Your Favorite Thing to Do in the Abacos ?

[AHollander]

Hello all,
My wife and I are chartering a mono with the Moorings out of Marsh Harbour in the Abacos for 5 days with another couple. I would love to get some advice on where to go and what to do other then the Moorings pre-printed itinerary. So I thought I would start this thread and ask everyone to comment on their favorite:
Anchorage
Beach Bar
Snorkling
Beach
Off the beaten track exploring

And any other random things that a newbie to the Abacos should know.

Thanks,
Alan

[Agility]

Nippers for lunch or dinner
Climb the lighthouse in Hopetown, and grab a key lime pie at the store across the harbor
Brunch at Pete's Pub

I could name a bunch more, but I would feel unsatisfied it I didn't do these three.

[ActiveCaptain]

I agree - Great Guana - hang out at Nippers. Then walk the beach - you can go a couple of miles and not see anyone else.

[Hud3]

Steak night at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbour. Lot's of cruisers there, live music, the whole works...

[nautical62]

Personally, one thing I really like about the Abacos is that even within the chartering areas one can find uninhabited islands and quite possibly have an entire bay, if not an entire island to yourself.

If more isolated places are something you enjoy:

Powell - many beaches
Manjack - has a great trail system and long ocean beach
No Name Cay
Spoil cay - stay the night, few boats do.
Deep Sea/Snake Cay
Bucaroon Bay has some small beaches to the left (NW) which are rarely visited. I think the large house is not occupied. The beach to the south of it has some ruins in the woods and path through to the mangrove "lake" behind. You'll feel like you are in another world. Several small beaches north of the house as well.

Of course, one never knows when other boats may show up. A large boat at anchor with a 60 foot mast can act as a magnet to other boats.

For snorkeling I like:

The reefs off the tip of Great Guana - Anchor in Baker's Bay and take the dinghy around. They have moorings now.
Fowl Cay near Man-O-War
The reefs just north of Elbow are nice as well, but are a little more out there.
Sandy Cay - if surge isn't too strong.
I have heard good things about the Pelican Cay reef near Green Turtle, but have yet to snorkel on it myself.

My favorite, accessible swimming beaches:

Pelican Cays, (The ones near Tilloo)
Deep Sea Cay
Treasure Cay Peninsula
Great Guana
Powell
Manjack

My favorite towns are Hope Town and New Plymouth on Green Turtle. Pineapples on Green Turtle is nice and has free internet. The little liquor store near the landing sells beer at reasonable prices (by Bahamas standards) and has very reasonable lunch prices. It's popular with the locals. The Blue Bee Bar and Wrecking Tree are other restauarnt/bars popular with cruisers and is Sundowners in the evening. In Hope Town, I like eating out on the warf at Captain Jacks and it's worth going up the light house.

If you like exploring, anchor off which ever side of the snake cay peninsula is appropriate and take your dinghy through the "creek" behind Deep Sea Cay with 1/2 tide or better.

Pete's Place in Little Harbour is a nice stop featuring a beach bar/restaurant and sculpture gallery. If by chance they are doing a casting at the foundry, I recommend watching.

In Marsh Harbour, Curly Tails right next to Tui Marine (Moorings/Sunsail/Conch Inn) is one of my favorite places to grab a drink or dinner. Great view of the Harbour just after sunset from the upstairs. I prefer to provision myself at the grocery store to having the Moorings do it. The store will hail a cab for you back to The Moorings - Saves money and you get to eat what you want.

If you want a sheltered night on a mooring, Treasure Cay is sheltered and the affordable mooring fee includes use of their showers and pool. (You can pay for a shower at Pineapples on G.T. as well.)

I have an Abacos page I'm working on with photos of many of the islands. It's in progress and a bit rough, but may be helpful.

bahamasmariner.com/abaocs

Have a great charter.

