Bahamas, Nov 2018

Katamarino

Katamarino

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Katamarino
All, I'm planning my first flight to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving. Aircraft is a C182 with 110 gallons on board, so fairly flexible about fueling. We will be leaving from Florida, probably Sarasota. Would like to visit a maximum of two different places over the 4 days, ideally smaller and relaxing, not busy tourist hubs.

I'd love some advice from the more experienced Bahama gang about where to go!
 
I work for a fellow in Lantana that has been flying to the Bahamas for 40 years. We are going to start cargo service there soon in a Beech 18. Lantana airport seems to be quite the center for informal trade with the islands. I am planning a trip to the Bahamas myself soonish. I will ask and let you know here.

IMG_20181005_074046803.jpg
 
"Island time" cargo? LOL How prophetic. I wouldn't start a delivery business with island time as a moniker, that's just me. Dope Beech 18 though. Hope you're non-equity partner in this venture . I keed I keed. :D:D
 
I go fairly regularly....... so what do,you want to do? I won’t go Freeport or Nassau..... that’s where “tourists” go. Abbacos is a close second as far as touristy folks, but it’s a big boating spot. If you really want the resort style stay, it’s a good spot.

Spanish wells via North Eleuthera is a great spot if you want to get a boat and fish. Eleuthera is cool if you want to explore. You will certainly needs a car to the tune of $100/ day-ish.

Cat and Long if you want to just chillax. Bimini is nice and close and Resort World is pretty cool if you want to do the resort thing. Good for fishing as well and some decent diving/snorkling plus it’s 100 miles closer each way than the out islands.

My next stop will probably be Staniel Cay. Been wanted to go for a while now but the fam usually dictates where we go.

You can rent rafts and vests from Banyan at KFXE. We bought our own from Amazon. Manual inflatable wearable vests. They go on either on departure of before making the hard left at Cape Canaveral. Don’t auto auto inflatables.... think about it..... try getting our of your plane with a 24” doughnut around your next. If you go in, you will have water in the cabin and if it floats for longer than 5 min, you got lucky. Inflate when you get out. And a 406 PLB is absolutely a must. I have two ACR PLBs.... get one!

Wherever you go, be prepared to have everything move much slower than you are used to...... relax mon.....you in da Bahamas!
 
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Have to agree with cat,and Long Island ,very relaxing.
 
Highly recommend leaving from and returning to Fort Pierce, FL KFPR. Call APP Jet Center a week or two in advance - They're a Bahamas Gateway FBO and will fill out all the paperwork for you. They also have survival rafts to rent for very reasonable rates. Great experience all around.

Also, US Customs at KFPR was VERY easy to work with. Literally 10 minutes from the time I pulled off the runway, we were *exiting* customs.

As for where to go: Cape Santa Maria on Long Island. They have (had?) a little airstrip only about 1/2 mile from their door, but I've heard it may have closed. They will pick you up from Stella Maris, though, and you'll need to hit Stella for customs anyway.

Cape Santa Maria has an excellent restaurant, and the most beautiful beach you'll ever see. https://www.capesantamaria.com/en-us

IMG_1536.png IMG_1539.png IMG_1552.png IMG_1606.png IMG_1608.png

As you can see, the place is very low-traffic - And we were there on spring break.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Highly recommend leaving from and returning to Fort Pierce, FL KFPR. Call APP Jet Center a week or two in advance - They're a Bahamas Gateway FBO and will fill out all the paperwork for you. They also have survival rafts to rent for very reasonable rates. Great experience all around.
Click to expand...
x2 on APP. Nice people and a nice facility. There's a pretty good restaurant in the FBO, too
 
I want to do this in my Cherokee 180... I receive so much grief about taking it over open water... I feel ok about it but I guess everyone else isn’t as adventurous as me!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Great info, thanks all! I ordered a life raft and vests today. Decided to buy my own as they'll be used for the round-the-world next year, and countless other trips like South America in future.
 
Unit74 said:
I go fairly regularly....... so what do,you want to do? I won’t go Freeport or Nassau..... that’s where “tourists” go. Abbacos is a close second as far as touristy folks, but it’s a big boating spot. If you really want the resort style stay, it’s a good spot.

Spanish wells via North Eleuthera is a great spot if you want to get a boat and fish. Eleuthera is cool if you want to explore. You will certainly needs a car to the tune of $100/ day-ish.

Cat and Long if you want to just chillax. Bimini is nice and close and Resort World is pretty cool if you want to do the resort thing. Good for fishing as well and some decent diving/snorkling plus it’s 100 miles closer each way than the out islands.

My next stop will probably be Staniel Cay. Been wanted to go for a while now but the fam usually dictates where we go.

You can rent rafts and vests from Banyan at KFXE. We bought our own from Amazon. Manual inflatable wearable vests. They go on either on departure of before making the hard left at Cape Canaveral. Don’t auto auto inflatables.... think about it..... try getting our of your plane with a 24” doughnut around your next. If you go in, you will have water in the cabin and if it floats for longer than 5 min, you got lucky. Inflate when you get out. And a 406 PLB is absolutely a must. I have two ACR PLBs.... get one!

Wherever you go, be prepared to have everything move much slower than you are used to...... relax mon.....you in da Bahamas!
Click to expand...
^^^^^^ +1 ^^^^^^
I have taken multiple USN Aviation Water Survival Classes (Miramar/Lemoore) back when I used to have to work for a living. If faced with a ditch, you definitely wait until you are outside the aircraft before inflating.
 
