Abacos Beach Bar Crawl

After spending our first three weeks in the Bahamas at Green Turtle Cay and Manjack Cay, we were eager to head further south towards the Exumas and see more of this beautiful country. What we discovered is that the road to the Exumas, via the Abacos (figuratively speaking of course), is filled with a veritable who’s who of famous beach bars!

But, before we could partake in our own Abaco beach bar crawl, we had to first make it through an area around Whale Cay known simply as “the Whale”. There’s a shallow bank between Treasure Cay and Whale Cay that is too shallow for most cruising boats to cross, requiring a passage through the Whale Cay Channel, around Whale Cay, and through the Loggerhead Channel to get from the Green Turtle Cay area down to the area commonly referred to as the Hub of the Abacos.

Weather conditions often make the Whale impassable for several days at a time, so when we finally had a chance to make it through, we went for it. We timed the passage through the channel for slack tide so we wouldn’t have too much current to contend with in addition to the four-foot plus swells that were out there. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but we made it safely through and before long were looking for a spot to anchor in Fishers Bay on Great Guana Cay.

First stop on the beach bar tour…Nippers Beach Bar & Grill! Unfortunately we got there a little too late to enjoy their weekly Sunday pig roast buffet, but they still had good music playing, plenty of cold drinks and a wonderful ocean view. A bit pricey here…$6.50 for a Kalik and $10 for a frozen Nipper (rum with pineapple, orange and cranberry juices), but hey…we figure we’re worth it! We were gonna stop at Grabbers Bed Bar & Grill on our way back to the boat, but it was now dusk and the bugs were out en masse, so instead we high-tailed it outta there!

The next day we motor-sailed across to Treasure Cay and grabbed onto one of their mooring balls. Pretty touristy place, so not really our typical style, but we did enjoy it there. We spent lazy days on the beautiful sandy beaches and alternated between the Coco Beach Bar and the Tipsy Seagull in the evenings. One of Tipsy Seagull’s claims to fame is that it’s where Billy Currington’s “People Are Crazy” video was filmed. The bar scenes were all shot at the Tipsy Seagull, but the outdoor scenes are from Green Turtle Cay, where we spent time when first arriving in the Bahamas. Check it out to get a better feel for the beauty of these islands! You should be able to recognize the blue tile bar from the picture at the top of this post as the bar where Billy and the old man are having a drink together.

Next stop – Marsh Harbour, which is home to another famous bar, the Jib Room. We did go over and check it out, but it was Sunday afternoon and there was hardly anyone around, so we took some pics, met Bacardi the marina kitty and headed back. Our main reasons for a stop in Marsh Harbour were actually to hit up the two grocery stores and to go to the BTC store to get a SIM card for our phone. We were also happy to find a seafood store and stocked our teeny, tiny freezer with two lobster tails and some grouper…we were getting kinda tired of canned meat.

Wouldn’t you know it…the very next day on our way down to Lynyard Cay we finally caught our first fish, which we were able to identify as an 8.5 pound Mutton Snapper. Figures…we give in and buy a bunch of fish and catch one of our own less than 24 hours later! Not complaining though.

Last stop on our Abaco Hub beach bar tour was Pete’s Pub and Gallery in Little Harbour, about a two-mile dinghy ride from where we were anchored at Lynyard Cay. What a cool looking little anchorage. Felt like we were in the South Pacific instead of the Bahamas! Tried their signature rum punch drink, a Blaster, which did not disappoint, and then checked out the art gallery next door which features mainly bronze sculptures by the owner, Pete Johnston. Did not, however, try one of those!

Stay tuned to read about our adventures in the Exumas island chain! Oh…and if there’s any other famous Abaco bars we missed, let us know so we can hit them up on our next go round!