Grand Bahama: unique island now discovering its full potential - Port of the Month

Cruise Travel, July-August, 2002 by Deborah Williams

From its very beginnings Grand Bahama Island has been different--different by its very nature and different by its later design. Now the island is well on the way to discovering its full potential.

Cruise passengers sailing into Grand Bahama are greeted by a large new design proclaiming the port area Lucayan Harbour, honoring the Lucayan Indians who lived here when Christopher Columbus discovered the Bahamian chain. The name change from Freeport Harbour is more than superficial--it signifies major changes for this island just 52 miles from Palm Beach, Florida. Grand Bahama, one of the largest islands in the former British colony of the Bahamas, is also the most Americanized of the now-independent island group.

In the past few years there has been more than half a billion dollars in new construction on the island, and the welcome mat is out for cruise passengers and new ships. Part of the development includes the harborside, where pastel-colored buildings for vendors have been built. Rows of tropical flowers and palms plus a new straw market add to the festive atmosphere. It's far more inviting than the industrial area that formerly greeted cruise passengers.

Grand Bahama is 96 miles long and 17 miles across at the widest point, and has abundant freshwater, excellent natural harbors, and pine forests. Since the 18th century the island has gone through cycles of boom and bust.

In the 1940s, American businessman Wallace Groves set up a timber company based on Grand Bahama's extensive Caribbean pine forests.

But Groves was a true visionary. He convinced the Bahamian government to go partners with him in the development of a tax-free planned community, a "free port" that attracted visitors and investors from around the globe. Over the years the area grew with modern roads and large hotel and casino developments including Xanadu, a favorite of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. But gradually the rich and famous and many others began going elsewhere, and a long Bahamian slumber set in through the 1980s and most of the 1990s.

But boom times are definitely here again for Grand Bahama, largely fueled by the massive investments of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a Hong Kong-based conglomerate that is involved in island airport, harbor, and business developments. The company has sunk $400 million into Our Lucaya, formerly the Lucayan Beach Hotel. The newly completed hotel complex now boasts 1,350 rooms in three separate buildings, two 18-hole golf courses, a spa, a casino, an innovative children's center, three pools, and 14 restaurants and bars. Our Lucaya is on an expansive beach with a multitude of watersports available, from sailing to kayaking. Some cruise lines offer visits to Our Lucaya, and all beaches are public.

Our Lucaya is just across the street from Port Lucaya, a lively marketplace and marina filled with luxury yachts. In addition to restaurants, nightclubs, and shops, the square in Port Lucaya is the setting for live musical performances that attract a large crowd of locals and visitors each evening, and during the day when cruise ships are visiting.

Roads are wide and well-maintained, making getting around easy, although driving is on the left. Motor-scooters are a popular mode of transportation for visitors. Freeport, the island's main town, is just a few miles away from the port. Here you'll find the International Bazaar, a shopping and restaurant complex highlighting countries from around the globe. Close by is the Perfume Factory, a replica of an 18th century Bahamian mansion, where you can mix, bottle, and even name your own fragrance.

Outside town is the Rand Nature Center, a 100-acre preserve with nature trails winding amid native flora. A highlight of the center is a flock of delicate West Indian pink flamingos, the national bird of the Bahamas. There's a covered viewing platform to watch these fanciful birds, or you can walk along the trails to the edge of the pond and get close-up views.

Nearby is the Garden of the Groves, a remarkably lush and serene botanical garden with more than 10,000 species of flowers, shrubs, trees, and exotic plant life. Follow the winding, shaded paths and discover waterfalls and multi-colored native birds. A miniature chapel is open for prayer and reflection.

An acclaimed eco-tourism destination, Grand Bahama boasts the most well preserved eco-system in the Bahamas. There are a multitude of organized tours designed to bring visitors close to nature. These include kayaking through mangrove swamps, exploring limestone caverns, and riding "sea horses"--actually quarter horses and appaloosas that take riders down tree-lined trails to a deserted beach where you are free to gallop along the surf.

For those who wish to get away from it all, Gold Rock Beach is the crown jewel of Lucayan National Park, one of the larger parks in the Bahamas. This pristine strand of sand is picture-perfect and rarely crowded--an ideal spot for a picnic. The park, 25 miles from Freeport, is notable for its stands of Caribbean pine, used for shipbuilding and the foundation of Grand Bahama's early fortunes. Here, too, is one of the world's largest underground systems of limestone caves, home of the burial ground of the now extinct Lucayan Indians.