Guide to Eleuthera, Bahamas
Aerial shots of Eleuthera evoke a feeling of hidden splendor. A tiny island within the Bahamas, Eleuthera is a curved island slicing between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Ocean. The island is rustic and raw, still unspoiled by traffic and the allure of tourism. Even during high season, the island is still blissfully open. We spent a week exploring the beautiful island of Eleuthera.
Eleuthera holds a stark dichotomy between two polarized spectrums. On one end, mega yachts coast the shoreline, waiting as their passengers relax in luxurious five-star hotels tucked into the island. On the other hand, the island is sleepy and real, not quite molded to tourisms’ appeal. You’ll be hard pressed to find shiny signs or other familiar creature comforts on mainland Eleuthera.
The island of Eleuthera is a quick two hour, non-stop flight from Atlanta. We stayed at an Airbnb located a few minutes drive from Governor’s Harbor, located in central Eleuthera. If you arrive on a Sunday, note that the main grocery store will be closed. My first recommendation is to rent a car and remember to drive on the left. My second recommendation is to go to the North Eleuthera Shopping Center, which is the main supermarket on the island, right after you land at ELH. There are smaller supermarkets on the island, but this is the largest and best place to stock up.
Typically, groceries are more expensive when they are attached to the gas station. Grocery stores are typically stocked on Tuesdays so if you go on Sunday, the fresh vegetables, fruit and bread will most likely be sold out. The best option is to drive along Queen’s Highway to a farm stand by the road with farm fresh produce, jams, salt, and more. It’s called Island Farm and is open 9am-4pm. We passed other farm stands along the road as well. We arrived on a Sunday so we went to a smaller market. If you’re craving organic, Asian, gluten free or vegan groceries like quinoa, chocolate truffles, brie, miso and more, shop at Bacchus Fine Foods. They also have a lunch menu for in-restaurant dining or takeaway. I ordered the fried lobster burger with yucca fries for a nice takeaway lunch on the beach during the week.
Queen’s Highway is the main road that runs straight down the island from the north to the south. It’s almost impossible to get lost; all you have to do is ask for Queen’s Highway and you’re well on your way. Pothole-filled turns along the main road lead you towards miles of undeveloped pink sand beaches hugging crystal clear sea foam waves. Hand painted signs and shacks along the road hold the freshest conch ceviche and golden conch fritters.
We split our time cooking in our Airbnb and trying to discover reasonably priced local fare. One of my favorite parts about traveling is discovering new restaurants and trying new dishes. However, for this trip, we were on a budget and wanted to do both.
For lunch or dinner. I’d highly recommend the cracked conch at Twin Brothers. It was so delicious, we had to go back twice. When you arrive, it may look like the restaurant is closed, but it’s tucked in the back. This is a common theme for the restaurants throughout the island. Walk past the kitchen to the sound of pounding conch and you’ll find it. The restaurant was featured on Top Chef, NBC, CBS and other publications. Despite it’s accolades, it's not overhyped. Yes, the food does take some time to prepare, but it’s worth it! You’ll notice that the conch here is also reasonably priced compared to other places.
Friday may be the best day for food on the island. The Tea Kettle is a small cafe located in Governor’s Harbor. They’re one of the few places open past noon for a cup of coffee and they serve the best conch ceviche and conch fritters, only on Friday. They have a little set up right outside and they start serving at 11am. Very reasonably priced and the best conch fritters on the island.
At night, right around the corner is the Friday Fish Fry. A simple white structure fills up with Bahamians serving up soul food: fish fry, chicken bbq, mac and cheese, potato salad and other simple fare. There’s also conch ceviche and salad stands right next to it and a live DJ. The food sells out fast so come early. The Fish Fry is from 6pm-1am.
Restaurants I wouldn’t recommend: Buccaneer’s, Trippy’s and Restaurant 1648. Eleuthera is one of the island’s I would highly recommend not listening to Trip Advisor and instead, getting in your car and driving around looking for local fare. Despite our best judgement, we got stuck at some tourist traps that came highly recommended by some misleading reviews. These places are unfortunately overpriced and far too Americanized; think chicken tenders and pizza. 1648 is the restaurant attached to French Leave Resort. Despite it’s high ratings, it’s not worth it. We did a holiday prix-fixe menu for $95 that was extremely disappointing. Instead, visit French Leave Beach for beautiful powdery pink sand and crystal clear water with soft rolling waves.
Waves are dependent on the weather.The beauty of the island is that you can choose the Atlantic or Caribbean Ocean dependent on mood and weather. French Leave Beach was arguably our favorite beach on the island due to it’s simple beauty and it’s close proximity to our Airbnb. It’s across the street from the resort and has parking close to the island. There are sunbeds and umbrellas that are technically for French Leave Resort only, but it’s unregulated so it’s nice to catch some shade there if you can. We spent many days here after work, jumping and diving into waves, building sand turtles, playing games and walking along the water.
One of our favorite sunset activities was walking to a small dock near our Airbnb and watching the sun stroll downwards to the water and deciphering shapes within the clouds. However, please be careful of sand flies — they are smaller, quicker and more vicious than mosquitoes. Due to their small size, they can quickly bite you all over and you won’t realize until later when welts start forming. If you’re prone like me, pack bug spray and wear long sleeves and pants! If you’re lucky, they may leave you alone. They’re particularly active at dawn and dusk.
If you love shells, prefer no waves, love shade or have children, go to Receiver’s Beach on the Caribbean side. It’s a wide open beach with calm and shallow water. You can walk out quite far with the water just reaching your navel, depending on how tall you are. It’s a great beach to lay out underneath the trees for shade or wade in the water to paddle or have a conversation. On the weekends, it can get a little busier with Bahamians, otherwise, we had the beach to ourselves on a weekday afternoon. There is plenty of parking.
