Visiting Freeport After Hurricane Dorian

I've traveled to the #Bahamas numerous times, but had not visited Grand Bahama Island and the town of #Freeport until last week. When we booked our Cruise months ago, I assumed there wouldn't be much to do in Freeport and that we would just visit the beach or maybe even stay on the ship. Regardless, I figured everything in the Bahamas is beautiful and we would find something to do there.

A map of our route for our Cruise. *Not my image. Taken from Carnival.

Then Hurricane Dorian hit. Our family watched the news as Hurricane Dorian sat still over the Grand Bahama & Abaco Island's for DAYS. I checked news updates and my heart sank each time they would release the updated death toll. After experiencing Hurricane Irma in 2017, I could not even fathom a larger, more powerful storm idling over your home for nearly 48 hours. If you've never experienced a Hurricane, you cannot begin to understand the fear that comes with these powerful storms of Mother Nature.

*Photo from abcNews

Once I saw the photo's that had been released of Freeport, I was certain that we would not be porting there any longer. This was our first family and group trip, and relatives and friends were asking me what the Cruise line was going to do now that Freeport had been "wiped out" for lack of a better term. I called the Cruise line as we were about one month out from our embarkation date and they had no updates at that time. Three days before we were set to sail I called again and asked if the itinerary had changed. I was told that we would be porting at Freeport, but we could not book excursions. Rather discouraging info to say the least.

I told our family and friends I had no idea what we were walking into with Freeport, and that I, personally, wanted to get off the boat and see whatever I could, but that I completely understood if everyone else wanted to stay on the ship.

We ported on October 13, 2019- just 6 weeks after #HurricaneDorian made its debut in the Bahamas. I walked up to the deck so that I could see the Island and what I saw absolutely shocked me!

I saw beautiful buildings and a full market place at the port, it look as if it had been completely replaced- but the locals stated that the side of the island we were on did not take as great a hit as the other side. Over the cruise speakers we heard an announcement about taking a taxi to Taino Beach for $5 per person and that there were a lot of activities at the beach to take part in. We decided with a larger group and kiddos that a day at the beach with activities was exactly what we needed!

A short walk through the market place and we made our way to the taxi pick up. Ten of us headed over to the beach and the other four took a city tour. Our driver's name was "Pipeman" he said he got the name because he has ELEVEN children, but now he's discovered TV! Haha! He was a trip, and full of lots of information about the area. He told us how they were beyond excited to see us as they haven't had tourist since August and their main source of income stems from tourism. He was extremely grateful to American's for all our help and assistance after the storm.

Before getting in the Taxi we grabbed a refreshing tropical drink from a stand just outside the port.

My hubby showing off our delicious caribbean beverages!

Our drive was approximately 20 minutes to reach Taino Beach from the Port. "Pipeman" explained to us that we can go ahead and pay $10 per person and he would give us tickets to prove that our roundtrip taxifare was already paid for, so that when we were ready to leave we didn't have to pay again. It seemed a bit odd to me at first, but we went ahead and paid and received our stubs showing we paid for roundtrip. Apparently there is an entire taxi company outside the beach and port providing continual transportation back and forth between the destinations. Once we realized that we understood it was a normal practice and we weren't losing out on any money.

There were some shops and restaurants at Taino Beach, and we decided to go into a place called Pirates Cove. It was $5 per person for admission but that admission included the use of Kayaks, Wi-Fi, an inflatable water park and more. Well worth the entry fee. There were also extra things you could purchase or sign up for such as Jet-ski's or parasailing. They took cash (USD) or Debit/Credit Cards. I will say though, I wish I had taken more cash than I did because after using our Cards on the islands (In Nassau, the ATM on the Ship and Freeport) the bank froze them as I did not call ahead of time to let them know we would be on a trip- whoops! Rookie mistake!

Black Beards Bar on the beach

The beach was breathtaking. The typical Caribbean blue water and a nice breeze ruffling the branches of the palm trees. There was a restaurant and bar as well as a playground and an above ground fresh water pool for the kids to play in. Weston had some fun on the Kayak, although it was pretty windy so he didn't make it out very far. The boys, and my brother-in-law along with some other brave Dad's headed out to the inflatable water park and gave all the beach watchers a good comedy show.

The inflatable water park was approximated 400 ft from the shore, it was also larger than it looks in the photo- some of the "Dad-Bods" were weighing it down a bit!

A local woman brought fresh Conch and made Conch salad at a Tiki-Hut on the beach. I'm not a fan of seafood but I tried it out and it was delicious! She told us how she had just gotten her power back on 2 days prior and how she had to send her daughter to Nassau to attend school because theirs was destroyed. She also had a flat tire on her way to bring the fresh conch to the beach that morning. Despite all the hardships, she was smiling and dicing up some delicious conch salad.

The Tiki-Hut was damaged in the storm and was being repaired.

We also learned that Freeport was founded by a business man from the Virginia's named Wallace Groves. Because of this, the locals on the island consider themselves to be rather "Americanized" and take great pride in the low crime rates on their beautiful island. If you're concerned about safety or this is your first time leaving the Country- I highly recommend visiting Freeport. It's far more relaxed and less "tourist-y" than Nassau. Everyone in our group agreed that it was the perfect little getaway and even my boys told me they liked it much better than Nassau- they weren't fans of the chaos and people grabbing their wrists and tying on bracelets as we walked through the markets.

*Photo Credits: April Hunter

Overall, we had an amazing time in Freeport and I have to say it's certainly on my list of places to return. The Island was beautiful, but the People were absolutely incredible and made us feel very welcomed! And while the majority of what we saw appeared to be damage free from the storm, we know that a large portion of Freeport took a substantial hit from Dorian. Many of the locals were still without electricity, and other without a home at all. The rebuilding of the lives in Grand Bahama and Abaco Island is far from over. Sending items and volunteering is a huge help, but we must remember these locations thrive on tourism- so one of the best ways you can help is to visit and partake in all the amazing things these Islands have to offer.

If you're interested in planning a trip to visit Freeport, be sure to let me know so I can help!