Private Half Day Boat Charter – Nassau, Bahamas

 

“Being on a boat that’s moving through the water, it’s so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what’s important and what’s not.”

James Taylor

Have you been to Nassau, Bahamas more than once and are looking for something new to do? Well, we tried something new this time. Let me tell you a little about it. My family booked through Viator a private half day boat charter with Bahamas Land and Sea Tours that promised great snorkeling and swimming with the turtles. Sounds great doesn’t it? We had been to Nassau a few times before and wanted to do something totally new. We figured this was a safe alternative to a regular excursion without the crowds during the era of Covid and it just sounded like fun.

Our paperwork for the excursion said to meet the boat at the dock right near where the cruise ship was parked and close to Senior Frogs Restaurant. That was convenient as it was an easy walk from our cruise ship. When we arrived, no boat was at the dock. Oh my, that was scary. The men on the dock told us their first excursion must have ran late and said they probably went to fill up the boats with gas. That was a relief as there was another family saying they were doing the same excursion and we thought that was odd since it was to be a private excursion. So hearing boats was a relief. No worries as the locals say, we were on ‘Bahama time’. We grabbed a drink from Senior Frogs while waiting for our ride to arrive.

We walked back to the dock when we saw a boat coming in fast. We got excited thinking it was our boat. The driver got off the boat and announced he was looking for the other group. Bummer. They loaded up their group and took off. Shortly after they left, we saw another small boat cruising in. That was our boat and yes, it was a small boat. So our excursion was going to start about an hour after we were scheduled to start. But remember, we were on ‘Bahama time’. After we met Elvis, our Captain, we were helped onboard the boat and got settled in. Now we were happy and ready to have some fun.

He pushed off from the dock and took off, flying over the waves and out of the port. He wanted to make up for lost time so we zoomed out towards the open water. We felt the sea water spraying us as we zipped by our cruise ship. My how small we felt passing that huge ship since our small boat only could hold about eight people. The ride was fun but if you are uncomfortable with small speed boats, this excursion may not be for you. But if you enjoy them, this one was super fun.

We saw a small island with palm trees off in the distance and as we got closer, I was thinking it looked familiar. I was wondering where I may have seen it when Elvis pointed to the island and said that it Gilligan’s Island. He said it is the island they filmed during the intro to the show. Then he turned the boat and headed further out to the snorkeling area. We slowed down and he said we are here.

He stopped the boat and handed out snorkel masks and fins and off we went to explore this area. As soon as we got into the water, we saw the most beautiful fish imaginable and an amazing live coral reef. It was stunning. The water was so clear that we could easily see to the bottom of the ocean some 20 feet deep in places. The tropical fish were so colorful and graceful swimming all around us. They didn’t pay us any mind. We saw so many varieties that I had only seen at fish stores or aquariums before. It was exciting seeing them in their natural habitat. The girls even found a beautiful conch shell that they brought to the service to show us and then put it back.

Elvis was the perfect Captain and host. He let us snorkel till we got tired.. He told us he was training to be a ship captain. We wished him well. We then headed to our next stop to swim with the turtles. On the way, he offered us drink of Rum Punch. It was very tasty. This was the perfect drink for a perfect day on the gorgeous water in the beautiful Bahamas.

We stopped at our next snorkeling sight and once again we got our equipment back on again and jumped in. How blessed were we that there was a large turtle swimming not far from us. How fascinating it was watching this beautiful creature effortlessly gliding through the water. We followed the turtle around watching him swim to the bottom to eat and then up to the surface. We followed him till he went out to deeper water. What a thrill.

Once again, when we got out of the water, Elvis asked if we wanted another drink of Rum Punch. We all said yes. It was nice having a drink for the ride to Rose Island. He pulled up into a lovely cove with a nice beach and we got off the boat. He asked if we wanted to go for a walk and we were all in. We got off the boat and took a short nature walk to an abandoned house up on a hill with amazing views. The house looked like it had been abandoned for quite a while and was thought to be owned by a possible drug runner. Along the trail we saw many beautiful native plants and he pointed out a Dillie Tree.

As we were walking around, I felt the effects of the Rum Punch and got the giggles. I am a lightweight so it doesn’t take much to have me feel the effects of the alcohol. I believe we were all pretty happy by the time we got back to the ship. As the Bahamians would say we could have been “Kerpunkle Up” meaning that we may have gotten a little carried away. We got back onboard the cruise ship with a half hour to spare before the all aboard.

We had a great day with Elvis and had a blast. He was very nice and we really enjoyed this excursion. We would do it again even with the rough start. We had plenty of time on the water and felt like we had a lot of time to get totally relaxed. “Well mudda sick!”- (Oh my Gosh). What a day! Till next time. Bye for now.