Bahamas · The northern islands
Freeport’s port, Lucaya’s marina and the mangroves: a stop, not a destination
Grand Bahama is the big flat island sixty miles off Palm Beach with Freeport, the Bahamas’ second city and its deep-water port, and Port Lucaya’s marina and market. For a yacht it is a fuel and clearance stop on the way to the Abacos, with a kayak through the Lucayan mangroves if there is an afternoon.
Where
Northern Bahamas, 60 nm east of Palm Beach
Fly to
Freeport (FPO) from Florida and Nassau
Best months
December to April
Give it
A night, on the way to the Abacos
Known for
Port Lucaya, Lucayan National Park, Gold Rock Beach
Reality
A port and a resort town; the Abacos are the destination
Why go
Grand Bahama, honestly
Grand Bahama is the practical island. Freeport was built in the 1950s as a free-trade port and it shows: a deep-water harbour, a container terminal, a shipyard where superyachts refit, and the Bahamas’ second city laid out on a grid. Port Lucaya, down the coast, is the resort end with a marina, a straw market and the beach.
The island’s beauty is in the national park: the Lucayan caves, one of the longest underwater cave systems in the world, the mangrove creeks you kayak through, and Gold Rock Beach, a mile of sand with the low-tide flats the Pirates of the Caribbean films used. Hurricane Dorian did great damage here in 2019 and the east end is still recovering.
For a charter it is a stop: fuel, clearance and a night at Lucaya on the way from Florida to the Abacos, or a refit. We do not build weeks around it.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- Port Lucaya MarinaBerth, clearanceThe resort marina with the market and the beach. Clear in here.
- Freeport HarbourPort and shipyardThe deep-water port and the Bradford shipyard for refits. Not where guests stay.
- Gold Rock BeachDay stop, by road or tenderThe national park beach with the low-tide flats. Go at low water.
- West EndMarinaOld Bahama Bay at the western tip, the closest marina to Palm Beach.
Ashore
Grand Bahama off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
The marina restaurants.
Flying FishThe one serious restaurant, modern and on the marina at Lucaya.
Pier OneOver the water at Freeport Harbour, sharks fed at sunset.
- Smith’s Point fish fryWednesday nights on the beach east of Lucaya, with the locals.
Drink and dance
Port Lucaya’s square.
- Count Basie SquareLive music in the marketplace most nights.
Taino Beach ClubBeach days with jet skis and a band.
Do
The park is the reason to stop.
Kayak the Lucayan mangrovesGold Rock Creek through the national park, with the caves at the end.
- Gold Rock Beach at low tideThe flats stretch for hundreds of metres. The film-set beach.
Garden of the GrovesWaterfalls and a chapel in a tropical garden.
Where it sits
Grand Bahama on the chart
Grand Bahama sits sixty miles off Palm Beach and sixty west of the Abacos. A night at Lucaya on the way across, or a refit.
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When
When to be in Grand Bahama
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season, cooler than the southern Bahamas.
- March and April: settled and warm.
- June to November: hurricane season. Dorian in 2019 sat over Grand Bahama for two days; the east end is still rebuilding.
- Refit yards work year-round.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at Grand Bahama
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 shipyard here refits several of them.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
MIDORI
Sunreef Yachts · 21m · 2016, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$44k – 48k
CHANSON
Christensen · 37m · 1995, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
$75k – 85k
RELENTLESS
Trinity Yachts · 44m · 2001, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$150k – 173k
BG
Feadship · 47m · 1990, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 10 crew
$140k – 170k
CEDAR ISLAND
Lazzara · 34m · 2003, refit 2016
10 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$60k
KING OF FUN
Northern Marine · 40m · 2005, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
$120k – 138k
PIER PRESSURE
Azimut · 27m · 2020, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
$70k – 80k
LEXINGTON
Horizon · 26m · 2006, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$40k – 46k
SeaQuest
Christensen · 38m · 1999, refit 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
$85k – 98k
Akasha
Lagoon · 19m · 2018
8 guests | 2 crew
$45k
Lady Joy
Christensen · 48m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
$199k – 225k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$110k – 127k
OCEAN ROSE
Ocean Alexander · 26m · 2018
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$43k
PLAYTIME
Lagoon · 20m · 2018, refit 2021
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$46k – 49k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$175k – 195k
LADY J
Palmer Johnson · 43m · 1997, refit 2021
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€109k – 119k
MEMENTO VIVERE
Westport · 40m · 2005, refit 2021
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$120k – 150k
HAPPY HOUR
Horizon · 34m · 2018
11 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
$95k – 105k
LADY ELAINE
Christensen · 50m · 2008, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
$200k – 225k
BUNDALONG
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins
$82k
NOMADA
Mochi Craft · 24m · 2010, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$50k – 55k
Princess Mila
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2022
6 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$43k – 49k
TCB
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2008, refit 2022
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$175k – 200k
OCEAN VIEW
Gulf Craft · 32m · 2022
12 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
€110k
SWEET CAROLINE II
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2009, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$199k – 230k
INSPIRATION
Benetti · 38m · 2017
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$150k – 170k
MARY KATHLENE
Westport · 42m · 1989, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 7 crew
$85k – 95k
LADY GRACE
Westport · 28m · 1996, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 4 crew
$35k – 40k
29 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
Grand Bahama, answered
Common questions
Is Grand Bahama a yacht charter destination?
A stop rather than a destination: fuel, clearance and a night at Port Lucaya on the way from Florida to the Abacos. The Abacos and the Exumas are where the weeks are.
What is worth seeing on Grand Bahama?
Lucayan National Park: the mangrove creeks by kayak, the underwater caves and Gold Rock Beach at low tide, the beach the Pirates of the Caribbean films used.
Where do yachts berth in Freeport?
Port Lucaya Marina for guests, with the market and the beach; Freeport Harbour and the Bradford shipyard for refits; Old Bahama Bay at West End for the closest point to Florida.
Has Grand Bahama recovered from Hurricane Dorian?
Lucaya and Freeport are open and working. The east end of the island, where Dorian sat for two days in 2019, is still rebuilding.
Want Grand Bahama 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.