Safety in Bahamian Family Islands (Covid)

[florian becker]

Hello, I postponed a trip to Cat Island that was planned in May. Now that the Bahamas are opening again, I am looking to go for a long weekend in early September.
Has anyone been to the out islands recently? Specificaly Cat Island? Wondering about safety on the islands and safety at the airport (New Bight)
I heard that Nassau and Freeport are particularly bad in terms of crime these days. What a shame! Hope the out islands are in better shape!
Thanks!

 

[k9medic]

I fly to MYAT regularlly (or did pre covid.) I was last over there in July and had no issues with my plane.

If you are planning on going over, plan on quarantining for 14 days!

 

[Bill Watson]

I would have no worries.

We did some out-island travel at end of June to July though we didn’t get to Cat. The islands are more deserted than usual though there were a few people ‘stuck’ there because commercial flights were limited or unavailable. Masks were required in all stores. Restaurants, from roadside Conch joints to inside places, were open but mask wearing was common though not universal.

Personally, we felt a lot safer on Long, Abaco, and Crooked than we did in NC simply because there are so few people, few travelers, and reasonable adherence to good distancing and masking behavior. We fight about that stuff in NC and there are a lot more folks.

Do follow the procedures. We we went, a negative Covid test was required within a number of days before entry. A visa of sorts needed to be filled out and brought with you. When we landed at March Harbor (the epicenter for hurricane damage) the FBO and customs performed all checks and document work outside.

There’s no need to plan on quarantine unless perhaps if you are sick or depending on commercial travel. And it was SOP at Ft Pierce.

We’ve been on Cat several times and given the remoteness of New Bight, I’d have no worries. I’d recommend Rollez Villas just south of New Bight for isolation and some fine Bone fishing within walking distance.


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[k9medic]

Bill, a mandatory quarantine for 14 days is effect now for the Bahamas. The Prime Minister dropped that on us July 29th otherwise I would be there right now.

 

[Bill Watson]

I see. Haven’t been keeping up. Glad we made a move when we did.


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[k9medic]

I see. Haven’t been keeping up. Glad we made a move when we did.


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We landed back home on the 19th and was immediately greeted with text that the PM locked the country down. Now at least you can go over but who knows if the PM will change his mind this evening...

 

[bradg33]

My wife and I went to Cat (MYCB) in mid-July between when the Bahamas opened and then closed again. We stayed at the Fernandez Bay Village resort. I had absolutely no safety concerns, either for us or for the plane while it was parked at the airport. The airport in New Bight is attended during the day, and appears to have a small police outpost based there as well. I did go over each day to check on the plane, but that's partially because it gave me a place to run to. I highly, highly recommend Fernandez Bay Village; we really enjoyed it.

 

[Bill Watson]

I’ll 2nd Fernandez Bay Villages as well. We stayed there some years ago when it may have been configured a bit differently as a resort. We accidentally ran into an AOPA touring group and ran around with them for a few days. Pics in some old AOPA mag issue.

We always feel safe and comfortable in the out-islands. Since our earlier visits we now tend to go to more out of the way rentals and smaller resorts like Rollez. But VRBO has been a good resource all around The Bahamas.

Just be sure to bring some extra rope, chocks and tie downs because they can get scarce on those ramps. I’m never really concerned about plane security at the airports with scheduled service and certainly not the ones with customs. The main concern is determining how the commuter turbo props maneuver on the ramp and trying to figure out where your plane won’t get blasted by sand and conch debris. Bring a canopy cover as well.


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[florian becker]

Thanks, all, for your responses. I read good things about Fernandez Bay Villages - we won't be staying there this time, but will consider for future trips.

 

[florian becker]

As a post trip summary:
MYCB was deserted - their didn't answer their phones (I tried to make sure that customs was actually there), but when we got there, the airport manager and customs were there.
The airport is almost fully fenced in and there is a door in the small customs building with a "Police" sign on it, but we didn't see any police officers around. I do believe that aircraft are perfectly safe being parked at the airport.
Parking for a single is $3.73 per night.
C19 tests through CVS took less than 48 hours to result and the approval of the travel visas for the Bahamas was almost instantaneous. We brought all the paperwork printed and it was a quick and easy process to go through customs.
We brought most of the food we needed for the three day weekend and asked the local caretaker of the vacation rental to procure bottled water and fresh fruit / vegetables, which they gladly did.
Even though there is a 14 day vacation in place order in effect, it was made very clear to us that nobody would bother us... not that we could go anywhere as the closest grocery store was 40 minutes away and there was no reason to leave the house at all.
I would encourage any private flyer to help the Bahamian people by paying a visit to their islands. It's a unique opportunity to do so before everything opens back up again.