Harbour Island is Magical
Harbour Island is not Baha Mar.
And I mean that in the best way possible. If you’re looking for a big resort, multiple pools, full service bars, and likeminded tourists, then Harbour Island isn’t the place you should book. If you’re looking for an untouched beach town, lots of interaction with the warm and welcoming locals, first class (not beach bar) food, an intimate resort scene, and a Pinterest-board-in-real-life, then book Harbour Island. Now.
Harbour Island (called Briland by the locals) was inhabited by Lucayan and Arawak indigenous populations before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. By the mid-1500s, the entire population was wiped out. The island didn’t start seeing inhabitants again until the 1600s. Then, during the American Revolutionary War, John Murray, the Governor of VA, left and went to Harbour Island because he was a British loyalist. He was then known as Lord Dunmore, Governor of the Bahamas (the capital is Dunmore Town). Unfortunately, like in the US, slavery was an established practice in Harbour Island. Tourists started coming to the island regularly by the 1940s, and Harbour Island gained its independence in 1973. The island is underdeveloped and untouched, which adds to its charm. Today, there are under 2,000 regular residents on the island.
How do you get there?
It’s not the simplest trip, but worth it. You’ll need to fly into North Eleuthera (ELH) airport. There are direct flights from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Atlanta. We flew into Miami the day before our flight to ELH because we weren’t sure about Northeast winter storms and how they could impact our trip. The flight from MIA to ELH was a quick and easy 37 min in the air. The airport is small. Like one room small, but it’s a charming welcome to island life.
You then take a van from the airport to a dock to board the water taxi to Harbour Island. The ride from the airport to the dock is $5 pp (bring cash), and you may be sitting with other people. Wasn’t a problem for us as everyone was masked. The water taxi is a bumpy 10 min ride and also $5 pp. We also tipped both the cab driver and water taxi captain.
You’re dropped off at the Harbour Island welcome sign and can either have your pre-reserved golf cart there waiting for you, or hitch a ride to where you’re staying. We decided to walk but were picked up by a very nice person that took us to our hotel. I definitely suggest renting a golf cart for your trip. Yes, the island is small, but there aren’t any sidewalks and quite a few hilly, windy roads that you don’t want to walk along in the dark.
Where should you stay?
We stayed at the Ocean View Club and boy was it straight out of Architectural Digest. Every corner of the hotel is beautifully done. The staff feels like family-you know their names, what their family is like, and what their favorite coffee order is by the end of the trip. The service can be on the slower side, but we didn’t mind because this trip was about taking it easy and being on island time. That’s easy to do when your only plans for the day are lounging on the beach, dinner reservations, and maybe working in time for lunch or shopping. Note that the Ocean View Club doesn’t have a pool, but it wasn’t needed since we were right on the beach and could use their sister property’s pool (more on that later).
Ocean View Club offers complementary breakfast to its guests every morning. The best oatmeal we’ve ever had, fruit, coffee, fresh squeezed OJ, and cereals are served up at tables overlooking the ocean. They also offer eggs, pancakes, breakfast meats, parfaits, and juice shots for a reasonable price. Service can be slow (like an hour and a half wait for oatmeal one day), but we didn’t mind at all.
Ocean View Club has an honour bar, and it’s a wonderful concept that can get you into trouble if you’re not drinking water throughout the day or pacing yourself. If there isn’t a bartender available at the bar, you help yourself to anything at the bar and jot down what you drank in a book on the bar. The bartenders at the resort are absolutely amazing and make the freshest cocktails (hi Garrett and D!). Make sure you order the Island Girl with fresh mint and the Goombay Smash (the Island’s signature drink). The prices were quite reasonable, especially because D makes very strong drinks.
On our last night, we stayed at The Valentines Resort, right by the water taxi dock. There’s a nice pool at this resort and the rooms are clean and spacious. But that’s about all I can say about the positives of the resort. It was rather bland compared to other hotels on the island. It reminded us of a Marriott in the States. There were also a ton of bugs. We didn’t get bit once before moving to the Valentines Resort. By the time we checked out, we had 20+ bug bites each all over our arms and legs.
