Ever wanted to buy a private island in the Bahamas and live on the piece of paradise for the rest of your life? Apparently, it's possible: a quick Google search returned a bunch of websites where everyone can buy a private island out of 700 islands that make up the archipelago of the Bahamas for as little as $275,000. This is exactly what Holland America Line owned by Carnival, a major cruise line company, did in 1996. They purchased Little San Salvador Island for a modest $6,000,000 which probably paid off within the first year or so as they have been bringing thousands of cruise passengers each day ever since.
The island rarely goes by Little San Salvador, as Carnival gave it another name - Half Moon Cay, because of its long white-sand beach that resembles a half moon.
Half Moon Cay is located in the Exumas, the most remote and paradise-like islands in the Bahamas. If you're looking for complete solitude, look no further than the Exumas.
Despite its official name, the island is not as small as it sounds. However, only about 2% has been developed out of its area of 2,400 acres / 9.7 km2 as Carnival has made a decision to protect as much natural habitat as possible.
There is no deep water docking on the island, so cruise passengers get carried by tender boats.
Carnival calls the island an extension of the cruise, so food, drinks and fun are included. This dedicated boat carries food supplies to the island.
The watercolour is unbelievable!
The tender ride takes about 5 minutes. The boat enters a small harbour.
This little cannon reminds me of those turbulent times when pirates of the Caribbean ruled these waters.
Carnival offers several on- and off-shore excursions for an additional cost, however, we decided to stick to beach activities. Not that we didn't want any excursion, but for 1-1.5 hours the average cost was $50-70 per person which is quite pricey. This boat is probably taking cruise passengers to the coral reef where they can snorkel.
Disembarking the boat. Hello Bahamas!
The fountain with conch shells. Conch (pronounced 'konk') is a national food in the Bahamas.
The beach and all the amenities are super clean. Kudos to the island staff.
There seem to be enough chairs for everyone even if a couple of ships come. But since our ship was the only one on the island that day, we had plenty of empty chairs.
There is a church where a couple can apparently get married.
'Jus sit'n chill' - spelled with a Bahamian accent.
The water at the beach was crystal clear so one could easily see fish, shells and corals. By the way, a snorkelling just off the beach was fantastic. We even saw a real octopus!
Calypso restaurant is for those who don't wish to have a complimentary lunch or don't know where to find it.
Rental options were plentiful.
I've never seen these cool water bikes before.
One could also rent a villa for 'only' $500. And believe it or not, we actually saw people who rented them!
A bunch of small colourful cabanas in the shade of Australian pines. Rent is for 'only' $280.
As the beach chairs become more scarce, so are the people. The beach is about a mile / 1.6 km long, and I'm sure only a few people walk to the end of it. I kind of regret that we didn't, as I'd read that there is an excellent site for snorkelling at the end of the beach.
Next time for sure!
My other posts from the trip to Florida and the Bahamas
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