Archive for category: Travel

Come Spend Thanksgiving with Gigglin Marlin at Small Hope Bay!

What is Small Hope Bay?  Watch this…..

Itinerary:

Arrive Andros Town Saturday (afternoon / evening), November 20, 2021  –   Depart Andros Town Saturday (mid-morning / early afternoon), November 27, 2021.

There are many options for flying into Nassau. Here is what our leaders are doing:

11/20/21 Houston, TX, US (IAH) to Nassau, BS (NAS)  UA 6206 9:42 am Arriving 1:50 pm Nonstop

11/27/21 Nassau, BS (NAS) to Houston, TX, US (IAH) UA 6208  2:39 pm Nonstop

Getting from Nassau to Andros is also easy.  We recommend Titan Air.  Titan has scheduled flights between Nassau and Andros Town.  However, they also offer charter flights between the two locations that are more convenient (and since they include ground transfers in Nassau a good value!).  We would recommend coordinating flights into Nassau so that a charter can be arranged to and from Andros Town. We will help with this!

Diving and the Resort:

Here is a longer video about Small Hope Bay. As the two videos show diving at Small Hope is diverse and amazing.  There are turtles, sharks, pristine and huge coral formations, deep (to 185 feet) dives, shallow dives, cavern dives, an enormous blue hole, and the most ridiculous array of different shades of blue water.  The variety all in one spot is unreal.  Checkout Doug’s Instagram Account for some pictures from their December 2020 trip!

Small Hope Bay is a family owned, environmentally friendly resort with private bungalows, long private beach, solar heated hot tub, and scads of activities for divers and non-divers alike.  Take a look at this video to get a feel of the facility.

Oh yeah, food and beverages are included!!  US, Bahamian, and Vegetarian options are available at every meal.  Gluten and food allergy issues are also managed.  For Thanksgiving the resort holds a LARGE dinner feast with a couple main courses (usually Turkey and a whole roast pig), numerous sides and too many deserts to choose from.  Another video!

These prices include: beachfront cottage accommodations, all meals, beverages, bar drinks, nightly hors d’oeuvres, Discover Scuba or introductory snorkeling lesson, kayaks, bikes, nature trails, windsurfers, Escape sailboat, hot tub on the beach, FREE WIFI in the lounge during the day, FREE VOI calls to US & Canada.

Also included in this trip:  Sunset Cruise, 2 free night dives, one free shark dive and the discounted Nitrox fill fee (listed below.)

Doug will also be available to teach specialty courses on site.  On past trips people have found on site specialty course pricing so attractive that many have completed enough specialties to achieve Master Diver status.  Interested individuals should inquire directly to Doug; courses will be charged through and processed by Gigglin’ Marlin.

 Pricing for Extras with Payment to Small Hope Bay Lodge Upon Checkout:

1. Taxi fare from the airport to Small Hope is $20 for the first 2 people and $4 for each additional person one way per taxi.  It is preferable that Taxi fare be paid directly to the taxi driver but the resort will happily add this expense onto your bill due at checkout.
2. There will be a 6% general staff gratuity- this is calculated from the accommodation cost.
3. Dive Staff Gratuity –  At your discretion but please remember 10-15% is customary.
4. Nitrox is $15 per fill – Gigglin’ Marlin discounted to $10 per fill!
5. Equipment rental is $35 per day for BCD/REG /Wetsuit or Rent from Gigglin’ Marlin for $55 per piece for a week of diving.
6. Tour Options:
   1. Guided Bone Fishing Tour – Half Day (8-12noon) $385 Whole day (8-4pm) $550. Additional surcharge may apply based on fishing location. Rates include snacks/lunch, equipment
   2. Snorkeler on the dive boat -$40 pp per boat trip.  Snorkeling on the property is free!
   3. Guided Nature Tour- Half day minimum of 2 persons – $70 per person per trip / Whole day minimum of 2 persons -$100 per person per trip.
   4. Guided Birding Tour – We have experienced there are three types of birders; recreational birder – which we can accommodate well at the nature tours pricing. There are birders that are only interested in photography which can be accommodated with the nature tour pricing. However, a half-day is 4hrs and a full-day is 8hrs. The third type of birder is a very serious birder, which we highly recommend outsourcing a bird guide from the community, pricing is negotiated on an individual basis.
   5. Batik Tour – The batik tour is a walk through the factory with a history on the process and how it all got started. No charge for that. However, the batik lesson engages you in the wax portion of batiking along with a tour. The fee is $25 per person per piece. This can be confirmed during your stay based on availability at the factory.
7.  Childcare – Small Hope offers complimentary babysitting for children over the age of 2 years during the evening hours (between 6 – 9 PM) and babysitting is available during the day time for parents who wish to enjoy some time to themselves or wish to participate in daytime activities.   The fee is $7 per hour for those children 2 years and older.  If you have a child less than 2 years old there is an additional $7 per hour for the extra babysitter Small Hope will bring in to give your little one the extra attention they require.

Babysitting at night is mandatory for children 7 years and under.  Babysitting hours are very flexible, let us know in advance so that we can arrange accordingly.   Small Hope Bay policy for children 7 years old and under is eating dinner in the “games room.” It has been a firm policy for 60 years and it works!  There is a room adjoining the lounge where Good Hope provides a complimentary babysitter/activity person to be with children from 6:00 pm to 8:45 pm. For children 2-year-old or younger who may need more attention, we provide one-on-one babysitting. There is a nightly charge of $25 for children 0-2 years.