By NAN Travel Editor
News Americas, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, Fri. Aug. 10, 2018: There something to be said for taking a trip to the Caribbean, soaking in the sun, bathing in the ocean, chowing down on great food, sipping on a coconut rum cocktail and being back in your home or hotel before the stroke of midnight.
A Cinderella wish right? No, it’s not!
It’s reality for many travelers from Fort Lauderdale who can hop aboard a fast ferry and be on the Caribbean island of Grand Bahama, Bahamas in a matter of hours. And of course, you can return back to Fort Lauderdale’s Everglade Port hours later.
Baleària Caribbean offers residents of South Florida as well as visitors this exciting yet cost-effective option. Book for as little as USD 115 per person and in 3-and-a-half-hours later you will be in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
There – for at least five hours – you can check out the shops and restaurants at the International Bazaar or take a taxi from the port to the Port Lucaya Marketplace where you can chow down on a conch lunch.
Then head over to Banana Bay beach in Lucaya for a coconut rum cocktail at the bar and a swim in the turquoise water that beckons. Here the beach of white sand seems to stretch for miles into the ocean so even non-swimmers can feel they are way into the sea without having their feet leave the sand.
The ferry operates up to 6 times each week and there is a bar on board that offers both food and drink or you can take your own. You can walk around the ferry; put back your seat and take a nap or wander out on deck and gaze at the dark blue swell of the waves as the ferry cuts through the sea towards The Bahamas.
Customs is a bit slow in getting on to the ferry once you land in the Bahamas so be patient. But day-trippers are waved through and don’t have to have their passports stamped.
However, non-US citizens must have their passport and a valid visa that will let them return to the US. U.S. citizens and green card holders must also have their passports and green-cards, respectively, to get back into the US.
Upon arrival back at Port Evergaldes in Fort Lauderdale, you will be required to go through US Customs before being allowed to re-enter the US.
Baleària also does have the option to stay over night if you choose and they do offer excursions and parties on land at an extra cost.
