Planning a Trip

Getting There

Flights from Nassau and Miami come into nearby Exuma International Airport, 16km (10 miles) away.

Fast Facts

A branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia, Queen's Highway (tel. 242/336-2651), is open Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 3pm and Friday 9:30am to 4:30pm. It has an ATM.

For information about the Exumas, go to the Ministry of Tourism Office in Exuma (tel. 242/336-2457) on Queens Highway, across from Exuma Market. It is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

If you come to the Exumas aboard your own boat, Exuma Docking Services, Main Street, George Town (tel. 242/336-2578), has slips for 52 boats with water and electricity hookups. Sam's Restaurant is on the premises, as are a laundromat, a fuel dock, fuel pumps, and a store with supplies for boats and people.

The government-operated medical clinic can be reached by phone at tel. 242/336-2088. Go here to have a prescription filled.

To call the George Town police, dial tel. 242/336-2666.

The post office is in George Town's government building and is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4:30pm. For Internet access, check with your hotel. You can also go to the ABC Exuma Internet Café at Exuma International Airport (tel. 242/345-6038).

Special Events

In April, the Family Island Regatta (tel. 954/475-8315) draws a yachting crowd from all over the world to Elizabeth Harbour. It's a rollicking week of fun, song, and serious racing when the island sloops go all-out to win. It's said that some determined skippers bring along extra crewmen to serve as live ballast on windward tacks, and then drop them over the side to lighten the ship for the downwind run to the finish. The event, a tradition since 1954, comes at the end of the crayfish season.

The Junkanoo Summer Festival takes place in the hot months unlike the regular winter Bahamas' Junkanoo. The festival runs for 6 weeks (dates vary) at the peak of summer and takes place every Saturday night in George Town. Bands play rake-and-scrape music for street dancing, and small stands hawk fresh conch, grilled seafood, and plenty of rum punches. An onion-peeling competition celebrates Exuma's historic link to the cultivation of the bulb.