I chose Harbour Island in the Bahamas as my last travel destination before officially embracing (voluntary) unemployment and freedom. If you are not familiar with the place, Harbour Island offers a pink sand beach, bougainvillea-lined streets, charming pastel-shuttered homes, and friendly people. The island is tiny (3 1/2 miles by 1/2 mile), but features a number of high quality restaurants and luxurious boutique hotels. It is also reportedly frequented by numerous billionaires. It sounded right up my alley. 😉

Getting There

My friend Lindsay gladly agreed to join me on a long weekend jaunt in February. While Harbour Island may not be the easiest place to get to in the Caribbean (or the Bahamas for that matter), we found flights that would get us to North Eleuthera from New York in six to seven hours, layover included. From North Eleuthera, Harbour Island was a quick (car) taxi and water taxi away. Our flight departed LGA at 6:50am, we had a quick layover in Miami and were on the island by 1pm on Friday afternoon.

Accommodations

As noted, Harbour Island offers a variety of high-end boutique hotels. We considered The Dunmore and The Ocean View Club, but ultimately landed on Bahama House, a property opened a few years ago by the adventure travel company Eleven Experience. I had never heard of Eleven Experience before planning this trip, and am so glad we found them. The company specializes in high-end accommodations in remote locations with unique outdoor activities (i.e. fly-fishing, heli-skiing). Bahama House features just 11 rooms, each outfitted with thoughtful touches to make your stay as comfortable as possible. We booked the Nesbitt room, and were delighted to find a beautifully designed space, an assortment of bedside chargers, full-sized Malin Goetz bath & body products, built-in speakers in both the bedroom and the bathroom and a king bed you could just sink into.

The property itself was stunning, with an outdoor pool, a tiki bar, a rum bar and multiple shared areas where guests can lounge. Exploring the different spaces, we couldn’t help but be impressed by the attention to detail that went into each piece of furniture, each piece of art, even each coffee table book.

And the hospitality! Just impeccable. A month before our arrival, Giorgia, the Experience Manager, contacted us to schedule a planning call. I obviously love to plan travel, but in this case, I was happy to delegate. Giorgia advised us on the different activities we could book (boating, fishing, scuba diving, pilates, massages) and the best restaurants on the island, and then handled all the arrangements. Our room wasn’t exactly cheap, but the rate did include a number of items: chef-cooked breakfast each morning and a daily beach setup with chairs, speakers, drinks (including beer and rosé), sporting equipment, and a beach boy to tend to our needs. Drinks at the tiki bar and rum bar were also included, our mini bar was stocked with complementary snacks and beverages, and every afternoon the bartender served us “après” appetizers paired with island-inspired cocktails. With only six people staying at the resort all weekend, the staff outnumbered the guests and we were quickly on a first-name basis with everyone.

Where to Eat

For such a small place, Harbour Island had an impressive variety of fantastic restaurants. With three days, we didn’t even have enough time to check out everything on our list. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to go back! The places we did try:

Coral Sands Beach Bar

After getting settled in our room, we headed to the Coral Sands resort for a beachside lunch. The view of the turquoise water juxtaposed against the white wood railing of the deck was the perfect setting for a light Greek salad and a crisp rosé.

Da Vine Sushi & Wine Bar

We enjoyed our first dinner at Da Vine. A short walk down some steps from Bahama House, the restaurant was bustling when we arrived at 7:30pm. While we debated what to order, the couple sitting next to us chimed in and made some recommendations on specialties we weren’t considering. Both of the dishes that they suggested were delectable (wahoo sashimi and brussels sprouts). And it makes sense… after chatting with Paul and Freda for most of the evening, they told us that they owned the restaurant and proceeded to offer up a bunch of other insider recommendations for the rest of the weekend. They casually invited us to stop by their home for a glass of wine the following day and we spoke about renting their house on our next visit. The island was already living up to its claim as “the home of friendly people.”

Sip Sip

Sip Sip is another excellent beachside lunch option. We were able to walk from our beach chairs a few minutes along the water to get to the brightly colored restaurant. The place was popping at 12:45pm, but we managed to grab a couple spots at the bar and ordered an arugula salad, hummus with pita, eggplant and mozzarella stack and a couple margaritas. All were fantastic, and Lindsay topped it off with a purchase at the adjoining store: a delicate cuff bracelet with two stone skulls on the ends featuring semiprecious stones for eyes.

