Spring Break 2010
Trip Start
Mar 06, 2010
1
3
5
Trip End
Mar 12, 2010
Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas
Monday, March 8, 2010
On Thursday (Day 4) we had scheduled a charter boat to take us out reef fishing for the day but unfortunately the weather was too rough for the trip and it was cancelled. A few of us (I was with a fairly large group) decided to spend the day touring as much of the island as we could. At about 2:30pm (I of course had to make my daily trip to the casino to bring my total winnings for the week to $400!) we went to the local bus stop and started asking people there about the different routes the busses took. One of the locals (Bryan) who seemed close to our age said he would take us around the island for the day if we bought him beer whenever we stopped. We decided this was a great investment and he went and found a driver willing to stop taking the normal routes and drive us around. The bus driver said he would drive us around until we wanted to stop for $70 for the group of us. We probably should have negotiated a bit more but we just wanted to get on the road.
The bus was already half full of locals which was great because we got a chance to meet quite a few of them. The driver told us he would drop them off at their stops and then we would continue on our journey. On the way we also picked up a few children who had just gotten off to school and they were a great to meet as well. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures with any of the locals on the bus as we were only with them for about 10 minutes. After they were all dropped off the driver asked us where we wanted to go. We simply replied that we wanted to have a good time and to see parts of the islands that aren't touristy. Over the next 6+ hours we stopped at a local beer brewery (Sands Brewery), multiple local bar and restaurants, a local market selling fruits and vegetables, the International Bizarre, a few sightseeing spots to take pictures of the ocean, and toured around through the multiple neighborhoods on the island. We left the Freeport area heading west but I am not sure how far towards West End we actually went. The trip ended with a portion of the island blacking out and us hunting around for a gas station with it's lights on. We decided to go ahead and return to our friends shortly after that, feeling tired and quite satisfied with our journey.
On Friday, our last day, I once again went to the casino to try and make it 5 winning days in a row. Once again I was able to go up $100 and walk away from the trip winning $500 which paid for the flight and the hotel! Obviously this was awesome. We returned to the airport, got through security and customs in a flash, but were met with the news of an hour and a half delay of our flight. This hour and a half delay eventually turned into over four hours, luckily they had some food and a bar in the airport and we quickly became friends with the bartender. After finally boarding the plane we were once again delayed, only this time we just sat on the runway with no more beers to drink. I'm not sure what time we landed but we were able to collect our baggage and be on our way quickly. Only one more car ride to go before home.
Travel Info:
Roundtrip Flight from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport and back on Continental Airlines.
Cost: $220
The flight took about 30 minutes each way and we took a 19 passenger plane. The ride home was delayed quite a bit (about 4 hours) due to weather but we finally made it home.
Hotel: Our Lucaya Reef Village
Pretty darn expensive for a bunch of college kids. The cost per night was around $200 something, then there were about 2 or 3 different taxes, and each person who stayed in the room was charged a $15 per day resort fee. It turned out to be about $280 each for each of 5 of us for a 4 night stay.
Taxi to and from Airport: $5 a person each way with a group of 8
Renting a public bus: For 5 of us to travel around in one of the public busses (actually a van) for about 6 ours we were charged $70 for the group. We easily could have negotiated this down but we were just ready to get going and up at the casino!
Cheapest Beer: Most liquor stores sold Eclipse (a local brew) for $1 a bottle. Kalik and Sands (two other local options) usually went for $2 to $2.50 per bottle. Imported beers (U.S. included) were incredibly expensive. It was nice to be able to buy beers by the bottle.
Cheapest Meal: If you get out of the tourist area it is easy to eat for about $5. Within the "square" which is a very touristy area you can get a breakfast burrito at most times of the day for $4.50. Eggs, Cheese, and Ham, Bacon, or Sausage wrapped in a Tortilla. Delicious!!
