Bahamas · Eleuthera
A hundred miles long, two miles wide, and beaches on both coasts
Eleuthera is the long thin island east of Nassau with Harbour Island off its top: pink and white beaches on both sides, the Glass Window Bridge where the Atlantic meets the bank, and almost nobody on any of it. The quiet half of a Harbour Island stay, and the bridge from the Exumas.
Where
Bahamas, 50 nm east of Nassau
Fly to
Nassau (NAS), or North Eleuthera (ELH) and Governor’s Harbour (GHB)
Best months
December to April
Give it
A night or two, with Harbour Island
Known for
The Glass Window, Lighthouse Beach, Governor’s Harbour, the Cove
Water
Calm bank on the west, Atlantic surf on the east
Why go
Eleuthera, honestly
Eleuthera is where Bahamians go on holiday. A hundred and ten miles long and in places only a few hundred metres wide, with the deep blue Atlantic on one side and the pale bank on the other, and at the Glass Window Bridge the two meet across a strip of rock you can stand on. Pineapple farms, three small towns, and beaches with nobody on them.
The west coast is the yacht’s side: calm water, Governor’s Harbour with its pastel houses on the hill, Rainbow Bay, and the Cove’s two beaches at Gregory Town. The east coast is reached by road or a short walk: Lighthouse Beach at the southern tip, pink and empty, is the best beach in the Bahamas and the hardest to reach, which is why.
We pair it with Harbour Island, a mile off its northern tip: a night at Governor’s Harbour on the way up from the Exumas, then the pink sand and the town. Ten days from Nassau covers the lot.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- Governor’s HarbourAnchorageThe island’s capital, pastel houses on the hill above a wide bay. Fish fry on Friday nights.
- Rock SoundAnchorageThe southern settlement with the Ocean Hole, a blue hole in the middle of town. Shelter in a norther.
- Hatchet BayAnchorage, hurricane holeA blasted entrance into a landlocked pond. The safest anchorage in the Bahamas and a strange one.
- Spanish Wells and Royal IslandAnchorageThe top of the island, lobster boats and the private-island anchorage on the way to Harbour Island.
Ashore
Eleuthera off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
Two resorts and a Friday fish fry.
The Cove, Gregory TownDinner on the point between two beaches, and Sip Sip’s second home for lunch.
French Leave, Governor’s HarbourThe resort on the bay, 1648 for dinner.
- The Friday fish fryGovernor’s Harbour’s whole town on the beach: grilled fish, rake and scrape music, rum.
Drink and dance
Beach bonfires, not bars.
Tippy’sBanks Road, the beach bar the island meets at.
A bonfire on the sandThe crew build one on an empty beach. Eleuthera has a hundred to choose from.
Do
Beaches and the Glass Window.
The Glass Window BridgeStand where the Atlantic and the bank meet across thirty feet of rock.
- Lighthouse BeachThe southern tip, pink sand, cliffs, nobody. By tender in calm weather.
Hidden lagoons by tenderThe caves and lagoons along the west coast, in flat water.
- Surf at Surfer’s BeachGregory Town’s Atlantic break, the Bahamas’ only real surf.
Where it sits
Eleuthera on the chart
Eleuthera runs north to south fifty miles east of Nassau, with Harbour Island off its top and the Exumas a day to the south-west. A night on the way up the west coast on the ten-day route.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in Eleuthera
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season. Northers blow through in January and February; Hatchet Bay and Rock Sound are the shelter.
- March and April: settled, warm, the best weeks on the west coast.
- Early June: the Pineapple Festival in Gregory Town, if you are here late.
