A slew of questions.

[Elise]

I tried to post this once and lost it, so I'm trying one more time.

We are really looking forward to our time on Elbow Cay in July. However, we know nothing about small island/boating life, so I have a bunch of questions.

1. Can we buy groceries on Elbow Cay or do I need to get them in Marsh Harbour? Should we buy drinking water or is tap water OK?

2. Can we explore Elbow Cay without a golf cart? Can we get by without one?

3. Can people who've never used a boat before really rent a boat and use it safey to explore and get from place to place? How will we know where we are?

4. What is the simplest way to let my parents (who will have our children) know we've arrived safely? We have a Verizon cell phone and the company says they have service in the Bahamas, but other things I've read contradict that. There is a phone in our cottage, but I'm guessing it costs an arm and a leg to call the states.

Thanks for your help.
Elise

[islandgator]

Yes you can buy groceries at a number of places on Elbow. Where are you staying; it has a bearing on your golf cart question and how and where you shop. The tap water is fine, but bottled is available.

If you are staying in town, yes you can explore that without a cart. North Elbow also. But anything south of town you will need a golf cart. July is one of the busiest months, so if you want a cart you need to to hurry. The south end is a great place to explore, swim at Tahiti Beach etc.

I almost said no problem with the boat, but after some thought you would be better to take Froggies diving and to Nippers. If you like to fish, charter one of the locals. They catch fish all times \of the year. Again, the golf cart will get you places like Tahiti Beach for swimming. Go to Hopetown harbor Lodge and there is a good diving reef right off the beach. Take a dip in the pool and have lunch on the ocean. Be sure to get a drink from Gary at the pool bar.

Verizon does not work, but again if you are staying at one of the resorts they have phones for your use and will take and deliver messages to you. If not staying in a resort, those phones are still available for judicious use. Now I see you are in a cottage, sorry. I use MCI calling card and it costs .25 cents. My ATT phone is $2.99. Get a calling card and you'll be fine. Have fun!

[liann key kaighin]

Purchase of groceries in Hope Town at Vernon's Grocery or Harbour View.

Depending on how much you like walking, I wouldn't recommend doing the Elbow without a golf cart. Its a ways from town to White sound. Depends on where you are staying.

If you are feeling tenative about renting a boat for the first time, than don't. Take the ferry over to Elbow cay and go out on the water with Froggies or one of the other day trippers, and you will definitely be safe that way.

Simplest way to let them know you have arrived safely is to place a person to person operator collect call, and have them decline the call...they can hear you, and since you only want to let them know you are on Abaco, that should solve your problem. Verizon will not work on Abaco.

[Elise]

Thank you both.

I'm going to look into a golf cart today. We'd like to visit Tahiti beach, and our cottage is near Hope Town, and I guess a golf cart is our best bet.

We are planning a day with Froggies. If we want more boating after that, we'll see about a charter. Perhaps the next trip we'll (I'll) feel more comfortable with a boat on our own.

I'll go ahead and get a calling card; that way we'll be able to touch base with my parents to check on our kids once or twice during the week.

A while ago I read a reply on this thread that has disappeared now? Anyway, the poster must have thought I'm pretty young, but I'm WAY over 21, so golf cart rental won't be a problem age-wise. It wouldn't have been a problem 2 decades ago :) !

I can't wait to get there.
Elise

[Rykat]

That was me Elise. I hadnt read your original post thoroughly about the "kids", sorry made the rest of post seem silly but the rest still applies especially....

Have fun!!!!
Rykat

[Cathy Arizona]

You said that you are staying near Hope Town. Is that north or south of Hope Town? If it is north of town you will not be able to drive your golf cart through town to head to the south part of Elbow. Also, you can buy a phone card from BEC (near the Lodge) for not much money and it works great for phone calls and we found it to be the most economical. Usually a $20 card or two will do us for our trip. Froggies is a fun boating trip for snorkeling or sometimes I've just gone along for the sightseeing. You can pick up a few groceries in Marsh Harbour before catching the ferry to Hope Town and there are 2 grocery stores in Hope Town and a couple between town and the south part of the island. And all the restaurants have good food. Our favorites are Captain Jacks, Hope Town Harbour Lodge, and Munchies. Munchies has the best conk burgers and rum raisin ice cream. Once you get to your rental house you can see if you need any spices or not. Most that we have rented have plenty of spices, we just take from home our favorites that we don't want to cook without. Relax and have fun. As far as clothes ( I know you didn't ask about that but I wish I had before my first trip) you won't need a lot. No need to dress up much here. A few pairs of shorts and tops and a summer dress and a couple swim suits usually is enough. You might find out if the home you rent has beach towels provided. I wish more of the home owners would have beach towels. It would sure allow us to travel lighter.