Other than the Ocean View Club, there’s The Dunmore right next door. Really luxurious ($$$) beach bungalows. Not beachfront, but quite charming, are The Landing and The Rock House. Rock House had beach chairs set up for its guests next to our resort. Guests would just need to rent a golf cart for beach days. There’s always plenty of parking available throughout the island. We didn’t use any cabs on the island, but I know a few exist.
A lot of people also stay in vacation rentals throughout the island. This would be a good option for families with younger children because food gets very expensive on the island. I’d suggest renting a house with a pool and stocking up on snacks to keep kids fed between meals. We are already thinking about returning with our kids in a couple of years.
What should you pack?
While the daytime vibe is rather relaxed (sandals, shorts, swimsuits), people come dressed to impress at night. Think resort wear, gorgeous flowy dresses in bright colors and nice slacks and button downs. I wore a lot of Farm Rio dresses. It felt so nice to dress up (especially because we didn’t have to worry about the kids spilling on us or wrinkling our clothes).
Besides that, be sure to pack strong reef-safe sunscreen, a beach bag, hat for the harsh sun, and laid back outfits to grab breakfast or coffee in. You don’t need much!
What should you do?
Lay on the beach, swim in the ocean, drink some cocktails, eat at some great spots, hang out at a pool, shop, repeat? There isn’t much to do beyond the above…and maybe chartering a boat for the day to swim with pigs and turtles or snorkel. We didn’t get to do the swimming with the pigs (our boat ended up being down), but we’re definitely going to book for snorkeling and swimming with pigs and turtles when we return. The kids will surely love it.
Also, if you stay at the Ocean View Club, you have the option to schedule time at their heavenly sister resort, The Other Side. We took advantage of this on our last full day in Harbour Island. The hotel arranged for a boat to pick us up at Romora Bay Resort and Marina. We took a scenic 10 min ride to the resort (on another island) and got to use their infinity pool on the ocean, beachfront restaurant, and paddle boarding/snorkeling equipment. We even got to paddle board with Layla, the owners’ dog! She jumped onto our paddle board and let us take her out to sea. If you can swing it, I’d suggest staying here for a night or two as well. I was kicking myself because we probably should have stayed here our last night instead of Valentines Resort. The Other Side looks like it came straight out of Architectural Digest.
Where should you eat?
We were super impressed by the quality of food on the island. Each place was better than the last. Some of the best collection of restaurants we’ve been to anywhere. I’m not exaggerating. See below for a rundown of the ones we tried, but remember that Harbour Island is expensive. Most entrees at the restaurants below ranged from $40 to $60 a plate.
Ocean View Club: this was the restaurant at our hotel. The food was so tasty. Like stellar. We split the fresh grouper sandwich for lunch our first day. Also, as mentioned earlier, breakfast was included and very good.
For dinner, we started with crab claws with a special butter dip. For main dish, I had the ribs while my husband got the fresh fish of the day. We polished it off with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake. We had dinner with a couple we met at our hotel, and they also enjoyed their meals. They actually had dinner at the resort two nights they loved it so much.The Landing: this was my husband’s favorite restaurant. We sat outside in a beautiful courtyard. Felt like we were in Europe somewhere. The food and drinks were top notch. I had the Spicy Crab Capellini while my husband had the Local Fish with caramelized fennel, cauliflower puree, and lemon butter. He wanted to go back again before we left, but we didn’t have time. We didn’t go to breakfast at the Landing because our hotel had complimentary breakfast, but everyone on Harbour Island raves about the Landing’s breakfast.
The Dunmore Restaurant: this place is one of the swankier restaurants on the island. Portions are big so we each got an entree and opted out of appetizer. I was so sad when I finished the curry grouper because I just didn’t want it to end. Make sure you get the truffle garlic whipped potatoes as a side! You’ll thank me.
Rock House: decent food, but not our favorite of the bunch. The soups were a bit watery (even the lobster bisque). The ambience here is something to go for. We were seated outside right by the hotel pool.
Queen Conch: wow. This is where the locals were. Got the conch salad (medium spicy) and fried conch with coleslaw and red sauce. Wish we could have gone a second (or third) time. The views from this spot are top notch. We sat on a deck behind the restaurant (looks like a beach shack) and saw a barracuda and a bunch of little fish swimming by our table. It’s right by where the water taxi drops you off.