The Landing

Dinner on night two was at The Landing, based on Paul and Freda’s recommendation. We were originally going to eat at The Dunmore because the hotel looked so cute, but they advised that the atmosphere at The Dunmore was better during the day than at night, and that the food was better at The Landing. So, we planned to get a drink at The Dunmore later (sadly, that never happened). We were able to get seats on the balcony overlooking the street and ordered Chili Salt Squid (decent), The Landing Salad (underwhelming), Coconut Chicken Curry (for Lindsay – she loved) and Spicy Crab Capellini (for me – I also loved, although it wasn’t all that spicy). Midway through our meal, we heard a guy in a golf cart shouting our names. Upon closer look we realized it was Matt (the ex of our good friend Gina), who was in town for his sister’s wedding. We hadn’t even been on the island for two full days and we were already running into people we knew. Matt stopped to chat with us for a bit and we discussed potentially meeting up at one of the local bars, where the wedding after party was going to be.

Aquapazza

Giorgia made the excellent recommendation of dining at Aquapazza on Sunday, our final night on the island. Part of the Romora Bay Resort & Marina, Aquapazza’s sister restaurant, Sunsets, featured live music from 6-9pm, so we decided to start with a cocktail at the bar. At Sunsets, we encountered our first unfriendly person on Harbour Island: the bartender. He seemed determined to ignore us, but I was not going to walk away without a fight, so I finally asserted myself and ordered a couple Negronis.

After enjoying the band for a while, we headed up to Aquapazza, where we ran into Giorgia. We also enjoyed a round of drinks on the house from Joe, who was either the owner or the manager of the restaurant, and whom we had met the previous night (more on that later). Toward the end of the meal, a group of guys from Atlanta on a fishing trip chatted us up and offered us the bottle of wine they weren’t going to finish. I was beginning to feel like I would know everyone on this island after a week.

Just like the social scene at Aquapazza, the food was also terrific. The pasta was cooked to al dente perfection (I ordered the penne arrabbiata) and the fish was fresh (Lindsay ordered the grouper and we shared the octopus appetizer).

What Else To Do

Besides the beach and all the dining options, Harbour Island offered a number of other activities to round out our leisure time.

Boating & Fishing

We opted out of fishing, but we absolutely wanted to get out on the water. Being on a boat is the best way to fully experience the beauty of the Bahamas. Eleven Experience offered a boat for guests, including a captain (Chris) and a guide (Richard). It was an additional charge, but so worth it. We had originally planned to go boating on Saturday, but the conditions were too rough, so we delayed until Sunday. Then the conditions were too rough AGAIN, but we weren’t about to take no for an answer, especially since Matt told us he had been on the water on Saturday. We assured Giorgia that we had experienced rocky waters in the past and could handle a bumpy ride. She finally gave in and told us we’d have to stay in the harbor. No problem, it was still more exciting that hanging out on the beach again.

Two other guests also from New York (Brooke and Katie) decided to join us once they heard we had convinced the staff to let us out on the boat after all. The four of us hopped in a golf cart to the dock and we were off. The day was one of the highlights of the trip, and while we weren’t able to snorkel or jump off cliffs due to the rough waters, we did get to do a lot more than roam the harbor. At one point Lindsay asked Richard if he knew Paul and Freda. “Yes, I do. And that’s actually their house,” he said, pointing to a beautiful white home on the water. “Oh, and that’s actually Paul right there.” Next thing we knew, Paul was waving to us from the deck. Only in Harbour Island.

See below for pictures of our boating adventures:

Shopping

Harbour Island also featured terrific shopping. Of course, there were souvenir stores, but the highlights were the boutiques selling breezy cover-ups and dresses in bright colors and bold patterns. Our favorite was Blue Rooster, and I also had success at Sugar Mill, the shop owned by former model India Hicks.

Nightlife

While most restaurants shut down on the early side, Harbour Island did have a bar scene for those eager for a nightcap. We attempted to go to Gusty’s on Saturday night, but it was closed (people blamed the weddings on the island; I’m guessing the Gusty’s employees were working at the weddings). We ended up at Daddy D’s, complete with flashing lights and a DJ spinning dance tracks. We arrived early and scored bar seats, where we met a whole host of characters. A couple guys in college at the University of Miami bought our drinks and told us stories about their real estate in places like New York and Aspen (they did think it was “so cool” I worked in tech – LOL). A guy named Joe claimed to own Aquapazza and told us he would be there on Sunday if we were going to eat there (Chris and Richard later informed us that he was actually the manager, not the owner – LOL again). Then Matt and the rest of the wedding party showed up and a dance party ensued.

Other Things to Note

The locals refer to Harbour Island as “Briland” (what you get when you say Harbour Island ten times, fast).

You can use US Dollars on Harbour Island. If you do get Bahamian Dollars, the exchange rate is 1:1 with USD.

The island does have cars, but the best way to get around is by golf cart. Note that people drive on the left side of the road, although the steering wheel is also on the left side of most vehicles.

While I don’t have plans to visit Harbour Island again in 2019, I can’t wait to return and introduce some more of my friends from home to my new island friends. Until then, Briland!