The Mrs. Guru and I just got back from a quick weekend down in the Bahamas.  I’ll be sharing a full trip report with more details shortly, but wanted to post an initial overview of the Bahamas and how our trip went (make sure to read the taxi scam info at the bottom!)

Before the Flight

The night before the trip, we stayed in Charlotte at the Comfort Suites Airport on a free stay, courtesy of the Choice Hotels Best Rate Guarantee.  When looking into the that stay, I found a lower rate on another website (compared to the official Choice Hotels website), and after filling out a 30 second form, our reservation became completely free.  The hotel was very comfortable, with extremely large suites.  It wasn’t the nicest or fanciest hotel, but it was clean, safe, and was exactly what we needed.

The Flights

Overall, we had a great time in the Bahamas, and it is – in my opinion – one of the best “tricks” available for flights right now.  If you haven’t read the post (or want to re-read it as a refresher), the explanation of how we booked these flights for only 9,000 miles roundtrip is here.  It’s a little complicated, but once you get the idea, it’s a fantastic deal.  Sure, Freeport isn’t the most amazing destination in the Caribbean…but for the price (in terms of miles), it’s tough to beat!

I find it pretty entertaining that our flights were officially international, yet they were on a 50-seat regional jet (CRJ-200), which is the second smallest aircraft that US Airways flies:

Since the flight is barely an hour and a half in the air, it’s no big deal, and both flights were relatively on time (we did have about a 30 minute delay on the return).

The Hotel

We stayed at the Grand Lucayan Resort, which is right on the beach near Lucaya, the hub of shops, markets, and restaurants on the island.

The Grand Lucayan was very nice – it’s widely advertised, and probably the most well-known hotel on the island, for pretty good reason.  It’s large, with very spacious facilities: 3 pools, and more than enough chairs both by the pool and on the beach (which is frequently a problem at some beach resorts)

There was always plenty of space, and several bars/restaurants to choose from.  Drinks were very reasonable ($6.50-$8.50) in comparison to most resorts these days.  Some parts of the resort showed their age a little (the shower in the room was just average), and the pillows were about as useful as a paper towel, but the vast majority of the hotel was very nice.  Even though Freeport isn’t my absolute favorite destination, if I were to return, I’d almost certainly stay here again.

The Bahamas

This trip was my 5th visit to the Bahamas.  I’ve been there 3 times on cruises, and the 4th time was simply flying to Nassau for a long weekend.  Although I’ve visited numerous times, it’s not necessarily because it’s the most incredible place ever.  The beaches are fabulous, but in my opinion, the culture, food, and locals are just ok.  Tourism accounts for over 60% of the country’s GDB, and over 50% of all jobs are centered around tourism.  But it seems like the general attitude is that once the tourists arrive, the locals don’t really go out of their way to treat you all that well.  Between airport staff, taxi drivers, hotel staff, bartenders, waiters, etc. we rarely got a genuine smile or had an overly pleasant conversation….and I’ve witnessed this same attitude on all my other trips.

The Bahamas Taxi Scam

One of the most frustrating aspects (and most glaring example of what I just described above) of the Bahamian society is the scam of their taxis.  Especially on Grand Bahama Island and New Providence Island (where Freeport and Nassau are, respectively), the government has set flat rate “zones” for rides between the airport and the popular hotel/resort areas.  It should be no surprise that the “zone” rate is significantly higher than what the standard meter rate would cost based on distance.  They know that, and they blatantly lie to your face when you ask for a taxi to run his or her meter.

The taxi dispatchers and drivers act extremely dismissive, interrupt you right away, flail their arms at a posted sign with the zone rates, telling you that the government sets the zone rates and they can’t use meters to/from the airport.  They yell at you and give you an ultimatum: “You want taxi, you pay zone rate.”  It’s completely untrue, but everyone is in on the scam.  I’ve occasionally had success getting a police officer to enforce the real rule (forcing the taxi driver to use a meter), but they’re often in on the scam too – I’ve had them lie to me as well.

Don’t get me wrong – an extra $10 each way doesn’t make or break a trip, but when you can’t even get police officers to be honest about the laws, it’s really no surprise that I’m not dying to return.  Stay tuned for more a more detailed post on the scam and which taxi company to use that will actually run the meter and charge a fair price.

Overall

All in all, we had a wonderful time.  It was the perfect weekend getaway.  The hotel was very nice, and the weather was great.  When we were leaving this afternoon, the hotel bellman acted surprised when I asked for him to call a taxi that would use their meter, but he didn’t push back much, and gladly called one for us.  While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Freeport to folks who are looking for the most luxurious place in the Caribbean or action-packed trip full of activities, if you’re looking for a very reasonably-priced getaway with beautiful beaches, and a quiet atmosphere, Freeport could be a good option (especially for anyone with 9,000 British Airways Avios points who lives near Charlotte!)