Planning a Trip

Getting There

Fly to Treasure Cay Airport, where a taxi will take you to the ferry dock for departures to Green Turtle Cay (New Plymouth). At the dock, you may have to wait a while for the ferry; the crossing takes about 15 to 20 minutes to Green Turtle Cay and will take you to the Green Turtle Club, if you're staying there, or to New Plymouth. This land-and-sea transfer costs US$16 (£8) per person round-trip.

Getting Around

Though you can walk to many parts of Green Turtle Cay, the most common mode of transportation is by water. Some hotels provide water transport to town or to weekly hotel parties. Many vacationers rent boats, but if you'd rather not, you have other choices for getting around. Most of the island is accessible by foot. The virtually car-free streets of New Plymouth, the quiet 18th-century village by the sea, are prime walking territory. On Green Turtle Cay, golf carts stand in for rental cars. D & P Rentals (tel. 242/365-4655) at Green Turtle Club rents theirs for US$45 (£23) for 8 hours or US$55 (£28) for 24 hours. You can bike all over the island, and pedaling is especially scenic in historic New Plymouth.

Fast Facts

First Caribbean International Bank, which has an ATM, operates a branch (tel. 242/365-4144) open only from 10am to 2pm on Tuesday and Thursday.

If you need medical attention, visit the government clinic (tel. 242/365-4028), run by a nurse.

You enter Green Turtle Cay's post office (tel. 242/365-4242), also the site of a public telephone, through a pink door on Parliament Street. Its hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

There's no crime in New Plymouth, so the little stone jail here makes visitors chuckle. No one can remember when, if ever, it held a prisoner.

Special Events

One event that draws visitors in droves is the Green Turtle Club Fishing Tournament, held in May. In 1984, the winner hooked a 226kg (498-lb.) blue marlin; it was so heavy that the competing participants from other boats generously climbed aboard the winning craft to reel the fish in. For more information, contact one of the Bahamian tourist offices or the Green Turtle Club (tel. 866/528-0539 or 242/365-4271), which more or less becomes the island's official headquarters when the tournament is held.