The Beach a Block Away [Freeport, Grand Bahama Island]

Airtran started flights to Grand Bahama Island while I was living in DC, and I picked up some of their really cheap, introductory flights about 5 years ago. Airlines often offer discounted fares when they are starting a new route,and I also picked up a similar deal on my flight from NYC to Cologne, a new route from Continental. GBI doesn't have any real character, but they have some nice white sand beaches. The flight was probably about $110 round-trip, and with a $75 hotel stay, $200 for a trip to paradise is unbeatable.



My hotel, a block away from the beach, didn't have a view of the beach, a pool, or even working lights in my room, but it only charged me $25 a night. I found the hotel on a hostel booking site, and I suspect they were desparate to book any rooms. This was a steal compared to the resorts around the island. Before booking I checked google maps normal and satellite view to make sure I wouldn't be sleeping away from the tourist areas. I was on the first floor of the hotel shown below.



The hotel was across the street from a much nicer hotel, and the beach above was in front of that hotel. The hotel required a boat ferry ride to get to and from the town center, and I rode many of the local "buses" to different corners of the island. On the north side of the island they fished the meat from these conch shells.



A nice perk of traveling to the carribbean is the availability of Cuban cigars and Havana-Club rum, and I enjoyed these in the evening while waiting for the ferry back to my hotel.