16 Ways to Save Money In The Bahamas, Nassau
We have been to the Bahamas many times on cruises, but this year we decided to stay for 2 weeks. During our 2 week stay we moved around the entire new providence and Nassau area, and the one thing we quickly discovered is that this place is super expensive! The Bahamian dollar and the US dollar are very similar in value, but unfortunately the island has to import most of their product. Because of this you will see inflated prices all over the island! We will show you all of the tips we used, in how to save money in the Bahamas.
That being said it was not too bad, but I am cheap and like to save a buck where I can. I guess I have to when I am travelling around with 4 people in my group and we all like to stay in nice places and experience it all. Some of the tips I am sharing below on how to save money in Nassau will be relevant to saving money in all of the Caribbean countries.
I’m sure by doing some of these things I saved thousands and I was able to experience much more of the country because I did them.
16 Ways to save money in the Bahamas travel blog
16 Ways to Save Money In Nassau, Bahamas (This goes for the whole country including New Providence, Freeport, Grand Bahama and Paradise Island)
1. Rent a car
Car rentals in the Bahamas are a little pricier than in the US, but it is the best way and possibly most entertaining way to see the entire island you are on. We rented a car the last time we were in the Nassau/New providence area and drove around the entire island. It allowed us to visit more beaches, see the thing tour companies charge for and get a real feeling about the island.
I was able to pile in 3 adults and 2 kids for this day trip. We stopped at every beach. A tour company or driver would have charged us hundreds of dollars for this and we did it for $70 USD! Some of the best pictures we took in the Bahamas was from this day trip.
Walk around downtown Nassau Bahamas
2. Go on group tours
Group tours are much cheaper than private tours, as the cost of the trip is split up between other people on your tour. In some cases you might book and no one else will book and you will get the group rate on a private tour. A good example of this are deep sea fishing tours. If you rent a private tour it works out to $1000 USD. If you book it on a group tour, it can cast as little as $50 USD. I have had several times that no one else booked and I ended up getting a crazy deal. Make sure if you get this you tip them well!
How to save money in the Bahamas travel plans
3. Buy snacks and groceries from the grocery store
As you know, we travel with kids and they eat a lot! You will also be doing a lot of walking when you are in the Bahamas. There are local gocery stores that you can buy snacks at for a fraction of the cost of the stores in the hotels. The Bahamas are expensive, we like to have cup of noodles, chips and other snacks in our room for convenience and savings!
Junkanoo Festival in Nassau Bahamas
4. Buy Alcohol from the 700 Liquor store
The big liquor store brand in the Bahamas is called 700’s. If you buy your liquor here you will save a bunch of money. At the big hotels like Baha mar and Atlantis a beer is $7.50 USD. It is very expensive. You can buy a whole six pack for around $10 USD.
Things to do for free in the Bahamas. National Parks
5. Bring your own beach Mat
When you are at the beach, they will try to rent you beach mats and beach chairs etc. They charge hourly or daily. I recommend buying one as they are lightweight and portable.
Cabbage beach, Bahamas best beaches
6. Eat at the fish fry
The fish fry is the most inexpensive place to buy local foods on the island. It is also the most authentic food and the place the locals go to eat. When you are at the big hotels, you might not feel like you are in the Bahamas as they are very westernized. The fish fry will give you a taste of local foods and local people.
7. Take the Bus
The bus service in the Bahamas is awesome and the cheapest way to get around. There are busses that go all around the island and the service is fast and safe.
8. Avoid taxi’s
Taxi’s are really expensive here, they charge a base rate plus they charge per person. We took the taxis a few times and a short 2 minute trip from the fish fry to Junakanoo beach was $15 USD. Ridiculous…. We only did it because it was night time and we did not feel safe walking in the dark.
Taking a morning swim on Junkanoo beach near the a disney cruiseship in Nassau Bahamas. Things to do for free
9. Take the water taxi to paradise island
If you are in Nassau and want to go to paradise island, avoid the taxi’s at all oct. They will charge you around $20-$25 to get there and then will try to get you to pay the toll for them. If you take the water taxi, you can avoid this and it only cost 5 bucks! Now for that 5 bucks you will get a brief tour of some of the houses and get some really need angles to look at the cruise ships from. It only takes around 15 minutes and it is worth it.
Nassau Boardwalk in the Bahamas. Things to do for free in the Bahamas. Near the cruise port
10. Order one meal for 2 people
The portions in the Bahamas are huge. At the beginning of our trip we were ordering on meal each and we ended up having a lot of leftovers. You are not going to stuff yourself when you know you are prob going to be wearing a bathing suit later. So I chose to split some meals with my wife or kids and order more if we were still hungry. It will save you a lot of money eating this way, just ask for a second plate.
11. Eat during happy hour
All of the restaurants in Nassau have a happy hour when there is cheap foods and drink. At the beginning of our last trip there we had my wife parents, sister and brother with us and our bill could get pretty big had we not found happy hour places to eat at. The happy hours are usually for a few hours long and the food and drink is around 50% off!
12. Negotiate when you buy anything
You can’t negotiate in the restaurants, but you can in the stores and markets. Actually up to 50% off in some cases.
The Pink Flamingos at the Baha Mar is a free activity. How to save money in the Bahamas Tips
13. Wait for a hotel sale
When the hotels are not filled up, there are pretty big sales. I watched Atlantis for around 6 mths and found that if you book at the right time you can get around half off their regular rates.
14. Collapsible fishing rod or fishing spear
Anything that can keep you busy will save you money. I always bring a collapsible fishing rod with me and it keep me and my kids busy for hours.
Garden of Versailles on Paradise island, Nassau Bahamas things to do for free
15. Check prices at restaurants
One day when we were at Junkanoo beach we all sat down at the big restaurant on the corner. The jerk chick was $25 USD, I actually couldn’t believe how expensive it was. So I took a walk and found another bbq shack on the beach with the same items for $11. Half off! They catch the tourist if they can, so do your homework before you make a decision.
The queens staircase in Nassau Bahamas is cool fun and free!
16. Walk or jog around and explore
If you have any more insight or questions about Nassau or the Bahamas, please shoot us an email or comment. We want our Bahama Travel blogs to be the most comprehensive source of information about the Bahamas on the internet.
The Rampersauds at Ko Olina Beach in Oahu, Hawaii
The Rampersauds
My name is Sean Rampersaud, my family and I are travelling the world writing and taking video of our experiences. My wife is Radika and my 2 kids are Rayden and Natasha. We want to help improve our readers lives in some way, and have a large private group of travellers we like to work with. You can join our group by leaving your email. Please comment below if you have any questions. If you found this informative please share it. We provide our community free travel tools that will make your lives way easier when you travel including free travel plans, and a custom itinerary builder! Join us today. If you are interested in how we make money while we travel email me or reply with you name and email at sean@adventugo.com.
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