On the Beach in Eleuthera

Finding your own private beach, walking through Governor's Harbour, bread at the bakery.

Quick Tips:

Find a private house to rent or stay in one of the reasonable small inns. Avoid the Club Med attitude at all costs!

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is great around town, but you'll want to rent your own car to really explore the island. No major rental companies are available but many private companies will supply you with a car in running condition... hopefully.

My mother''s friends own this private two bedroom house on a cliff above a small bay just outside of Governor''s Harbour. Having our own kitchen and living area, plus great garden and hammock made for a relaxing vacation.

Many Americans have purchased/built similar properties on Eleuthera for the purposes of retirement, so it shouldn''t be tough to find a reasonable rental property.

We visited the Club Med Eleuthera, courtesy of new friends who invited us for lunch. The grounds were clean, although not very creatively arranged.

Most fun for kids is the circus school, where they can learn flying trapeze and other circus arts. I think that now this Club Med is adults only, but they have retained the circus area.

If you stay at the Club Med, do try and get off the grounds sometimes. Club Med is a great budget resort because all your meals are included, as are all your activities. But be sure to actually see some of the island while you''re there. It''s easy to rent a car or taxi to take you around.

A cute little place specializing in Bahamian cuisine; conch chowder and fritters, all sorts of grouper. We went on a night when a local musician was playing guitar and singing island songs.

A great atmosphere and excellent food at reasonable prices!

Harbour Island, on the northmost tip of Eleuthera, is a quaint little fishing island with spectacular sand beaches. You take a ferry or speedboat to the island, or you can fly in directly.

Victoria's Secret shot one of their swimsuit catalogs here a few years back.

There are many luxury resorts and rental properties, but it's the most fun to simply walk the downtown area, with pastel-painted shops and great seafood restaurants.

Be sure to get some conch chowder and fried grouper while you're there.

Simply drive down any side road and you'll hit a deserted beach, some of which have excellent reefs for shallow snorkeling.

You can expect to see sting rays, manta rays, octopus (small ones!), jellyfish (Watch out!), baby sharks and a plethora of fish.

Be careful, because there are no lifeguarded beachs, so you're on your own. But, the water is warm and crystal clear and the snorkeling is fabulous!

Downtown Governor's Harbour has two or three streets of small independant shops where you can buy the usual souvenirs, plus great local art at reasonable prices.

Common items available for purchase include paintings of the local scenes, shells, and beautiful sarongs.

All prices are soft, so bargain hard! The Bahamian dollar is interchangable with the US dollar so no conversions are necessary.

Be sure and stop into the local bakery in the morning for amazing white brea and other pastries.