a tour desk, full-service post office, and a communications centre with pay phones, phone cards, operator, fax service and telegrams. Transportation information available for scooter rental, taxi and ferry boat. Hair braiding and beauty services also offered. Live Bahamian music Tues, Fri and Sat. Open Mon, Tues, Fri and Sat 8am-8pm; Wed and Sun 9am-2pm; Thurs 8am-5pm.
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas is housed in historic Villa Doyle, a restored 19th-century mansion. View a national collection of paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography and other mixed-media works. Open Tues-Sat 10am-4pm. Adults $5, seniors/students $3 and children under 12 yrs free. West and West Hill sts, tel 328-5800/1, e-mail info@nagb.org.bs or visit www.nagb.org.bs.
The National Centre for the Performing Arts hosts dance and other theatrical performances. Shirley St, tel 393-2884.
The Ministry of Tourism’s People-To-People programme gives visitors an informal view of Bahamian hospitality and culture. Visitors join their Bahamian host at home, a civic club, church or other venue. Enjoy an afternoon of tea and entertainment at the People-To-People Tea Party at Government House, 4-5pm, last Fri of each month, Jan-Nov. Tel 323-1853/6, fax 323-1857, e-mail peopletopeople@bahamas.com or visit www.bahamas.com.
DIVING/SNORKELLING
Explore New Providence’s underwater world with Bahama Divers. Custom dive boats offer two-tank morning dives at 9am and single-tank afternoon dives at 2pm daily. Dives include wrecks, reefs, walls and the speciality Lost Blue Hole dive. Half-day snorkelling trips available. Dive courses include open water completions and speciality courses. Transportation provided. Tel 393-5644, e-mail bahdiver@coralwave.com or visit www.bahamadivers.com.
Don’t miss Nassau’s best views – enjoy a scuba diving or snorkelling adventure with Stuart Cove’s Aqua Adventures. Full-service photo lab with E-6 processing and digital imagery and rentals. Nitrox available. Speciality dives include shark dives, wall flying, reefs and wrecks. Transportation provided. South West Bay Rd, tel 362-4171 or visit www.stuartcove.com.
DOLPHIN ENCOUNTERS
Get to know the dolphins of Blue Lagoon Island at Dolphin Encounters. Choose from two programmes, each preceded by a 15-min orientation session. During the Close Encounter pet, feed, hug and kiss your new-found friends while standing on a special platform in waist-deep water. The Swim-with-the-Dolphins programme includes a 30-min interactive swim, the amazing foot push, the Flipper dance and other exciting behaviours. Four departures daily from the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal. Open daily 8am-5pm. Space is limited. Tel 363-1003 for reservations, e-mailinfo@dolphinencounters.com or visit www.dolphinencounters.com.
ECO-ADVENTURES
Stroll around Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Centre’s 51/2 acres of beautiful tropical gardens and watch world-famous marching flamingos perform with military precision at 10:30am, 2:10 and 4:10pm daily. Guests are invited to feed the Lory parrots daily at 11am, 1:30 and 3:30pm. There are also iguanas, snakes, monkeys, birds, including the rare Bahama parrot, and even a Vietnamese potbellied pig. Open daily 9am-5pm. Last admission 4:30pm. Adults, $12; children 4-12 yrs, $6; under 4 yrs, free. Located off West Bay St, one mile west of downtown, tel 323-5806.
Participate in birdwatching tours with accredited tour guides. For names and telephone numbers of guides and information on self-guided tours, contact the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), tel 393-1317 or the BNT Ornithology Group, tel 362-1574.
Visit 11 acres of lush tropical gardens at The Retreat, headquarters of the Bahamas National Trust, featuring one of the world’s largest private collections of rare and exotic palms. Self-guided tours of the property with map, $2 per person. Guided tours for groups by appointment. Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. Village Rd, tel 393-1317 or 393-2848.
See also Cruises, above and Undersea adventures, below.
FORTS
Be sure to include Nassau’s historic 18th-century forts and monuments in your travels: Fort Montagu, where the cannons overlook the approaches to Nassau Harbour; Fort Charlotte, where you can see exhibits and dramatizations of military life, (tours available daily between 8am and 4pm), tel 325-9186; and Fort Fincastle, shaped like a paddle-wheel steamer, next to the Water Tower. Tel 326-2566 for admission fees and more information on these forts and monuments.
FUN RUN/WALK
Experience parts of Nassau you would not ordinarily see. Nassau Hash House Harriers meet Mon 6:30pm, Apr-Oct and Sun 11am or 4pm, Oct-Apr. Runs (approx 40 mins) at different locations every week. Walkers are also welcome. Contact Brian Crick, tel 325-2831 (w) or 477-4624 (cell); or David Wenn, tel 327-6200 (w) or 322-2834 (h); or visit www.NassauHash.com.
GOLF
The Cable Beach Golf Club, complete with clubhouse and pro shop, is open to the public. This 18-hole course – The Bahamas’ oldest – was redesigned by Fred Settle Jr, reshaping the course’s fairways and creating new hazards and water-lined holes. The club is operated by the Radisson Cable Beach Resort. Tel 327-6000 or 327-1741.
