Dear Reader
A WEEK is a long time in travel.
Rules have been changing with little warning across much of Europe — and sometimes with little logic.
Initial studies show that booster jabs strengthen the immune system, giving significant protection against the Omicron variant. And, crucially, none of the 70 known Omicron cases in Europe have been admitted to hospital, yet the shutters have begun to come down on the Continent, as we explore on Pages 60 and 61.
Here, there have been unhelpful mixed messages, but Health Secretary Sajid Javid seems to be holding his nerve, and you wonder if his predecessor, Matt Hancock, would be taking the same position if still in the job. The PM says Christmas parties (ours is on Tuesday) can still go ahead — and rightly so. If you feel uncomfortable about a festive knees-up, stay home.
And it’s good to hear Transport Secretary Grant Shapps telling families to ‘go book’ holidays overseas as long as their tickets are flexible and their insurance is sorted. That will cheer up BA’s CEO Sean Doyle, who told me this week one thing he wants for Christmas is for the Government, when the time comes, to turn the travel switch back on as fast as it was turned off. .
We both agreed that the prospects for long haul look promising this winter. Certainly BA’s bookings for traditional hotspots in the Caribbean such as Barbados, Antigua (St John’s, pictured) and St Lucia are looking strong.
I was sorry to receive an email this week from a reader in his 70s saying that he and his wife will never travel abroad again because of the ‘form-filling bureaucracy’. Hopefully, they’ll be tempted back into the departures lounge before long.
We need to accentuate the positive. Britain is heading for the fastest economic growth in the G7, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Travel will be a big contributor to that — as long as we keep panic grounded.
established, six-days-a-week British Airways service from the same airport. Many visitors get no further than this well-run entry point, with its cruise-ship terminal, casinos, golf courses and gargantuan hotels that include the 3,805-room Atlantis Paradise Island resort.
To find the soul of the Bahamas, you need to push on by plane or boat to what is collectively known as the Out Islands. Here’s our pick of the best.
BIMINI BLISS
THE twin isles of North and South Bimini are just 50 miles off the east coast of Florida, so close that in summer, some hardy trippers shoot over by jet-ski.
The Bimini Big Game Club Resort, with a busy marina and blue and yellow cottages set in leafy grounds, is the best place to recall the mid-1930s era when Ernest Hemingway drank, fished and wrote novels here.
Don’t try to swim. The water’s full of sharks. Head to the superb sands at Radio Beach where you can snorkel over Bimini Road, an enigmatic run of undersea stones that some think is a highway to the lost city of Atlantis.
DON’T MISS: Dolphin House, an exuberant three-storey art house that island historian Ashley Saunders has been building from beach finds and upcycled materials since 1993 (dolphinhousebimini.com). BOOK IT: Doubles from £190, room only (biggameclubbimini.com). Western Air flies from Nassau, from £171 return (westernair bahamas.com).
PINK SAND PARADISE
HARBOUR Island is home to one of the most impressive beaches in the world, a broad, three-mile-long swathe of pink sand soft as flour that is blissfully unspoilt. Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian were recently seen relaxing on this hassle-free isle where golf carts rule and restaurants buzz with wealthy families tucking into bouillabaisse and rum cake with papaya.
Valentines Resort is at the heart of the party with clapperboard houses in sugar almond hues, plus there’s a pool, marina and loungers on Pink Sands Beach. DON’T MISS: Harbour Island is the place for nightlife. Seek out Daddy D’s club and Gusty’s Bar with its sand-covered floor (daddyd.com).
BOOK IT: Seven nights departing on January 15, 2022, from £2,099pp, room only, including flights to North Eleuthera via Nassau (tropicalsky.co.uk).
KAMALAME CAY DAYS
THE Bahamas is full of luxurious hideaway resorts ideal for romantic downtime. One of the easiest to reach is privately-owned Kamalame Cay, off the east coast of Andros and just a 30-minute speedboat ride from Nassau.
White, shingle-roofed cottages set on stilts are strung along a three-mile beach and come with an ocean-view deck, paddleboard and kayak. The world’s third largest barrier reef is on your doorstep and the farm-fresh cuisine runs from lobster rolls to a spicy Bahamian chicken curry made with coconut milk. DON’T MISS: The resort’s dreamy spa is built over the water, offering blissful massages to a backdrop of lapping waves and a soft sea breeze (kamalame.com). BOOK NOW: Five nights departing on February 7, 2022, from £2,350 pp B&B, including flights and speedboat transfers (abercrombie kent.co.uk).
EXPLORE ELEUTHERA
THIS is a 110-mile slither of land linked by a long and often empty road known as the Queen’s Highway. Settled in 1648 by English Puritans who named it after the
Greek word for ‘freedom’, it has an Outback feel with sleepy settlements, pineapple farms and a scenic brilliance born of it being caught between the deep blue Atlantic and milky green Exuma Sound.
In the north, The Other Side is an eco-minded beach resort with a driftwood chic style that offers organic meals, an overwater pool and a choice of glamping tents, designer shacks and wooden huts for children to sleep in. DON’T MISS: Blue holes are a Bahamas speciality. Framed with limestone rocks, these bewitching circles of fresh or saltwater are so inviting to jump into. Seek out Sapphire Blue Hole near Preacher’s Cave where the drop is around 35 ft
followed by a scramble back up by rope ladder. BOOK IT: Seven nights departing on January 12, 2022, from £3,725pp, all inclusive, including flights to North Eleuthera via Nassau and speedboat transfers (bon-voyage. co.uk).
FLAMINGO HEAVEN
JUST 50 miles north of Cuba, Great Inagua is the southernmost island and a magnet for birdwatchers, with 140 species of native and migratory birds. The star attraction is a flamboyance of 70,000 Caribbean flamingoes in its national park. They live here yearround, with March the best time to admire their courtship dances.
Flights are limited so book early. The simple accommodation includes the colourfully painted Enrica’s Inn in the capital, Matthew Town. DON’T MISS: The photogenic ‘Salt Alps’, mountains of salt from a factory that has been harvesting the mineral since the 1930s. BOOK IT: Seven nights departing on March 19, 2022, costs from £1,469 pp, room only, including flights via Nassau and four nights on Great Inagua with two days’ guided birdwatching
(windowsonthewild.com).
DISCOVER NASSAU
THE Bahamian capital is worth a night or two before joining a cruise or moving on to another island, particularly if you check into the historic Graycliff Hotel next to Government House.
Treats include a delightful, handpainted swimming pool set in tropical gardens and superb food in a smart dining room with a bowtied maitre d and a Cuban lady rolling cigars.
A short stroll away lies the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, housed in an elegant 1860s mansion, while Fort Fincastle, built in 1793 and intriguingly shaped liked a paddlewheel steamer, has fine views over the port. DON’T MISS: A tour of Graycliff’s wine cellar, which is home to 275,000 bottles — the third largest collection in the world. Pride of place is given to a German dessert wine from 1727, the oldest drinkable bottle in the world, which is
on the wine list for £150,000. BOOK IT: Double rooms from £413 B&B (graycliff.com).
TRAVEL FACTS
VIRGIN flies from Heathrow to Nassau from £609 return (virginatlantic.com). Fully vaccinated travellers need to submit a negative antigen test prior to arrival and buy a £38 health visa which includes Covid-19 insurance (travel.gov.bs). For more information see bahamas.com.