Guide to Spanish Wells in the Bahamas
Soft powdery sands. Pristine pool-like waters. Idyllic shores that consistently rank among the best in the world.
Welcome to the Bahamas: an unparalleled destination for beach-lovers.
The jewel-like Bahamas caters to honeymooners, cruise-ship tourists, and sailing-enthusiasts. The country consists of over 700 islands—many of them uninhabited—that lie scattered about the Caribbean Sea.
Each of these islands has its own flavor, its own history, and its own reasons for visiting.
And yet few have as interesting a history as St George’s Cay—a fleck of sand off Eleuthera that is home to Spanish Wells.
SPANISH WELLS ON ST GEORGE’S CAY
While development has transformed much of the Caribbean into a Disneyland of sorts, Spanish Wells seems to have changed little since the early days of European settlement.
The offbeat community lies off the coast of Eleuthera, in the remote Out Islands of the Bahamas. Visiting is like stepping back in time, to another world.
Spanish Wells has a settler history that dates back to the 1600s, when a group of English Puritans—known as the Eleutheran Adventurers—sailed from Bermuda in search of religious freedom. After shipwrecking on a reef called Devil’s Backbone, they found refuge in a cave on nearby Eleuthera.
Eventually, the majority of the Loyalists settled in Spanish Wells and established a community that has survived for nearly 400 years. To this day, their close-knit band of descendants remains incredibly religious and insular.
As a result, Spanish Wells does not fit the typical demographic makeup of the Bahamas. The island is home to a population of about 1,500 mostly white settlers of European descent. Almost everyone shares a handful of last names and can trace their ancestry to the Eleutheran Adventurers.
Though tourism is a major industry in the Bahamas, Spanish Wells isn’t an overwhelmingly touristy place. The abundance of lucrative spiny lobsters has enabled locals to eschew fast-paced development in favor of maintaining the centuries-old way of life.
Thanks to the bounty of the sea, Spanish Wells does not have to depend on tourist dollars. Many of the island’s current residents have reaped enormous financial rewards from the lobster-fishing industry.
This concentrated wealth has led some to refer to St George’s Cay as the ‘Nantucket of the Caribbean.’
GETTING TO ST GEORGE’S CAY
Spanish Wells’ remote location makes it relatively difficult to reach. Saint George’s Cay does not contain an airport, a cruise ship dock, or infrastructure suitable for mass tourism.
From the North Eleuthera airport, reaching Spanish Wells consists of a 20 minute taxi ride to Genes Bay, followed by a 5 minute water taxi crossing to the community’s main dock. Transportation arrangements with Pinders Taxi Service cost $15 per person.
GETTING AROUND SPANISH WELLS
Spanish Wells is tiny and easy to navigate. While some may choose to walk its grid-like streets, most travelers opt for a golf cart rental. Golf carts are ubiquitous in Spanish Wells and are a favorite way of getting around. The Harbourside Rental and Gift Shop near the water taxi dock rents out buggies for $40 per day.
Our guesthouse near the ferry dock provided complementary golf carts during our stay in Spanish Wells. Having access to a golf cart allowed us to freely explore St George’s Cay and nearby Russel Island.
Had Dan and I visited Spanish Wells as a day trip, however, we would have likely chosen our own two feet as a mode of transportation.
Distances in Spanish Wells are short. And reaching North Beach from the ferry dock only requires a few minutes’ walk.
NORTH BEACH, SPANISH WELLS
Tourism in Spanish Wells centers almost entirely on North Beach—a dreamy stretch of sand that belongs on the front page of travel brochures. The beach is among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Its pristine white expanse is comparable to some of the Caribbean’s best beaches, including Shoal Bay in Anguilla and Playa Rincon in the Dominican Republic.
North Shore Beach runs the entire length of St George’s Cay and is easily accessible from all parts of the island. For being so pristine, Dan and I were amazed by the lack of crowds.
The North Shore beachfront does not contain high-rise hotels or restaurants or tacky souvenir stalls. Though a smattering of homes and vacation rentals line its shore, the structures are mostly concealed behind a thicket of greenery.
The water level at North Shore beach is exceptionally shallow. At low tide, Dan and I were able to walk out about a quarter mile without the water rising above our waists.
During our visit, we enjoyed wading about the swimming-pool-colored waters and walking out to the area’s isolated sand bars.
A ribbon of pure white sand juts out beyond North Beach’s shallow expanse of turquoise water. Walking out onto the sand bar at low tide is an absolutely magical experience.
DAY TOURS FROM SPANISH WELLS
Spanish Wells is a hub for charter excursions around Eleuthera. If you’re able to shell out large sums of cash, there are a number of fishing and touring charters to choose from. These private tours frequently visit sand bars, reefs, and Pig Island (a locale famous for swimming pigs similar to those in the Exumas).
Admittedly, we didn’t take advantage of day trips because we had a hard time justifying the high costs of chartering a boat.
Had we found others with whom to split the costs, however, we would have been thrilled to explore Spanish Wells’ surroundings.
SPANISH WELLS HOTELS AND VACATION RENTALS
The tourism industry in Spanish Wells is not nearly as robust as that of nearby Harbour Island. Hotels are largely nonexistent, though guesthouses and Airbnbs have mushroomed in recent years.
Dan and I booked a room at the Harbour Breeze Guesthouse through Airbnb. The guesthouse was reasonably priced and conveniently located near the ferry dock. It also provided free golf cart rentals.
Online hotel booking sites have limited availability in Spanish Wells. If you’re planning on staying overnight on the island, I’d recommend looking into AirBnb and VRBO.
WHERE TO EAT IN SPANISH WELLS
Spanish Wells boasts a handful of tasty (albeit overpriced) restaurants. The Shipyard—at the eastern tip of the island—is consistently regarded as the best place to eat on St George’s Cay. We enjoyed a fantastic meal at the Shipyard during our last night on the island.
For a slightly cheaper option, Buddha’s Snack Shack provides a solid alternative.
If you’re traveling to Spanish Wells on a weekend, be sure to double check restaurant hours. Most establishments shut down on Sundays.
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After a year of pent-up wanderlust due to the Coronavirus lockdowns, Dan and I traveled to the remote island of Spanish Wells in the Bahamas.
The island isn’t exactly everyone’s ideal vacation spot. There is little in the way of entertainment. There are no nightclubs or waterparks or large shopping centers. Until 2013, Spanish Wells even banned the sale of alcohol.
But Dan and I wanted to avoid the overly-developed and commercialized islands that have become commonplace in the Caribbean. We wanted to visit a relaxing place that still felt a little stuck in time.
So for us, Spanish Wells was perfect.
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