Cocoa Coffee House: this was our go-to spot for iced coffee. We went here 8 times over a 6 day trip. Sit on the deck and take in the breeze while having a coffee or smoothie. Cocoa Coffee House is also known for their smoothies and juices. We ended up trying the Beach aPEARal on our last day and were disappointed we didn’t try it sooner.
DeVine Sushi: You’d think sushi on an island known for great food would be a given, but we weren’t super impressed. We did takeout on our last night and enjoyed the sushi from our balcony at the Valentine Resort. If you’re craving sushi, it’s your only option on Harbour Island, but I’d suggest you skip this place.
Tropic Hut Pizza: absolute hole in the wall, but we heard great things! We split a veggie pizza, salad, and some wings with our new friends at the resort and it was the perfect beach lunch. We polished it off with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Great option for low-key days or if you’re traveling with kids.
Anne’s Homemade Key Lime Pie and Ice Cream: Anne has a pink house right across the street from the entrance to Romora Bay Resort and Marina. We heard so many great things about her key lime pie, but it was way too big for us so we didn’t get it. But the sour sop ice cream she made was very tasty. We ate it on the side of the road in our golf cart. Well worth the stop and getting to meet sweet Anne.
Rooster Tail Bar and Grill: last meal on the island, right at the Valentines resort. It’s a place with great views and only a 5 min walk from the water taxi. Food was so-so, but they had two for $12 mimosas which we couldn’t say no to as our farewell drink.
Where should you shop?
We didn’t do too much shopping, but definitely stop into the Blue Rooster and Sugar Mill. The Sugar Mill is owned by designer India Hicks, godchild of the Late Princess Diana. For souvenirs, stop by The Dilly Dally. One stop I wish we went to before running out of time was A and A Hidden Treasures, where you can purchase handmade straw bags. Next time!
Other tips
The sun here is STRONG. Even my tan Indian skin was unable to avoid sunburn. Make sure you bring the 50+ spf.
Try to book hotels and restaurants early if going in-season (Nov to March). Ocean View Club starts taking reservations 6 months ahead of time and was booked up within the first week of availability for when we went in early March. A few people at our hotel had a hard time getting reservations at the more popular lunch and dinner spots.
Bring cash: while most restaurants take credit cards, a lot of the shopping, beach bars, and taxis are cash only. Also good to have cash on hand for tips.
Covid testing: check the Bahamas website for the latest and greatest on entry requirements, but we had to upload a negative rapid antigen test taken no longer than 72 hours from landing in the Bahamas and obtain a travel visa prior to entry. The visa was $40 pp and was approved in a few hours after uploading the necessary info. If you aren’t vaccinated, you must submit results from a pcr test instead of rapid antigen. For entry back to the US, you must test negative via rapid test no longer than one day of returning. Most hotels do testing for a fee. We were emailed our results prior to our day of departure and presented at the ELH airport before getting on our flight home.
Rent a golf cart: it’s the preferred way of travel on the island. Being from Philly, we thought we could walk our way around the island. We probably could, but the roads are windy and there aren’t sidewalks so it’s safer and quicker to rent a golf cart. Our very basic two seater was $25 a day, but you can rent larger/nicer ones too. There are a lot of companies that rent them, but we arranged for one through the concierge at the Ocean View Club. Also, FYI-they drive on the other side of the road, but driver’s seat is still on left.
Wi-Fi on the island isn’t great. While a lot of places (including hotels) have complementary Wi-Fi, it’s spotty. We didn’t care because it gave us a chance to fully unplug in paradise. We FaceTimed with our kids in the morning at breakfast because our room didn’t get Wi-Fi.
Some restaurants and stores (including the liquor snd grocery store) are closed on Sundays so plan accordingly.
Things get expensive on Harbour Island. All meals are pricey. Groceries are expensive because everything is imported. Drinks? Expensive. You get it.
We were in Harbour Island the first week of March which is when Spring Break season just started. Not sure what kinds of kids (high school and college) have enough money to spend time in Harbour Island for Spring Break, but I’d avoid coming after the first week of March. They weren’t frequenting the same places we were, but they made it well known that they were there.
