Going to the Bahamas for the 1st time

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by rwells36

Don't bring more than 3 firearms and you will have to count ammo rounds.

250 rounds max as of 2 years ago. Don't take any rounds that you are not willing to give up to customs if the rules change. Don't ask how I know.

[NakedCity]

Load up.All provisions are expensive and on most cays scarce.We go every year for the last ten years. Usually you are never boarded but if you think you will be keep all FRESH fruits and vegetables out of sight. Do not hide them, just don't have any in sight. All other alcohol and food are not an issue.

[bvander]

Everyone bemoans the cost of food and booze in the Bahamas.
Yes many items can be pricey, but there are ways to save
Firstly eat local. Eg, kraft chedder is expensive, but Andros chedder is about 1/2 the price and tastes good. US bacon expensive, Bar S from andros just as good and 1/2 price.

Buy where locals buy. Eg, two grocery stores in Rock Sound. The Market is where most cruisers and condo folks buy. Hall's up by the school has cheaper prices and is a local family business. We buy bulk of our need there, then finish at Market for those items we couldnt find at Hall's

This year we are finding wine selection greater and cheaper than previous years. Beer still very expensive, rum and gin very cheap.

Snack foods very expensive.

Root veg not too bad, green veg pricey. Dairy not too bad, and for meat (chicken and pork) prices reasonable if you buy local vice imported. Very happy with Bar S deli meats (from Andros). Sadly for beef lovers, it is expensive.

Cost of living is more than Florida, but if you shop wisely on par or cheaper than Canada.

[epiic]

Thanks for the advice guys.

My next question would be.... am I crazy for going to Bahamas without a watermaker?

I have 140 gallon water capacity but I am told there is nowhere I can pull-up to a marina and fill-up. I will need to fill up jerry cans and haul them with my dinghy?

[Caliber40]

Originally Posted by bvander

Everyone bemoans the cost of food and booze in the Bahamas.

Yes many items can be pricey, but there are ways to save

Firstly eat local. Eg, kraft chedder is expensive, but Andros chedder is about 1/2 the price and tastes good. US bacon expensive, Bar S from andros just as good and 1/2 price.



Buy where locals buy. Eg, two grocery stores in Rock Sound. The Market is where most cruisers and condo folks buy. Hall's up by the school has cheaper prices and is a local family business. We buy bulk of our need there, then finish at Market for those items we couldnt find at Hall's



This year we are finding wine selection greater and cheaper than previous years. Beer still very expensive, rum and gin very cheap.



Snack foods very expensive.



Root veg not too bad, green veg pricey. Dairy not too bad, and for meat (chicken and pork) prices reasonable if you buy local vice imported. Very happy with Bar S deli meats (from Andros). Sadly for beef lovers, it is expensive.



Cost of living is more than Florida, but if you shop wisely on par or cheaper than Canada.

Shopping for price in Bahamas sounds wonderful.....we do and often find some lower prices but if one travels extensively , especially in the smaller islands just finding a store with inventory is a plus....shopping for price with limited selection and transportation options is a challenge!

[CSY Man]

Originally Posted by epiic

Thanks for the advice guys.

My next question would be.... am I crazy for going to Bahamas without a watermaker?

I have 140 gallon water capacity but I am told there is nowhere I can pull-up to a marina and fill-up. I will need to fill up jerry cans and haul them with my dinghy?

140 gallons is a lot.
You can fill up the tank with city water in Naasau for $10 and if you have a basic filter, drink it.
Some remote islands have rather expensive drinking water, but only a problem if you linger.
I had 150 gallons on my sailboat and never needed a water maker.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by epiic

I have 140 gallon water capacity but I am told there is nowhere I can pull-up to a marina and fill-up. I will need to fill up jerry cans and haul them with my dinghy?

Depends. Grand Bahama, Abaco and Andros are the only islands with sufficient groundwater sources to meet their needs - so water is cheap or free. The other islands either desalinate or have it shipped in, so cost rises accordingly. That said, if you don't mind ferrying jerry cans in your dinghy, there are a number of free sources of desalinated water available to cruisers in places like Georgetown and Black Point.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by bvander

Everyone bemoans the cost of food and booze in the Bahamas.
Yes many items can be pricey, but there are ways to save
Firstly eat local. Eg, kraft chedder is expensive, but Andros chedder is about 1/2 the price and tastes good. US bacon expensive, Bar S from andros just as good and 1/2 price.

Buy where locals buy. Eg, two grocery stores in Rock Sound. The Market is where most cruisers and condo folks buy. Hall's up by the school has cheaper prices and is a local family business. We buy bulk of our need there, then finish at Market for those items we couldnt find at Hall's

This year we are finding wine selection greater and cheaper than previous years. Beer still very expensive, rum and gin very cheap.

Snack foods very expensive.

Root veg not too bad, green veg pricey. Dairy not too bad, and for meat (chicken and pork) prices reasonable if you buy local vice imported. Very happy with Bar S deli meats (from Andros). Sadly for beef lovers, it is expensive.

Cost of living is more than Florida, but if you shop wisely on par or cheaper than Canada.