We split our days working in either the morning or afternoon and used the rest of the day for adventuring across the island. For busy days, we stayed close by at the beach. On freer days, we explored the north and the south.
In the north, go to Preacher’s Cave and Sapphire Blue Hole which are right next to one another. Preacher’s Cave is the cave where the settlers held service when they washed to shore after crashing on the reef. The ceiling is now open giving a beautiful view to the trees and sky above. Sapphire Blue Hole is a jumping spot located a few minutes away. The water is crystal clear and just like the name suggests, sapphire blue. The jump isn’t too high, but since the ladder is missing a few rungs, it’s best to be careful.
In the mid-north, go to Hatchet Cave, Glass Window, blow hole, the Cow and the Bull, and the Queen’s Baths. You can do all these activities in one afternoon. Hatchet Cave is a large cave that’s collapsed in so you’re not unable to walk through it completely. It’s not too well maintained so be wary of hornets and bring a flashlight. However, it’s an interesting site and along the way.
The Glass Window, Blow Hole, the Cow and the Bull, and the Queen’s Baths are all located within a few minutes from one another. The Glass Window is a natural rock bridge located on a stretch of Eleuthera where you’re able to see both the Atlantic and Caribbean Ocean on a thin stretch of the island. You’ll be able to see the stark contrast of the powerful Atlantic Ocean and its crashing deep blue waves and the calm sea foam green of the Caribbean.
Next, you’ll see the natural geyser or blow hole framed by a small ring of rocks. We were lucky on the day we went, the geyser was particularly active, rumbling and shooting up into the air at regular intervals.
Walk or drive a little further down and you’ll come across The Cow and the Bull rock formations which is a landmark by the ocean. Can you see these natural animal shapes carved into the rock? It’s located a short walk away from the road. You can even see the rocks from the road if you peer through the trees.
Now, it’s time to relax at the Queen’s Baths! These are tide pools framed and protected by rock formations. They naturally fill with ocean water and remain calm. Reviews said the water would feel warm but they felt cold, just like ocean water. Remember to pack some beach shoes because the rocks can be slippery and sharp. It’s best to go during low tide. On the way back home, we stopped at Twin Brother’s for some more cracked conch!
In the south, go to Cathedral Cave, Rock Sound Ocean Hole, Pink Beach, and Island Farm. The Cathedral Caves are a beautiful cave with tree roots growing through. It’s easily accessible by foot and is one of the most unique caves I’ve seen because it’s so different. It’s filled with sunlight streaming through yet is still enclosed.
Afterwards, go to Rock Sound Ocean Hole to walk around this large blue hold or jump in for a swim. It looks like a beautifully oversized swimming pool.
Before heading back, we walked along Pink Beach. It was nice to have the beach to ourselves with no one in sight. The waves were crashing today so we walked along the beach. The sand was so fun to walk on because it felt like a Tempur-Pedic mattress at certain spots — you have to feel it to believe it! On the way back, we stopped at Island Farm, the farm stand I mentioned earlier. They had beautiful fresh produce that we stocked up on. The bitter lettuce, carrots, smoked salmon dip, and Bahamian salt were all highlights.
There are different half day and full day excursions available to swim with pigs and go snorkeling. However, since we were on a budget, we decided to do another activity on our last morning. Located just past Governor’s Harbor is Edwin Burrow’s Turtle Reserve. It’s a 90 minute kayaking experience in a blue hole with turtles that are up to 120 years old. It was serene at 8am in the morning. For the first hour of the experience, we didn’t see any turtles, but enjoyed paddling through the calm water and through mangroves. In the final half hour, we saw one turtle each. I didn’t know what to expect — these turtles are huge! The best time to see them is when they come up and take a breath. What I enjoyed about the experience is that it’s not commercialized so the turtles are able to enjoy their natural habitat. There is no feeding so whether you see a turtle and how many you see is completely dependent on nature. For now, they only accept cash so make sure you save enough. It is $65/person. We ran into an issue with the ATMs on the island so it’s better to pack cash than rely on the island ATMs. There are two in Governor Harbor but they didn’t work. I was busy kayaking so I don’t have any photos to share.
If you take the road straight past the highway, you’ll find a small pier with a water taxi that will take you to Harbor Island for $5/person one-way. This little island feels more developed than the mainland with even fancier hotels and restaurants. It would be a nice place to escape the world a little as you jet around in a golf cart or on foot.
We spent a day on the island on Pink Sand Beach. We splurged for brunch at Pink Sands Hotel which was delicious, albeit overpriced. I had the Jerked Fish Sandwich with arugula, and goat pepper pineapple relish on a toasted brioche bun. The service was slow, but it was difficult to complain with a full view of the Pink Sand Beach below. We didn’t get a chance to rent a golf car to jet around, but if I come back, I’ll be coming back for the beach, Bluwatur Bakery and Queen Conch.
Choose Eleuthera for simplicity and a rustic island feel. It’s a place to explore caves in the morning, the Queen’s Bath during high noon, and a wide open beach for sunset. Upon first glance, you may be blown away by $1,000 per night hotels. Don’t let this deter you — if you do some searching, you’ll find some affordable places to stay so you’ll be able to adventure throughout the island. Try to avoid the overpriced tourist traps; it’s not worth it to experience another microcosm of America replicated in a foreign country. Be free, drive on the left, and enjoy all the simple pleasures of letting go.