- June to November: hot and quiet, hurricane season.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at Eleuthera
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
Yachts
Yachts in the Bahamas now
The west coast is calm for everyone; the bigger boats anchor off Governor’s Harbour and tender in.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
KASHMIR
Splendor · 41m · 2008, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 7 crew
US$110k – 130k
NORMAN'S T4
Sirena Yachts · 21m · 2022
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
US$35k – 40k
GAIL FORCE II
Hatteras · 24m · 2011, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$35k – 40k
Lady Joy
Christensen · 48m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
US$199k – 225k
CHANSON
Christensen · 37m · 1995, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$75k – 85k
MARY KATHLENE
Westport · 42m · 1989, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 7 crew
US$85k – 95k
MIDORI
Sunreef Yachts · 21m · 2016, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$45k – 48k
RELENTLESS
Trinity Yachts · 44m · 2001, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$150k – 173k
NAMASTE
Benetti · 37m · 2013, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$105k – 135k
STARSHIP 185'
Delta Marine · 56m · 2001, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
US$275k – 315k
NO SHORTCUTS
Westport · 34m · 2006, refit 2022
8 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$65k – 75k
NO BAD IDEAS
Trinity Yachts · 49m · 2000, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$225k – 250k
SeaQuest
Christensen · 38m · 1999, refit 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
US$85k – 98k
SEASCAPE V
Benetti · 44m · 2005, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$153k – 180k
MISS STEPHANIE
Richmond Yachts · 42m · 2004, refit 2023
12 guests | 6 cabins | 8 crew
US$135k – 165k
INSIEME
Azimut · 32m · 2012, refit 2023
8 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
US$63k – 69k
Princess Mila
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2022
6 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$45k – 49k
LIMITLESS
Hargrave · 31m · 2010, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$55k – 62k
MEMENTO VIVERE
Westport · 40m · 2005, refit 2021
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$120k – 150k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
US$175k – 195k
PIER PRESSURE
Azimut · 27m · 2020, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
US$70k – 80k
TOTAL
Mangusta (Overmarine) · 33m · 2006, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$60k – 65k
SWEET ESCAPE
Christensen · 40m · 1993, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 8 crew
US$115k – 140k
SEA AXIS
Heesen · 38m · 1988, refit 2026
12 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$105k – 135k
HANNAH
Westport · 34m · 2003, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
US$65k – 75k
BG
Feadship · 47m · 1990, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 10 crew
US$149k – 170k
NOMADA
Mochi Craft · 24m · 2010, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$50k – 55k
LEXINGTON
Horizon · 26m · 2006, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$45k – 55k
PLAYTIME
Lagoon · 20m · 2018, refit 2021
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
US$46k – 49k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$110k – 127k
EMINA
Benetti · 42m · 2014, refit 2021
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$165k – 195k
ESCAPE
Hatteras · 35m · 1995, refit 2023
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
US$55k – 65k
SOUTH
Heesen · 55m · 2012
12 guests | 6 cabins | 13 crew
US$320k – 350k
SWEET CAROLINE II
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2009, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
US$199k – 230k
FAVOR
Crescent Yachts · 39m · 2000, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
US$95k – 110k
LADY GRACE
Westport · 28m · 1996, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 4 crew
US$35k – 40k
TCB
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2008, refit 2022
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$175k – 200k
BEACHFRONT
Hargrave · 33m · 2006, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
US$65k – 90k
NEW LIFE
Lazzara · 28m · 2009, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$57k
MARGATE
Broward Marine · 34m · 1997, refit 2022
10 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$55k – 60k
KING OF FUN
Northern Marine · 40m · 2005, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$120k – 138k
LADY ELAINE
Christensen · 50m · 2008, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$200k – 225k
KEFI
Christensen · 46m · 2005, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$175k – 195k
BEACHFRONT II
Princess · 32m · 2012, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
US$80k – 95k
EROS
Custom Line · 37m · 2019, refit 2026
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$140k – 160k
INDIGO
Viking Yachts · 28m · 2019, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$58k – 75k
LADY J
Palmer Johnson · 43m · 1997, refit 2021
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€109k – 119k
48 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
Eleuthera, answered
Common questions
What is the Glass Window Bridge?
The narrowest point of Eleuthera, where the island is thirty feet of rock with the deep blue Atlantic on one side and the pale turquoise bank on the other. A natural bridge stood here until a hurricane took it; the road bridge replaced it.
Is Eleuthera the same as Harbour Island?
Harbour Island is a separate island a mile off Eleuthera’s northern tip, reached by water taxi. Eleuthera is the long island itself. We do them together.
Which is the best beach on Eleuthera?
Lighthouse Beach at the southern tip, pink sand under cliffs with nobody on it, reached by tender in calm weather. French Leave Beach at Governor’s Harbour is the easy one.
How does Eleuthera fit a Bahamas charter?
A night on the way north from the Exumas to Harbour Island on the ten-day route, or part of a second week. The west coast anchorages are calm and the beaches empty.
Want Eleuthera in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.