Are you wondering how to get to Harbour Island? If you are, you might be curious about the Harbour Island ferry. As it offers direct service from Nassau and longer journeys from Fort Lauderdale, the boat is certainly one of the most popular ways to reach the famous Bahamian island.
And reaching it is something you’ll want to ensure that you do. With a charming town, a stunning pink sand beach, and myriad other sites and attractions, Harbour Island deserves a place on any Bahamas vacation.
Working with Bahamas Air Tours can help make planning Harbour Island tours a breeze. Doing so lets you cut down on travel time and fly in comfort to Harbour Island, ensuring that you have plenty of time to see the island’s beautiful sites.
What to Know About the Harbour Island Ferry
Harbour Island Guide
Harbour Island is a small island located to the northeast of Nassau. It’s around 375 miles away from the capital and is off to the side of a larger island, Eleuthera.
However, while it may only be around 3.5 miles in size, Harbour Island has become a vacation magnet for wealthy celebrities and savvy beach travelers alike. It houses charming Dunmore Town, the beautiful Pink Sands Beach, and many other sites that leave many travelers wondering how to get to Harbour Island.
Like the rest of the Bahamas, Harbour Island has no shortage of beautiful beaches.
Given its small size, it’s possible to embark on Harbour Island tours and see most of the island’s top sites in a single day. That’s led to the rise in popularity of Bahamas fast ferries Harbour Island.
The Bahamas ferry to Harbour Island
If you’re looking to board the Bahamas ferry to Harbour Island, expect to depart Nassau around 8 am. However, according to the company’s website, travelers should get their well in advance. The ferry can accommodate up to 400 people, which means that checking in can be a bit of a process!
Once you’re finally on the boat, you can expect to reach Eleuthera at around 10:30 am and Harbour Island around a half-hour later. Unfortunately, that doesn’t leave you with too much time to explore the island. The Harbour Island ferry heads back to Nassau at 3:30 pm, meaning that you’ll need to take some time to board beforehand. Travelers arrive back in Nassau around three hours later, at 6:30 pm.
Keep in mind that while Bahamas fast ferries Harbour Island try to stick to a set schedule, they can’t always do that. Oftentimes, poor weather conditions can lead to delays, and in some cases, outright cancellations.
The fast ferry to Harbour Island.
If you plan on taking the boat, make sure to stay up to date on the status of your trip.
Harbour Island Tours by Plane
As mentioned, the fast ferry to Harbour Island isn’t actually that fast, and you also end up sharing the boat with hundreds of other people. Luckily, if you’re looking for a more personal and comfortable experience, air travel can help you get it.
Bahamas Air Tours allows you to fly in a private-class plane to some of the top destinations in the country, including Harbour Island on the Nassau to Harbour Island Day Trip. Besides giving you unbeatable views of the water and islands beneath you, traveling by plane also allows you to enjoy several other benefits.
For one, you get to shave hours off of your travel time. Instead of a three-hour-plus journey, flights from Nassau to Harbour Island take 30 minutes. That leaves you with more time to see all the best sites that the island has to offer!
Skipping the Harbour Island ferry and traveling by plane gives you more time to enjoy the island, including Pink Sands Beach!
Likewise, you also get to avoid the crowds and enjoy a more personalized experience. No more sharing a vessel with hundreds of other tourists — your private-class plane can only take several travelers at a time. If you want, you can even book a private tour, ensuring that you and the experience your travel companions have is completely unique!
Traverse Around Dunmore Town
Unlike on the Harbour Island ferry, when you travel with Bahamas Air Tours, you get to the island at 8:00 am. That leaves you with most of the day to explore! And, regardless of what you want to see, Dunmore Town is a great place to start.
Scenic Dunmore Town — one of the highlights of a Harbour Island ferry trip.
Named after Lord Dunmore, the first governor of the Bahamas, Dunmore Town is charming, quaint, and full of inviting places to pop into. You’ll stumble across restaurants, bars, shops, historical sites, and art galleries as you traverse the town. All of them are worth a visit.
While Dunmore Town (and Harbour Island, in general) are walkable, you can also rent a golf cart to explore the area. If you book Harbour Island tours with Bahamas Air Tours, we can help you do that!
Sink Your Toes Into Pink Sands Beach
Of course, one of the top highlights of any Bahamas vacation is the beaches. And on Harbour Island, don’t be surprised to find beaches that are so beautiful, they’re impossible to forget.
While the Exumas, Nassau, and other parts of the country have some stunning beaches, Harbour Island’s most famous beach is in a league of its own. That’s because, as its name implies, Pink Sands Beach has a soft pink hue!
The beach’s unique color comes from the millions of microscopic shells found in the sand. What makes it even more interesting is that its hue appears to change throughout the day, depending on the tide and the amount of light. At some points, it looks more white, while at other times, it features a more vivid pink color.
Harbour Island tours by plane leave plenty of time for travelers to enjoy Pink Sands Beach.
Whether you spend your time lounging in a rentable armchair (included in your tour cost) or swimming around the bright blue water, Pink Sands Beach offers an experience that will stick with you. And remember — skipping the Harbour Island ferry and flying by plane lets you enjoy it for even longer!
Other Bahamas Destinations to Reach by Plane
No matter where you want to go in the Bahamas, Bahamas Air Tours can help you get there. When you charter a plane, you get access to the entirety of the archipelago, as well as the chance the avoid the crowds present on the fast ferry to Harbour Island and other vessels.
If you’re not interested in doing the planning, Bahamas Air Tours also offers Exuma day trips from Nassau and Florida. These come with a set itinerary — once you reach Staniel Cay, a boat takes you to some of the top sites in the region.
Signing up for a Staniel Cay day trip is a fantastic way to see some of the most amazing sites in the region and the country. From the swimming pigs on Pig Island to nurse sharks, iguanas, underwater plane wrecks, and many other attractions, Exuma day trips are another experience that you won’t soon forget.
A Better Option Than the Bahamas ferry to Harbour Island
Taking the Harbour Island ferry is a popular way to reach the famous island. However, given how beautiful the island is, you’re going to want to be there for as long as possible. Traveling by plane lets you enjoy a longer day trip and also offers a more comfortable experience, in general.
Remember that Bahamas Air Tours can also take you to other amazing parts of the country, like the Exumas. No trip to the Bahamas is complete until you see the Exuma pigs!
Ready to hop on your dream Bahamas vacation? Sign up for one of our tours today!
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