Lucaya: The Best Free Public Beach for your Day in Freeport
On our first cruise to Freeport, aboard the Carnival Sensation, we were planning a beach day. If we ever made it!
A Rescue at Sea
A lot of things broke down that morning and Prof. Cruise’s T.A. “H” wondered if he’d ever get to eat sand again. We arrived in Freeport two hours late because we stopped to render aid to a small boat in distress. Well done Captain, but step on the gas – we’ve had our shovel and bucket packed for 3 months!
And on Land!
As you know by now, Prof. Cruise is cheap, so she was particularly excited for this free-port and was confused as to why they were pushing expensive excursions. Eric, the unfortunate man who wedded Prof. Cruise, who is also a lawyer, gave up on trying to explain to her why she couldn’t sue for false advertising and suggested she let it go so we could head to the public beach at Lucaya which he assured her was, in fact, free.
We got in line for a shared taxi, and watched as the newer model vans passed us by. Instead, we got directed to a van born before Prof. Cruise (and she’s oooooooooold). There was a strong smell of gasoline in the air, but a petroleum storage facility was nearby, so we just chose to believe it was coming from there.
Denial is a powerful thing, people – Prof. Cruise’s gray hairs are “highlights” and this van – that was probably sold to the taxi company after being donated to “Cars for Kids” for the tax write-off after it died and sat on someone’s front lawn for 15 years – will get us to Lucaya beach. After a spirited, but ultimately futile “I think I can, I think I can,” our van bit the dust right in front of the petroleum tanks. Go figure.
Prof. Cruise gave her (the van) a quick pep talk about the perks of retirement, “you can eat dinner at 3:45pm and only get charged the lunch price and you’ll have more time to travel,” and we were ushered into a newer model. I guess you could call her the trophy wife of vans.
The Free Beach at Freeport
Our van dropped off at the Casino where Eric was never to be seen again. Just kidding, he only went in there to “use the restroom.” Eric paid our $10 each (round trip – lap kids are free) out of sight of Prof. Cruise to avoid, “what part of free don’t these people understand,” then we walked across the parking lot and down a little concrete path to the beach.
We plopped our towels next to some fancy lounge chairs and before H could even refuse to put on his sun hat, we were asked to leave. It was a private section of the beach, not for the likes of Prof. Cruise! So we moved on and found a spot among the rest of the underlings…
…where the sand was just as soft, the sun just as warm, the view just as beautiful, and the sounds of a very happy H, just as sweet.
Lucaya Beach in Freeport, Take Two
We didn’t have any travel delays on our second trip to Freeport, this time aboard the Carnival Pride. But you should know that Freeport is one of those ports where, when the captain pulls in, you might be thinking, “did we take a wrong turn?” And you might ask yourself if anyone signed up for excursions to the shipping yard and refinery. “No wonder this place is free.”
Not H, though, he was EXCITED to wake up to a pristine view of “lifters” loading up a giant container ship. And Prof. Cruise was happy to be in a place where real people live and work, with a little taste (and smell) of “gritty” to help one appreciate the natural beauty of the place. I mean, H wouldn’t appreciate orange sherbet so much on vacation if Prof. Cruise didn’t make him eat tofu and flax seeds at home.
Shared Vans for Hire in Freeport
Anyway, our plan was to take a van to Lucuya beach again. Here’s a photo of where the vans pick you up. There was list of destinations and prices posted – Lucaya was $10 round trip per person again. Lap kids were free.
Our van driver, J.H. (the John Heald of the Bahamas, perhaps?), wasn’t an overly friendly, oddly sized talking animal dressed in clothes akin to Mickey, but he was definitely a character. We lucked out because it was Bahamas Independence Day, so we got a history lesson on the way to the beach. And the same one on the return trip, as we had the same driver.
The Bahamas gained independence after 325 years of British rule on July 10, 1973 with NO BLOOD SHED. J.H. was very proud of that and mentioned it several hundred times. He also discussed many other interesting things about the island and answered questions. Prof. Cruise really enjoyed it the first time around and, because her memory is so bad, the second time around too.
CRUISE PASSENGER GOES MISSING IN FREEPORT! Last Seen: Casino Near Lucaya
After getting dropped off at the Casino (now closed) where Eric was never to be seen again – that joke never gets old – we made our way through the parking lot, behind the police station, down a narrow concrete path, to, seemingly nowhere, and across the sand to one of the most beautiful beaches H had ever seen (he’d only seen, like, 4, but still, it was really pretty).
Like Grand Turk, the last time we visited Lucaya in Freeport we turned LEFT. This time we turned RIGHT. With a similar result.
If you turn LEFT at Lucaya you will pass a private resort beach (you can get day passes to this place, so that’s an option if you’re not holding Freeport to that “free” part) and, after a bit of a long walk, will land at a very small, somewhat crowded, public section. If you turn RIGHT, on the other hand, you will walk mere steps to a much more secluded public section of beach (although there are some water activities/private excursions that launch from this area…another option) with perfect sand, water, views, and free lounge chairs, AKA giant rocks.
Some people stay on the ship at more popular ports to have the place to themselves. At Freeport, get off the ship – because many people choose to stay on – and have the right side of Lucaya beach almost totally to yourself. Freeport may not actually be free, but it can still be pretty great!
Class Dismissed.
See my other Bahamas port posts here.
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Just a heads up, there are no Private beaches in the Bahamas. you can sit anywhere you like on any beach. now, you can’t use the chairs and the umbrellas, but you can use the sand.
I have vacationed in the bahamas since 2004 so i’ve been to most beaches on the island.
Thanks for the info. That’s great to know! I wonder why they booted us out? Hopefully others will now know to say, “sorry if you think I’m trashing up the place, but it’s a public beach and I’ll sit here if I like.”