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[Katie in N.C.]

I know I might be a little crazy but I am trying to plan a surprise trip for my kids for X-mas to the Abaco's. I spent a month there in college and have always wanted to go back. I am having the darnest time on picking a place to stay. It would be just my kids and I so I have ruled out a remote house or anything like that. We want to see some people, be able to jut around on a golf cart and boat to the store, or dinner, etc., swim in the pool and beach, and have maybe a little entertainment for the kids. 15 year old daughter and 7 year old son. I dont ask for much huh? Been looking at the Bahama Beach Club, Abaco Inn, Green Turtle Club, and Hopetown Lodge. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, will it be warm enough this time of year or should I go farther? The time on booking this trip is running out.
Thanks and more thanks.
Katie

[halebop]

This easy Turtle Hill Villas this is a great place. You get a golf cart with rental they have a dock and 2 pools and a great resteraunt On Da Beach!

[BahamaAngie]

Bahama Beach Club is a great place to stay. TC has western night on Tuesdays (but they discontine it temporarily....you will need to find when they stop/start up again. I know for a fact 2 years ago they started up end of Feb. Don't think they would stop for the holidays but who knows for sure? I would ask one of the moderators that are from TC. And then there is pizza night on Thurs. night. Both are fun nights with a DJ, dancing and good food.

Now you need to hear about out cays and what happenings there will be there for the holidays.

Guana is real cool staying close to Nippers, pool, good food, snorkeling, fun people. You should be getting a lot of info soon. Have a wonderful time. And post lots of pics.

[daybreak]

ALL the places mentioned are great for kids and adults alike..
Hopetown is very popular with locals and visitors around Christmas and it has a great Junkanoe on NewYears night
There will be lots of families about.if your kids want to meet other kids and you can always have Froggies take you on a few trips to the other cays to check them out...so many choices ....enjoy..The food at the Lodge over the holiday season is usually very good..and the Abaco Inn and Seaspray will come and get you for lunch or dinner...good luck you will have a great time wherever you choose...and definitely check out Da Beach

[Katie in N.C.]

Thanks- The Hopetown Harbour Lodge does not have a suitable rental for me, but the lady suggested I could rent a cottage near them and use their facilities. I think I like that idea. Still concerned about the weather though. What do you think?

[JJ]

Still concerned about the weather though. What do you think?
No guarantees on the weather, but you can be sure that it will be warmer than it is in NC in December.

[daybreak]

agree with JJ its hard to predict the weather we can have Christmas days with the A/C on or days with plenty of breeze as JJ says its definitely warmer than where you live
i thought of the lodge as based there you can walk about easily and the kids can walk or bike around the settlement..but you could check Turtle Hill, Abaco Inn/ and Seaspray but you would need a golf cart if you want to get about and if its a busy as usual you might find you need to check into that quickly.it all depends on your needs ..self catering? or eating out ..and what your kids like to do..dont rule out other cays if you cant find what you want in Hopetown ..its just my kids love Hpetown ..

[billmc]

The best place to do what you have described is Hope Town and the surrounding area, bar none. Do that cottage thing, or Turtle Hill Villas, but stay on Elbow Cay in the Hope Town vicinity. The weather? Don't worry about it, it will be nice Bahamas weather. Worry about availability at this point.

[blue moon]

abaco Inn has villas that look on abaco sea and also ocean w/ king bed and fold out couch and they have roll away beds too, pool and one of best resturants in hopetown. there is walking beach and surfing right there. they have kayaks and bikes and sailboat that come with rentals and you can walk to sea spray another fun place to eat.. and you can rent golf car or have FREE shuttle to town and not use cart. It is a fun happening spot and they have a pool too

[Cathy Arizona]

Turtle Hill or Hope Town Hideaway would be great, I think. If you are considering Abaco Inn ask if the rooms have refrigerators. They didn't when we stayed there years ago which was okay with my husband and myself but having a place to store food will really save money especially with kids along. What a great Christmas surprise.

[Katie in N.C.]

I have (I think) decided to rent a house and use the lodges pools etc. and actually spend X-mas there. How fun to wake up x-mas morning in the Abacos. Surely Santa knows the way. I am looking at Tanney's rentals and Elbow cay rentals. Know of any great ones I am missing. I am booking this trip today by gosh. I haven't slept in two nights worrying abour it. Thanks for all your replies.

[diannedri]

Make sure you look into the check-in/out days and see if you can coordinate them with flights. Sat-Sat flights around holiday time may be booked!

[texasgal]

We used Elbow Cay rentals last year and they were wonderful....We will be there again this holiday season with our 10 year old and it was absoulutely wonderful to be there Christmas morning. ( and Santa did not have a problem finding us) I waited kind of late this year to book our flights and I could not get a Saturday flight, so we are coming in Monday Dec 22. There is also a wonderful Christmas Eve service at the Methodist church in Hopetown. Good Luck and have fun.

[Katie in N.C.]

Whew!Trip is planned. We are leaving on Dec. 19th for a week and I rented an adorable house through Tanney Key rentals in Hopetown. Glad to hear the info on the x-mas eve church service.We will definitely be at that- see you there. Now I'm just trying to figure out how many presents I will be able to take. I guess I'll just take an extra suitcase with all the small in size ones.
Thanks

[texasgal]

We only pack a few small presents for our daughter, be sure to put them in your carry on luggage, and then whatever Santa brings her is it. We downsized Christmas and for an only child thought it would be hard for her, but she loves being there during the holidays and at the age of 10 understands that the trip is our family present and getting to spend time with family and friends is what it is about anyway. Do not wrap the presents, we had friends that had to unwrap when going thru security. And make sure you bring wrapping paper, I learned that one the hard way last year and thanks to Bonnie (can't rememeber the name of the store) she was the only one in town that had some and I think it was her own personal stash.:rolleyes: Have a wonderful time!

