Planning a trip to Berry Islands
Great Harbour Cay is an official point of entry for The Bahamas if you're flying from a foreign territory such as the U.S. You can get here only via charter flights from South Florida, making these some of the most inconvenient islands to reach in all of The Bahamas.
Island Express (tel. 954/359-0380) operates charters from Fort Lauderdale, winging in to both Great Harbour Cay and Chub Cay. You can also try calling Gulfstream Connection (tel. 954/985-1500; www.gulfstreamair.com), Yellow Air Taxi (tel. 888/YELLOW4 [935-5694]; www.flyyellowtaxi.com), or Southern Air Charter (tel. 242/377-2014; www.southernaircharter.com).
If you're contemplating the mail-boat sea-voyage route, the MV Captain Gurthdean leaves Potter's Cay Dock in Nassau every Tuesday at 7pm, heading for the Berry Islands. For up-to-date departure details, call the dock master at Nassau's Potter's Cay Dock at tel. 242/393-1064.
Fast Facts
The Great Harbour Cay Medical Clinic is at Bullock's Harbour on Great Harbour Cay (tel. 242/367-8400). The police station is also at Bullock's Harbour (tel. 242/367-8344 or 367-8104).
Regions in Brief
Great Harbour Cay
An estimated 700 residents live on Great Harbour Cay, making it the most populated island of the Berry chain. Its main settlement is Bullock's Harbour, which might be called the capital of the Berry Islands. The cay is about 2.5km (1 1/2 miles) wide and some 13km (8 miles) long. A grocery store and some restaurants are about all you'll find in town. Most visitors arrive to stay at Great Harbour Inn.
Great Harbour Cay lies between Grand Bahama and New Providence. It's 97km (60 miles) northwest of Nassau and 242km (150 miles) east of Miami, about an hour away from Miami by plane or a half-day by powerboat. Unlike most islands in The Bahamas, the island isn't flat, but is composed of rolling hills.
Deep-sea fishing possibilities abound here, with billfish, dolphinfish, king mackerel, and wahoo. Light-tackle bottom-fishing is also good; you can net yellowtail, snapper, barracuda, triggerfish, and plenty of grouper. Bonefishing here is among the best in the world. Great Harbour Cay's marina is an excellent facility, with some 80 slips and all the amenities. Some of Florida's fanciest yachts pull in here.
When you tire of fishing, relax on 13km (8 miles) of gorgeous beaches, play the 9-hole golf course designed by Joe Lee, or try your backhand on one of four clay tennis courts.
Chub Cay
Named after a species of fish that thrives in nearby waters, Chub Cay is well known to sportfishing enthusiasts. A self-contained hideaway with a devoted clientele, it's the southernmost of the Berry Islands, separating the Florida mainland from Nassau's commercial frenzy.
Chub Cay's development began in the late 1950s as a strictly private (and rather spartan) enclave of a group of Texas-based anglers and investors. It was originally uninhabited, but over the years, a staff was imported, dormitory-style housing was built, and Chub Cay's most famous man-made feature (its state-of-the-art 90-slip marina) was constructed in the 392-hectare (969-acre) island's sheltered lagoon.
Chub Cay is today a tranquil, scrub-covered sand spit with awesome amounts of marine hardware, a dozen posh private homes, the marina, and a complex of buildings devoted to the Chub Cay Resort & Marina. Today, membership in this club begins at around US$2,500 per year, which grants reduced rates for marina-slip rental, boat repairs, and hotel-room and villa rental. Nonmembers, however, are welcome to use the facilities and rent rooms at the rates listed below.
On the island are a liquor store and a yachters' commissary, as well as a marine-supply store and a concrete runway for landing anything up to and including a 737. Most visitors reach Chub Cay by private yacht from Florida, but if you prefer to charter your fishing craft on Chub Cay, you'll find a miniature armada of suitable craft at your disposal.
The water temperature around Chub Cay averages a warm 80° to 85°F (27°-29°C) year-round, even at relatively deep depths. There's only a small tidal change and, under normal conditions, no swell or noticeable current in offshore waters. The incredibly clear waters make for great snorkeling.