The Ocean Club’s golf course is open to registered guests of One & Only Ocean Club, Atlantis, Harborside Resort, the Atlantis Marina and Comfort Suites. It is a Tom Weiskopf-designed 7,159-yard, 18-hole, par-72 course with six lakes and beautiful ocean vistas. Full-service practice facility includes putting green and driving range; pro shop and clubhouse are on-site. Private lessons are available. Tel 363-6680.
MUSEUMS
The Department of Archives has a microfilm collection of historical documents dating back to 1600, photograph and oral history collections, and a number of maps and plans. Open Mon-Fri 10am-4:45pm. Closed holidays. Mackey St, tel 393-2175.
The Bahamas Historical Society Museum has displays depicting Bahamas history from pre-Columbus to the present. Lucayan-Taïno-Arawak artefacts. Open Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri 10am-4pm, Sat 10am-12 noon. Closed Wed and holidays. Admission $1, adults; 50¢, youths 5-18 yrs. Shirley St and Elizabeth Ave, tel 322-4231 or visit www.bahamashistoricalsociety.com.
Balcony House is an 18th-century architectural gem, fully restored as a museum. It is the oldest wooden residential structure in Nassau. Market St off Bay St, tel 302-2621.
The Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation, Vendue House, served as the locale for slave auctions in the 18th century. A permanent exhibit portrays slavery and the post-emancipation eras of The Bahamas. Vendue House, Bay St, tel 325-2312 or 356-0495 for opening times.
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, at the restored historic Villa Doyle, which dates back to the 1860s, opened in July 2003. It showcases a national collection of paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photos and other works, and hosts exhibitions and other programmes. Open Tues-Sat 10am-4pm. West Hill and West sts, tel 328-5800/1, e-mail info@nagb.org.bs or visit www.nagb.org.bs.
OUT ISLAND EXCURSIONS
Enjoy an extraordinary all-inclusive excursion to the Exumas aboard Island World Adventures’ state-of-the-art, high-speed vessels Eco Time and Tattoo. Discover paradise at Saddleback Cay; enjoy snorkelling, nature and sandbar hikes; savour an authentic Bahamian lunch; feed sharks, stingrays and barracudas; visit an island inhabited solely by iguanas and live a day you’ll never forget. Ground transportation included. Tel 363-1333, 363-1000 or 357-7782 (after 6pm).
TENNIS & RACQUET SPORTS
Tennis enthusiasts will find day/night courts at Paradise Island Harbour Resort on Paradise Island, as well as the Nassau Beach Hotel at Cable Beach. Use of the tennis courts at SuperClubs Breezes, Cable Beach, is included with purchase of a day or night pass at this all-inclusive resort. Squash, tennis and racquetball are available at the Radisson Cable Beach Sports Centre, Cable Beach.
TOURS
Discover the fine art of hand printing at Bahama Hand Prints Ltd. Visitors can watch the transformation of plain cloth into colourful and beautiful hand-printed clothing, upholstery fabric and more. Be sure to visit the store to shop for Bahama Hand Prints products. Store is open Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat 10am-2pm. Ernest St, behind Outback Steakhouse, near Paradise Island Bridge. Tel 394-4111 or visit www.bahamahandprints.com.
Tour the spectacular ruins of the lost continent in the Discover Atlantis programme. Explore The Dig, an archaeological interpretation of how Atlantean culture might have flourished more than 11,000 years ago. Come face-to-face with some of the fiercest aquatic creatures in the world’s largest man-made marine habitat. Visitors may buy tour passes at the Temple of the Moon in the Atlantis Casino or on the lower level at Coral Towers lobby. Tel 363-6328.
Visit the Graycliff Cigar Company, the only cigar factory in The Bahamas, and watch as 12 cigar rollers practice their craft. This is the home of the Graycliff cigar named in the Robb Report’s Best of the Best 2003 and 2004. Open 8:30am-5pm. West Hill St, tel 302-9191 or 322-2796.
Experience breathtaking views of Paradise Island, Nassau and the Out Islands with Island Helicopters. Several tours are available, including a 25-min flight over Nassau and Paradise Island; Salt Cay heli-tour and beach safari; and four-hour Exuma tour. Charter services and airport transfers also available. Departures daily from Paradise Island Heliport. Tel 363-4016, 363-1072 or visit www.island-helicopters.com for reservations and tour schedules.
UNDERSEA ADVENTURES
Spend 30 mins piloting your personal SUB (Scenic Underwater Bubble) with SUB Bahamas at Stuart Cove’s Aqua Adventures. No diving or snorkelling experience is necessary for this unique tour of a spectacular reef in 15 ft of water. Tel 362-4171 or visit www.sub-bahamas.com.
WATERSPORTS
Watersports are available on beaches in Nassau, Cable Beach and on Paradise Island. Choose from waterskiing, jet-skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, scuba diving, snorkelling and boating. Unlimited use of non-motorized watersports equipment is included with the purchase of a day pass at SuperClubs Breezes.
See also Cruises, above.
Disclaimer: The information in this article/release was accurate at
press time; however, we suggest you confirm all details and prices
directly with vendors.
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