To visit Eleuthera is to step back to a time when life was simpler and when beaches weren’t full of people.
Uncongested living
Eleuthera is quiet and uncongested. There are no shopping centers on Eleuthera, no crowds, and no traffic jams. End to end, the island is 110 miles long with a population of just 8000, an island of rolling green hills, sleepy villages, and 60 miles of deserted beaches. Guidebooks are fond of noting that Eleuthera has not a single traffic light, but that isn’t surprising when you consider that most of it has only one paved road. The Queen’s Highway, as it’s called, is a two-lane country road on which you can drive for miles without seeing another car. Needless to say, there is little need for a map, and on an island less than a mile wide for long stretches, you’re never far from the beach.
Community
Regular visitors often cite “the people” as the most charming feature of the island. Famed for their friendliness, Eleutherans welcome visitors, and will often stop to wave at you as you drive through their villages. Visitors also get swept up into the local vibe. More than one guest has been caught by surprise when, even before the end of a week-long visit, they are being remembered by name. You will feel welcome, and you won’t feel hustled the way you might at some other Caribbean destinations.
Safety
One reason visitors to the island can enjoy the local community so much is that Eleuthera is remarkably safe, so there is no need to “keep your distance.” Crime is almost non-existent. Local residents often don’t even bother to lock their doors (though visiting Americans have a hard time breaking their habits in this regard!). Young and old hitchhike everywhere. The sense of security you feel throughout the island is another striking contrast to many other Caribbean tourist destinations.
Dining and night life
Visitors to the island do not lack for dining and entertainment choices. Good restaurants are numerous enough that you will not manage to visit every place you’d like to in the course of a week-long visit. In fact, chances are that you will quickly find a favorite and return to it more than once. Options range from local cuisine to high end restaurant fare. The atmosphere in all of them is laid back and welcoming, and many of them offer live music in the evenings – occasionally with celebrity performers on tap.
For many, Eleuthera is the ideal balance between remote and developed – the “Goldilocks Island”of the Bahamas–
“Not too cold” … meaning, more developed than other “Out Islands” (otherwise known as the “Family Islands”), offering more reliable infrastructure and a better selection of activities, restaurants, stores, and flights.
… and “not too hot!” … because Eleuthera still feels pristine and authentic, without the pangs of overdevelopment and urbanization that can erode the island’s endearing charm.
A visit to Eleuthera is a strikingly different experience – and for many, a more rewarding one – than spending a week behind the sterile walls of an “all-inclusive” resort where the experience with local residents mostly entails getting hustled to buy something. The warmth of Eleuthera comes as much from the people who live there as it does from the sun above, and it’s worth experiencing.