+1

We found that some items were inexplicably cheap in comparison to the US, such as butter (from Ireland?). Also paper products (toilet paper, paper towels) are all imported and take up a lot of container space, so are vastly overpriced - bring enough for the duration of your trip (fill a spare cabin if you have to). Beer was cheapest on Grand Bahama (on par with Cdn prices) and soda-pop was generally more expensive than US/Can, but you can get better prices directly from the bottling depots.


PS. Do you have a route or specific destinations planned?

[Caliber40]

There are many marinas thru out the Bahamas where you can "pull up and fill up"...some charge flat daily rates anywhere from 8 to 12 a day....some by the gallon....).40 to $.50 a gallon seems typical.

Those who haul in Gerry cans do so because it most likely is free like in Georgetown. At 140 gal capacity you do not "need" a water maker but it's nice to have. I can go anywhere and be assured I have hi quality water. , as much as I want, when I want it. My boat carries 275 gallons and I still installed one!

[epiic]

Originally Posted by Caliber40

There are many marinas thru out the Bahamas where you can "pull up and fill up"

I am gonna need to build a list of marinas that offer this service so that I can plan my route accordingly.

[bvander]

Originally Posted by epiic

Thanks for the advice guys.

My next question would be.... am I crazy for going to Bahamas without a watermaker?

I have 140 gallon water capacity but I am told there is nowhere I can pull-up to a marina and fill-up. I will need to fill up jerry cans and haul them with my dinghy?

Bahamas is a big area with many different groups of islands/cays. Water is easy to get, many many boats do not have watermakers, except those with washers and dryers and ice makers. 140 gal capacity is good for a couple, should have no problem.

So here are some of the areas and water, recommend you check with active captain and explorer charts website for water availability and prices.
Abacos, sea of abaco has numeous marinas, some will charge for water, some will have a flat rate if staying. All fuel docks have water.
Berries, great harbour has water at dock. Chub and Berry Island club in S Berries are closed
Nassau, all marinas and fuel docks have water.
Spanish wells has water on dock, careful there, city water can be brachish.
Eleuthra. Free water avail by JC in Hatchet, Governors and Rock Sound. Governors has a dock where you can buy water.
Exumas. Highborne, Stanial, Cave (if open) have marinas with water at dock. Black point has water with donation by JC. Exuma market has free water at dingy dock.
Raggeds. Here water is harder to find.
Outislands. Check with explorer and active captain.

[Caliber40]

Epic....I have such a guide but it may be a tad dated....all good Cruising guides have this info like Waterway Guude and Explorer Charts ( BTW....you NEED Explorer Charts )

Send an e mail to Caliber40@va.metrocast.net and I'll send you my guide....has lots of other info as well.

Greg

[bvander]

Originally Posted by Caliber40

Shopping for price in Bahamas sounds wonderful.....we do and often find some lower prices but if one travels extensively , especially in the smaller islands just finding a store with inventory is a plus....shopping for price with limited selection and transportation options is a challenge!

Agreed with small settlements, but even places like hatchett, rock sound and governors you can find options. Same, sometimes in stanial, definately in Nassau (lots provision in whole foods store and yet prices better in a local grocery store).
If you spend a lot of time in Bahamas, you can not physically take enough food to last 6-7 months, so have no choice but repovision, for that you sail to a major center.

Also another option is order from foodstore2go, they box it and they send it on mail boat, shipping is $5/box. Good quality food you recieve on the govt dock. Again selection great enough to pick between local and imported.

This month was pleasantly surprised by wine selection in Bristol in Governors. Found a reasonable merlot for $12/bottle. Might not be suitable to a conissoeur's pallet, but for folks like us who stock up on black biox wine on florida it drinks well. Marsh in Nov had 3 bottles of cab for $24. 700 wines and spirits in iock sound had 1.5 l bottle of merlot for $15.

[bvander]

Originally Posted by epiic

I am gonna need to build a list of marinas that offer this service so that I can plan my route accordingly.

If you go online explorer charts' website has listing of marinas with dockage, fuel, water prices which they update quarterly. Also active captain has all marinas listed with many prices as well. They also have anchorage markers near the settlements which usually tell you on availability of water even if no marina.
All of this is free information, regularly updated and if downloaded can be accessed offline
If you are running garmin or cmap then the active captain data is already integrated and available in your chartplotter..

http://explorercharts.com/chatter/

[Caliber40]

Settlements you mention all big settlements on an island (Eluethera) with a fairly large and sophisticated population......of course good selections. Staniel Cay's 3 stores all
Small and all
Need to see the mail boat to have any selection. Also anyone selling booze in Staniel surely needs to wear a mask!

Wines are 2X vs the States.....we love the black box wine.....where can you find in Bahamas? Most stores sell Franzia box wine.....wondering if it will run in my Yanmar because it's sure killing me!

Never heard of ordering food on the mail boat....I had an outboard shipped in in a mailboat once....waited 6 hours ..all this shopping overwhelming to me.....I pack a huge amount of provisions.....shop where I can for whatever I can't carry or have exhausted . Time in paradise to valuable to run all over the islands looking for " just reduced" stickers!