First pic is undoubtedly Eleuthera at the Glass Bridge with Queens bath just south of it. :yes:


flyingcheesehead said:
Highly recommend leaving from and returning to Fort Pierce, FL KFPR. Call APP Jet Center a week or two in advance - They're a Bahamas Gateway FBO and will fill out all the paperwork for you. They also have survival rafts to rent for very reasonable rates. Great experience all around.

Also, US Customs at KFPR was VERY easy to work with. Literally 10 minutes from the time I pulled off the runway, we were *exiting* customs.

As for where to go: Cape Santa Maria on Long Island. They have (had?) a little airstrip only about 1/2 mile from their door, but I've heard it may have closed. They will pick you up from Stella Maris, though, and you'll need to hit Stella for customs anyway.

Cape Santa Maria has an excellent restaurant, and the most beautiful beach you'll ever see. https://www.capesantamaria.com/en-us

View attachment 67926 View attachment 67927 View attachment 67928 View attachment 67929 View attachment 67930

As you can see, the place is very low-traffic - And we were there on spring break.
Click to expand...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Highly recommend leaving from and returning to Fort Pierce, FL KFPR. Call APP Jet Center a week or two in advance - They're a Bahamas Gateway FBO and will fill out all the paperwork for you. They also have survival rafts to rent for very reasonable rates. Great experience all around.

Also, US Customs at KFPR was VERY easy to work with. Literally 10 minutes from the time I pulled off the runway, we were *exiting* customs.

As for where to go: Cape Santa Maria on Long Island. They have (had?) a little airstrip only about 1/2 mile from their door, but I've heard it may have closed. They will pick you up from Stella Maris, though, and you'll need to hit Stella for customs anyway.

Cape Santa Maria has an excellent restaurant, and the most beautiful beach you'll ever see. https://www.capesantamaria.com/en-us

View attachment 67926 View attachment 67927 View attachment 67928 View attachment 67929 View attachment 67930

As you can see, the place is very low-traffic - And we were there on spring break.
Click to expand...
All the above!!! The condos are nicer then the bungalows. Fantastic beech!!!
Also North Eleuthera - Harbor Island is a great place. Pink beach. You will take the water taxi to get to the island. Rent a golf cart to get around the island. Lots of great places to eat and stay.
Also Staniel Cay is a good lunch stop. Rent a golf cart to go to the marina to eat. You can rent a boat to go see the swimming pigs and the James Bond 007 grotto cave.
I wanted to visit Farmers Cay but did not make it. Love the beach one foot from the runway.
Buy this guide, AOPA's 2018 Bahamas Pilot's Guide, Lot of great information
http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/12694
Special Tip you want to know. Fort Pierce Customs does not open until 10 am. If you want to fly home before 10am you will call for a re-entry number you will be calling Miami customs. BE SURE TO GET THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU TALKED TO. They will give you their initials and write down the time. When you get to Fort Pierce, if Miami did not enter in your information you can tell them the time and person you talked to. It helps!! It happened to me.
 
We flew into the Bahamas in March of 2018. It was easier than I thought it'd be. I was really nervous about getting the paperwork correct but it went fine.
We flew in and out of Fort Pierce, they were great but would not help with the paperwork, they made it sound like they weren't able to do that any more. I went to the Customs Office before departing and they were helpful in making sure I had everything done correctly. One thing that I hadn't done is gotten my customs sticker, I thought I could just buy it there, but you have to get them on-line, and they send them to you. BUT, as long as you have the receipt showing you've purchased it they were fine. Nice little restaurant at APP too.
We went to Eleuthera, flew into Governors Harbour, stayed at Hut Pointe, very nice and friendly but not on the beach if that's what you're looking for, although the beach is just a short walk away.
Governors Harbour has a weekly celebration in town, I think it's Friday night, DON'T MISS IT! Best and least expensive food and drink of our trip!
 
Unit74 said:
Don’t auto auto inflatables.... think about it..... try getting our of your plane with a 24” doughnut around your next. If you go in, you will have water in the cabin and if it floats for longer than 5 min, you got lucky. Inflate when you get out. And a 406 PLB is absolutely a must. I have two ACR PLBs.... get one!
Click to expand...

Many perished on this ditching because they inflated their life vests before the landing, and then the buoyancy pressed them into the cabin walls making it impossible to egress.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961
 
Spoke to my boss who has been flying to the Bahamas for 40 years, as I mentioned. The parameters I gave him: non-touristy to the degree that the Bahamas can be non-touristy. Not particularly interested in fishing or diving but if it's there I might take advantage of it. Mostly interested in chilling and soaking up the country and people. Not pricey and I'm not too worried if it's a bit run-down. That's me; that might be the furthest thing from you. His recommendations:

Airbnb or VRBO on Cat Island, Long Island, even Freeport. North Eleuthera is nice towards the west (Current Island) but the North Eleuthera airport is a rip-off, Andros. If you really want off-the-beaten-track go to Ragged Island.
 
Not pricy...... Yea.... Um. Good luck on that.

But if you want to get away but still have some access to food and such, try rock sound on eleuthera. Very low key
 
Unit74 said:
Not pricy...... Yea.... Um. Good luck on that.

But if you want to get away but still have some access to food and such, try rock sound on eleuthera. Very low key
Click to expand...


Thanks for the rec but I don't see why you think it has to be pricey. Looking on VRBO I see a studio on Long that sleeps 4 for $105/night. That was just a quick look.

Edit: Airbnb has an entire house on Ragged Island for $75 a night.
 
The house is the cheap part.......
 
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