[Hudson Force]

I agree with all said above, but I would add, for wilderness adventuring, the blue hole at the back of Robinson's Bight or more dinghy exploring up the creek at the north side of Robinson's bight, but don't get caught too far up there with the tide falling.
'take care and joy, Aythya crew

[AHollander]

Wow... Thank you all for being so responsive... This will definitly help us plan a memorable trip. Keep the ideas coming!!! Hopefully this thread will be used by other Abaco newbies and potentially some veterans as well. :-)

Thanks,
Alan

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I agree with all said above, but I would add, for wilderness adventuring, the blue hole at the back of Robinson's Bight or more dinghy exploring up the creek at the north side of Robinson's bight, but don't get caught too far up there with the tide falling.
'take care and joy, Aythya crew

CaptForce- Where exactly is the blue hold in Bight of Old Robinson? I heard it's somewhere up on the NW and I know you said "back" but it's a big bay to just go looking.

Any more details appreciated.

- Dave Z.

[Alan Brown]

Nippers - Guana Cay- Pig roast on Sundays. "Must visit" if you are a bar person. Grab a mooring in Settlement Harbour or off Dive Guana, 1/4 mile north. Dink in and go wild!

Pete's Pub - Little Harbour- Another "must see" bar. Nice gift shop and working foundry next door. Can actually swim in to shore.

Treasure Cay- Great marina, bar, pool, etc. Can anchor out in turning basin just outside marina entrance and dink in for small fee. Gets you full access to showers, pool, etc.

Man-O-War - Great stop but no booze sold on Island. Very nice marina and restaurant. Look for Miss Lola and her famous cinnamon buns.

Hopetown - Elbow Cay- This is probably the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Anchor outside the harbour and dink in, or grab mooring in harbour. Several nice restaurants/bars, grocery stores. Key Lime pie at Vernon's grocery is famous.

Tahiti Beach - Great beach at south end of Elbow Cay, next to Tilloo Cut.

Lubbers Quarters - Opposite Tilloo Cut. Cracker P's restaurant/bar is a good take in.

Green Turtle Cay - Anywhere you you stop, is a good place. My favorite island in all the Abacos. Several nice marinas at Bluff House and Green Turtle Club, or anchor outside New Plymouth and dink in. ( If only spending 5 days, put GTC on your list for next time)

Suggestion - Pick up a copy of Steve Dodge's "Cruising Guide to the Northern Bahamas". It will become your Abaco bible.

Have a great visit to one of my favorite cruising grounds!

[danielgoldberg]

We just chartered there in February. I don't have much to add to the thread, but I will note two things.

First, the Moorings itinerary actually is very good. It'll give you a great cross section of things to do throughout the Abacos.

Second, you sort of need to get a little lucky if you're going to go to any of the places north of the Whale Cay Passage. The Moorings will require you to give them advance notice before you go through the Whale, and whether they will let you do so will depend on whether the Whale is "open," which will be dependent on the weather. Do keep in mind that you will also need good weather for the trip back. If the Whale is closed, an option you have is to tie up at Treasure Cay, and then take the ferry to Green Turtle, which is what we did as we had strong northerly winds for almost the entire time we were there. The marina can call you a cab to take you to the ferry dock. Once on Green Turtle, you can rent a golf cart so that you can see the place in a day.

Have a blast!

[NWCouple]

Nautical62 and Alan Brown have a pretty thorough list of the must do's. Our favorite thing about the Abaco's is the friendliness of the people there. They are so very hospitable and welcoming. #1 advise is to learn the history of the island, it is incredibly interesting...there is a wonderful museum in Hope Town that is worth going to. Happy sails to you!

[jjones1349]

The last time I was in the Abacos, Randolph Johnson was still alive and working on his sculpture in Little Harbor. His history is a bit of a story as well. It has been way too long but I too long to get back there as my memories of the place are great.
I never did see anything north of Treasure Cay or south of Little Harbor but did visit the blue hole there. Very strange formation...it is on the charts as I remember and that was pre-gps days and was found without a problem.
I also remember Christmas time in Marsh Harbor while in a boat parade in the harbor with an inflatable Santa on top of a 42' trawler pulling up the rear of the parade. Being boat bound the next day with a tropical storm that lasted all day and Christmas Day turkeys cooked on various boats...I made gravy as all the turkey drippings came one at a time...all setup through the cruisers forum for the area via VHF.
We missed Junkanoo (sp) but would love to get back to take in the festival.
I recommend the Abacos highly.