Small Hope Bay Lodge Reviews

For someone looking for a holiday out of the ordinary, Small Hope Bay Lodge might well suit them. Basically, the Lodge offers activity holidays, mainly aimed at scuba divers from complete beginners to advanced, but for non-divers as well.

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
Neither my husband nor I dive but he is a keen angler and had always wanted to fish for bonefish in the Bahamas. He found the Small Hope website and was atracted by its ecological ethos. He then found a package deal in a Discover the World brochure in a travel agents and booked the holiday by phone and email direct with Discover the World. The arrangments (flights between Heathrow and Nassau, internal flights on a 20-seater plane between Nassau and Andros Island, one overnight stay in Nassau, and transfers etc)were all efficiently arranged with no problems at all. I thought the package was rather expensive, so anyone thinking of going to Small Hope might like to arrange their own travel - contact Small Hope via their website for advice about the Bahamas end.

ACCOMMODATION
As to Small Hope Bay Lodge itself, it is quite different from any other hotel/resort I have been to. Look up its website, that is quite an accurate description. At first it is a real culture shock, it was like going to an American summer camp, but after a couple of days we relaxed and entered into the spirit of the place. It is very informal, many guests and staff wander around in bare feet most of the time, even in the main lodge itself, which consists mainly of one large room which acts as a combined living/dining/meeting room. Guests are encouraged to mingle and move around from table to table for different meals (all buffet style)and we enjoyed lots of extended mealtimes chatting with a wide assortment of people. The food is good, generally well-cooked and plentiful. The accommodation is all-inclusive and there was plenty of alchohol freely available, but the type of people who are attracted to Small Hope are not really the type to get drunk. Some of the guests were return visitors and a couple of the staff were former visitors who had liked the placed so much they applied to work there.

ACTIVIITES
The emphasis is very much on scuba diving, but snorkelling, fishing and bird-watching are also very popular. One morning we went kayaking on a large inland creek close by. Fishing trips with guides can by purchased. Evenings are very much quieter than at an ordinary resort. The divers must wear themselves out as everyone seems generally to go to their rooms at around 9 or 9.30. On a couple of evenings a diving video was shown and also a slide show detailing fish and coral that can be seen in the area. A visit was arranged to the local batik clothing factory.

ANDROS
This is apparently the largest island in the Bahamas but is also one of the least populated. It is very rural with few people and buildings. The vegetation is mainly pine trees and mangroves, and unless you are particulary interested in botany or bird-watching, quite boring with very little variety. The island is completely flat. There are sandy beaches with some rock pools. For an island that states it is committed to preserving the environment and has such a small population there was a surprising amount of rubbish and litter around. The local people are very friendly and when they see you will frequently call out a greeting, wave or honk their car horn.

SUMMARY
Small Hope Bay Lodge offers a specialised holiday. If you would like an activity holiday with good food and sunshine and good company with like-minded people, then you will probably like it. If you like shopping, pubs and/or clubbing, then choose somewhere else.