[Katie in N.C.]

Why should I not pack presents in my checked luggage? Inexpensive ones I mean.
Another question..My departing flight leaves Marsh Harbour at 7:25 am. Does the ferry service run that early or do I charter one or stay in Marsh Harbour the last night.

[BahamaAngie]

Are you going to bring a small tree also?:)

[Pappysland]

I'm sure you know this, but do NOT wrap any presents or they'll be unwrapped to see what they are and then customs might charge you import duty. One lady ages ago pointed out that they were giving the gifts to each other and taking them back home and she didn't have to pay, but you never know.

[JJ]

Santa could make a special stop at your house before you leave for the Abacos with the larger gifts that you don't want to take with you on vacation. Then you could make Christmas Day an Abaco Christmas with gifts or special beach finds that you come across once you get there. That way you don't have to haul a lot of things both ways and you help the local economy. After you get home, those Abaco gifts will be nice year around reminders of your special Christmas on Elbow Cay.

[texasgal]

We have learned that taking small gifts in a carry on is the best way to go. Things happen with checked baggage, the very least it gets delayed...happened to us a couple of years ago...we were in Freeport for three days before all our luggage finally showed up and things to go missing from checked baggage all the time. We also pack a small Christmas tree and some decorations. Our daughter opens a couple of big gifts at home with grandparents and we bring a few small things and help out the local economy for a couple of more. Complete change of subject...I need a Vernon bakery fix, it has been almost a year......:eek:

[daybreak]

Why should I not pack presents in my checked luggage? Inexpensive ones I mean.
Another question..My departing flight leaves Marsh Harbour at 7:25 am. Does the ferry service run that early or do I charter one or stay in Marsh Harbour the last night.

the ferries dont run that early,,you will ave to charter so you might find staying the night in Marsh Harbour is preferable
check out the Lofty Fig, Conch Inn, Island Breezes

[Katie in N.C.]

We are finally set for our trip. I booked our last night at the Lofty Fig since our flight is so early. I have to say everyone has been so nice and helpful. Tanny Key rentals, the message board, and Sandy especially. My local travel agent didn't know a thing about what she was talking about. Tanney told me that snacks (chips, etc.) are real expensive and maybe I should pack some to bring with me. Is this a good idea? Also, I will not feel comfortable renting my own boat-any recommendations on who to call for like a tour by boat one day. And will they like take you to an island, wait for you, etc.
Thanks again-I can hardly wait.

[Moderator Elf]

They often run tours to other locations such as Guana, Little Harbour and Lubbers. They also offer snorkeling and diving. I am, of course, assuming that they are open.

[JJ]

Convenience items such as snacks are more expensive and variety won't be as great as in the U.S., so you may want to pack some of your kid's favorites. The smaller airlines will charge extra for overweight baggage, so keep that in mind when you are packing.

[BahamaAngie]

Actually I found most everything in MH but it is difficult to bring snacks over depending on what you want. Chips are not a good idea naturally as they will crunch and take up a lot of room. Chips are the most expensive so we eat them sparingly. Cheddar cheese is a great value there (as is butter) so cheese and crackers are always a good snack. I think with all the new airline rules, it just makes sense to shop in MH. My 2 cents.

[JJ]

We brought Pringles and then used the containers to bring home sand dollars and sea shells. But on our last trip, I brought way too much food (there were 6 of us going for 9 days so I over-compensated) and had to pay about $80 for exceeding the weight limit on our little plane :eek: , so I am probably not the right person to ask. I won't ever bring that much again.

[BahamaAngie]

You could have bought $80 worth of snacks!!! hee! hee! It will be a lot different with all the new rules/regulations with the airlines. I usually bring coffee and coffee mate to start our day but because we will be going to Guana, I will have our cab driver take us to the grocery and onto the ferry. This should be a real experience....really not in the physical condition one should be for this....oh well!

[Bahapa]

Just as a matter of interest, our family brought a large bag of potato chips in a carry-on bag, on a flight from Florida to Treasure Cay. During the flight, the bag of chips exploded, probably from air pressure. Thought anyone considering bringing pressurized packages of snacks might be interested in this.

[Katie in N.C.]

Should I go to the grocery in Marsh Harbour or is there a decent grocery on Elbow Cay.

[texasgal]

You can find everything you need in Hopetown, that being said, you may have to go to several of the stores to find a specific brand or item. Last year we did pack a cooler with frozen meat and will be doing the same this year. We are there for two weeks and found that meat prices were higher than we originally thought. I will buy produce in Marsh Harbour this year, the stores in Hopetown did not have a huge selection, but everything else was there and it is a lot easier than going to MH on the ferry and bringing all of it back. I believe there are 4 grocery stores on Elbow Cay and we visited all of them last year. The stores on the outer cays are a little more expensive, but when you factor in the cost of your ferry ride and cab ride to and from MH, you really have not saved any $. Just check on the hours before you go, most of them close for lunch, and are closed on Sunday. And definately try Vernon's bread or not, just more for us when we get there.:D

[Two Rock Reef]

I have found that Stacy's Pita Chips travel well to da islands, Remove them from the bag they come in, it will explode on the plane. Place them in a big ziplock bag. The Pita Chips don't go stale/soggy with the islands high humidity ( you can put them out before you see the "white's" of your guests eyes.) The Italian crackers called Crustini's also do well with the humidity. Snack foods are expensive on the island, look for the Brittish products, they tend to be less expensive and you don't see them that often here in the states so they are a treat. Have a great trip!

[BahamaAngie]

I would definitely do a lot of the shopping in MH and fill in with the smaller stores. We were in one store and it did not look to have a large selection. with a 2 week stay, you will want a good selection of meats, etc. Have fun.