Economy Class: Bahamas Bargains
— -- Sometimes you go just so far and discover something wonderful. Go just a little bit farther, and you might find even more.
There are approximately 700 islands of the Bahamas. Beyond the well-known destinations of Nassau/Paradise Island and Grand Bahama Islands is a wealth of Out Islands that offer accessibility (by island-hopper flights and by water) plus an array of more indigenous experiences, unique pleasures — and bargains.
Here are some good buys for those who prefer the many activity options of the more popular islands and for those who favor the quieter, more natural pace of Out Islands.
Brilliant Junkanoo Colors
You can access the activity level of Nassau while still enjoying true Bahamiam spirit and style with a stay at Compass Point, adjacent to Love Beach and eight minutes from Nassau International Airport. Its 20 oceanview cottages are painted in brilliant Junkanoo colors. Your roof may be robin's egg blue, the front of your cottage crimson and the sides of your cottage canary yellow or aqua. Eaves are handpainted in traditional two-color designs. The cottages have full open-air kitchens, complete TV/VCR/CD/cassette entertainment centers and interiors as original as the exteriors. Compass Point has a fresh water pool, an Island Outpost store and tennis, watersports and golf nearby. (877) 364-1100 or www.islandinns.com/37.html.
For economical lodging on Paradise Island, try Comfort Suites, offering junior suite rates from $205 a night through April 28. After that date, they should drop to about $160 a night (starting rate), double occupancy. Children age 16 and under can share the suite at no charge. Third and fourth adults sharing the suite are $30 each. These prices include deluxe continental breakfast. The hotel has a pool with swim-up bar and a garden restaurant. A big plus is full use of all exclusive features at the Atlantis mega-resort. (800) 228-5150 or www.comfortinn.com/hotel/BS003.
Andros, 20 miles west of Nassau, is the largest, yet one of the least explored, of the Islands of the Bahamas. Its many beaches are often all but deserted. You can often claim one as your own and spend an entire day in relaxing solitude with perhaps only the surprise of a diver surfacing from the shallows. Andros offers five lodging places, designated by the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism as Small Treasures.
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