Grand Bahama Island is the fourth largest island in the over 2,000 islands and islets that make up the Bahamas. It is also the closest major Bahamas island to the United States, located just 55 miles east of Florida. Despite its large size, the island of Grand Bahama had a mere 500 inhabitants in the middle of the 20th century. It wasn't until a financier from Virginia, Wallace Groves, came to Grand Bahama and took advantage of the potential he saw in the island as a luxury vacation getaway.Together with the government of the Bahamas, Groves started developing the city of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. The development of Freeport was part of the Hawksbill Creek Agree which, among other things, gave the entire island of Grand Bahama free trade zone status. As was Groves's vision, Grand Bahama is the second most visited island in the country. There are two main cities that are visited by travelers and vacationers year-round, Freeport and its suburb Lucaya, and an older town, West End, which is currently seeing its own share of development projects.
Freeport
Freeport Bahamas, the capital of Grand Bahama Island, is the largest and most important city on the Bahamas's fourth largest island. Both the commercial ship harbor and the island's main airport are located in Freeport. Due to the city's free trade zone status mixed with its array of both inexpensive and upscale shopping, Freeport is highly popular with travelers and cruise ships. Freeport is the area of Grand Bahama which financier Wallace Groves first decided to develop. The city's harbor can accommodate the largest of boat vessels including cruise ships, and there is certainly no shortage of cruise ships coming to Grand Bahama via Freeport. Travelers not coming via cruise ship typically arrive through the Grand Bahama International Airport which deals with about 50,000 flights every year. Freeport is known for its many Bahamas tours and activities (including Bahamas snorkeling, scuba diving, Bahamas dolphin tours and everything in between), its great oceanfront properties, and its busy shopping, dining, and nightlife.
Lucaya
Lucaya is the main suburb of Freeport. It is known luxury, all-inclusive, five-star resorts and hotels and its beautiful beaches. Some of Lucaya's most well-known hotels and resorts include the Our Lucaya resort (including Grand Bahama's Radisson and the various accommodation properties known as Reef Village), the Pelican Bay Hotel, and the Lanai Suites. If you are coming to Freeport Bahamas for an extended stay (and not on one of the cruise ships), Lucaya is an excellent place to stay that allows you to reach the busier Freeport easily as well as providing you with the best in quality and luxury accommodations. Many of the popular Bahamas tours found on Grand Bahama leave from the Bell Channel Harbor, located in Lucaya.
West End
While being known as the least developed larger city on Grand Bahama, West End is actually the oldest town on the island as well as the country's most western settlement. It became known in the years of the US Prohibition due to its rum-running port. Somewhere in the 50's, around the same time Freeport was being built, West End stopped attracting visitors and many main marina faced neglect and eventually disrepair. With Freeport's luxury oceanfront properties and its quick rise to prominence, West End saw itself contributing less and less to the economy of Grand Bahama. At the start of the 21st century, renovations on the marina in West End began. With a similar goal in mind as Wallace Groves had with Freeport, West End began seeing high levels of construction and redevelopment. Currently, a group called Ginn Resorts is in the middle of massive development and restorations on West End including the construction of luxury condos, restaurants, and sites for private homes. Much of it is complete and visitors have begun to enjoy the less crowded beaches on West End. There is still plenty to be done in this city and it is sure to be a tourist hot spot within the next few years.
