World Country Guide

Social Profile

Food & Drink
There is a wide choice of restaurants and bars. Specialities include conch, grouper cutlets, baked crab and red snapper fillets in anchovy sauce. Fresh fruit is available from the Out Islands, including sweet pineapple, mango, breadfruit and papaya. Table service is usual in restaurants.
Local drinks are based on rum. The local liqueur is Nassau Royal, served alone or in coffee.

Nightlife
Hotels have bars and nightclubs. Beach parties and discos are organised regularly. Live entertainment includes calypso, goombay music and limbo dancing. Nightclubs are found in Nassau and Freeport. There are four casinos: one on Cable Beach, another on Paradise Island; on Grand Bahama, there is a casino in Freeport and one in Lucaya. All casinos feature restaurants and live entertainment.

Shopping
Special purchases include china, cutlery, leather, fabrics, spirits from Britain, Scandinavian glass and silver, Swiss watches, German and Japanese cameras and French perfume. Local products include all types of straw artefacts, seashell jewellery and woodcarvings. Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700.

Special Events
For a full list of special events, contact the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (see Contact Addresses section). The following is a selection of special events occurring in The Bahamas in 2005:
Dec 26 2004-Jan 1 2005 New Year’s Junkanoo Festival, Nassau. Jan 14-17 2nd Annual Jimmy Garvin Golf Event. Jan 30 8th Annual Cacique Awards. Mar 25-28 James Cistern Heritage Festival. Apr Annual National Youth Choir Concert, Nassau. Jul 31-Aug 5 Bimini Native Fishing Tournament. Aug Annual Bernie Butler Basra Swim Race, Grand Bahama Island. Aug 1-4 Emancipation Day Celebrations, Nassau. Nov Annual One Bahamas Music & Heritage Festival, Nassau/Paradise Island. Dec Annual Bahamas Wahoo Championships; Christmas Sailing Regatta, Nassau/Paradise Island; Festival Noelle, Grand Bahama Island. Dec 26 Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade, Nassau/Grand Bahama Island.

Social Conventions
The pace of life is generally leisurely. Informal wear is acceptable in the resorts with some degree of dressing up in the evenings, particularly for dining, dancing and casinos in Nassau or Freeport. Further from the main towns, dress is more casual, although there is still a tendency to dress up at night. Small outposts like Green Turtle Cay, for example, will not require more than a shirt and long trousers. It is not acceptable to wear beachwear in towns. Tipping: 15 per cent is usual for most services including taxis. Some hotels and restaurants, however, include service charge on the bill.