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Holiday activities
DINING & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE - JULY 2007
Holiday activities
Many things to see and do
You've sampled the activities at your resort, now it's time to add to your vacation fun. There are scads of enjoyable things to see and do around Nassau and Paradise Island. From sightseeing and shopping to sun, sand and sea adventures, there's something for everyone.
For a full list, pick up a copy of the What-to-do booklet at your hotel's activities desk. And to find your way around New Providence, use the Bahamas Trailblazer Maps. Both publications are free and you can find them at dozens of locations around town.
Sea adventure
The Bahamas' crystal-clear ocean offers many eye-opening adventures, above the waves and below.Get up close with colourful fish and coral by snorkelling the shallow reefs around Nassau, Paradise Island and nearby Rose Island. For those who want to explore deeper, dive companies offer a multitude of scuba packages around the island.
Stuart Cove's Aqua Adventures and Bahama Divers are the two main dive companies in Nassau.
Both offer a wide range of snorkelling and scuba trips for beginners and experienced divers alike, as well as daily learn-to-dive and open-water scuba certification courses.
Check out the underwater cave adventure on a trip to Bahama Divers' famous blue hole off Nassau's north shore. Or you can try the company's dive on spectacular shipwrecks near Paradise Island.
For non-divers, Stuart Cove's offers a unique SUB (Scenic Underwater Bubble) dive along a shallow reef. You won't even get your hair wet on this one-man submersible. It allows you to cruise 15 feet below the surface over a spectacular reef.
For the more adventurous, the company also offers a dive with wild Caribbean reef sharks near The Wall, a mile-deep undersea canyon.
Land ho!
For those who want to keep their feet on terra firma, consider a self-directed walkabout downtown. One spot to check out is Parliament Square, with its pink buildings that date back to the British colonial period. The Supreme Court building, once considered the most beautiful building in Nassau, is behind Parliament Square and fronts on Parliament Street. Around the court building you will see the eight-sided library, a former jail, on Shirley Street.
Walk west on Bay Street toward the British Colonial Hilton and check out another part of Nassau's past in a pink building on your right called Vendue House. It was once an arcaded marketplace where slaves were bought and sold. This building now houses the Pompey Museum of Slavery. It's well worth a look.
Nearby, in temporary quarters, is Nassau's Straw Market. It's a good place to look for handicrafts, fabrics and souvenirs, as well as Bahamian straw work. At the end of nearby Woodes Rogers Walk, where the cruise ships dock, is Festival Place, another location where you can find high-quality crafts and Bahamian goods.
While downtown you can also sample some of the country's lively arts scene by checking out The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, a beautiful yellow building on the corner of West and West Hill Streets.
Nature and animal lovers should take a No 10 bus from downtown out to West Bay Street and ask to be dropped at Chippingham Road, near Arawak Cay. If you stroll up Chippingham you will see signs directing you to Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Center.
Ardastra features a collection of about 300 animals, including indigenous species such as the Bahama parrot, San Salvador rock iguana and the Bahama boa.
The zoo is also home to one of the world?s few captive flocks of breeding flamingos, the national bird of The Bahamas. Twice a day, these stately pink birds show off their marching skills, responding to the commands of a human drill sergeant.
Sand and sea
Boat excursions are another way to up the ante for leisure and fun in New Providence. Choose between a high-speed trip to pristine beaches in the Exumas or a leisurely sail to a nearby beach for a picnic.
Flying Cloud Catamaran Cruises offers half-day cruises Monday to Saturday and five-hour Sunday cruises to nearby, picturesque Rose Island. There you can enjoy snorkelling, water sports, beach games or simply relax and work on your tan on a powdery beach, feet from a cooling off dip in the ocean.
Flying cloud also offers romantic evening cruises Monday, Wednesday and Friday to enjoy the sights of Nassau harbour under the stars.
If you like life in the fast lane, then hop aboard a powerboat and speed away to a day in the Out Islands with Island World Adventures.
This trip includes a visit to a gorgeous sandbar, a small cay reserved for wild iguanas and a beautiful reef to snorkel over. You?ll also be served a tasty Bahamian buffet lunch and will have time to unwind on a pristine beach.
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