Harborside again...sightseeing and island culture?

[azsunluvr]

We've contacted the People to People program for our September trip. Waiting to hear back.

We've been to the Zoo http://www.ardastra.com/ and really enjoyed it. The Marching Flamingos are great. We took a jitney to get there. A fun adventure. Under the Paradise Island bridge there are a whole bunch of little kiosks where they sell food. The last time I was flying to Nassau, I met a woman who encouraged me to find her brother's place there under the bridge. His name is Birdeye. He was never there when we stopped by, but it was certainly interesting to wander around.

You really may not feel the need to leave the Atlantis property, other than for a trip or two into town. Souvenirs are less expensive in town and there are some good restaurants, too.

 

[Whirl]

.....We've been to the Zoo http://www.ardastra.com/ and really enjoyed it. The Marching Flamingos are great. We took a jitney to get there. A fun adventure. Under the Paradise Island bridge there are a whole bunch of little kiosks where they sell food. The last time I was flying to Nassau, I met a woman who encouraged me to find her brother's place there under the bridge. His name is Birdeye. He was never there when we stopped by, but it was certainly interesting to wander around.

......

Thanks. Another great tip.

We really are not ones to view a resort alone as a destination ( no matter how fabulous). I like to see the islands themsleves, the people, thefood, the culture. I's nice to experience and gives the kids an understanding of what it's like outside the U.S. I like to see a little moer than what's in a glossy tourist magazine....the People to People program is very interesting....

Thanks,

Cheryl

 

[clsmit]

What to wear to dinner?

We're going to be eating at the Mesa Grill when we're at Harborside in August. What is the proper attire for the "fine dining" places? Do I need a skirt? Does my husband need long pants? We're trying to do this trip with only carry-ons so the clothing requirements are becoming important (me for how many pairs of shoes I take, him for how many clothes in total! )

Thanks!

 

[tomandrobin]

Mesa Grill is Resort Elegant.

Dress shirts, polo shirts or designer shirts, slacks, dresses or skirts, and similar apparel. No shorts, jeans, tennis shoes or t-shirts.

No children under the age of 12.

 

[clsmit]

Mesa Grill is Resort Elegant.

Dress shirts, polo shirts or designer shirts, slacks, dresses or skirts, and similar apparel. No shorts, jeans, tennis shoes or t-shirts.

No children under the age of 12.

Thanks. SVO told me that age rule when I made reservations, but Atlantis.com says: Mesa Grill welcomes guests 6 years of age and older. Wonder why there's a difference?

Other than the food (it has SAUCE) and potentially squirmy kids, what might be the reason for the age cutoff?

Carol
whose 12 year old is a pickier eater than the 9 year old, but both are pretty adventurous and experienced eaters of strange stuff.

 

[formerhater]

Other than the food (it has SAUCE) and potentially squirmy kids, what might be the reason for the age cutoff?

I imagine they're trying to create an elegant environment and feel that kids may interfere with that. Not saying that's so as we all know it's always someone else's kid creating a scene, but that's my guess as to why they have the policy.

 

[formerhater]

We were at Harborside last week so I thought I'd follow up on the island culture topic. Atlantis was nice, but we wanted to feel like we were actually in the Bahamas so we ventured across the bridge in search of some local flair and were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to find it. Potter's Cay is right across the Mackey St. bridge (actually kind of under it) and features row after row of food stands. Most serve fresh conch and other seafood. There are also several fruit and vegetable stands in the area. We had a great dinner at Bro B's, which is just on the left as you cross over. They had great conch salad and fritters that were all made fresh as we watched. 3 orders of each fed six of us for about $30. We would have returned later in the week, but their hours were unpredictable. If you venture further onto the Cay, there are several fishing boats selling fresh catches. We picked up 5 whole snapper for $20 (plus $1 each to clean and scale) and cooked them up for dinner one night.

Jumbey's and The Poop Deck are both easy walks (left on Bay) for dinner. Jumbey's was decent, but kind of dead except for a few bar flies. The Poop Deck was better and had a mix of tourists and locals and a great selection of fresh seafood at much more reasonable prices than anything at Atlantis. Most dinners were in the $25-$30 range. Two of us split a huge Hog Snapper dinner that was $68. It was probably enough for three of us. The Poop Deck also has a decent happy hour with mostly locals at the bar. We had a couple of rounds and seafood fritters at happy hour are on the house.

If you like to walk (we do), City Market is just a little further up Bay on the right side. We took our backpacks there on day 1 and easily hauled our groceries back with us.

Nassau is a fairly simple walk as well. We trekked to town a couple of times and walked on to Arawak Cay for lunch one day. We ate at Native Way on the recommendation of someone in the sales office and weren't disappointed. Five of us ate lunch for about $70. Grouper fingers, cracked conch, chicken. Good stuff and local scene. On one day, some of us walked back to Harborside while others took the ferry and it took about the same amount of time (this can vary depending on how long you have to wait for the ferry).

I had read several complaints about less than friendly service in the Bahamas, but we were pleasantly surprised as almost everyone we encountered went out of their way to be welcoming. Also, having walked all over town, we were impressed with how pedestrian friendly they are. Cars would stop at green lights to wave us across the road.