Bahamas Snorkeling by Sea Scooter, from Freeport

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Grand Bahama, not Nassau — check this first

This day starts at Port Lucaya Marketplace in Freeport, on Grand Bahama. That is a different island from Nassau, roughly 130 kilometres away, and you cannot reach it from a New Providence hotel in a morning.

If Freeport is where you are staying, or where your ship calls, this is the trip to look at first. If you are in Nassau, the departures from there are the ones that apply — the Grand Bahama page sets the two islands side by side.

What a sea scooter actually does

A sea scooter is a handheld electric propeller about the size of a football. You hold it in front of you, squeeze the trigger, and it pulls you through the water at roughly walking pace while you float on the surface and breathe through the tube.

It sounds like a novelty and it is not. Removing the effort of finning changes who can snorkel comfortably: anyone who tires quickly, anyone who has never done it before, and anyone who would otherwise spend the stop worrying about getting back to the boat. You cover more reef and you finish less tired.

Six hours, and what fills them

1. Pick-up and the run to the water. Collection from Freeport hotels is offered; otherwise you meet at Port Lucaya Marketplace.
2. Briefing and gear. Mask, fins, tube, vest and a scooter each, with a walk-through for anyone new to it.
3. The reef. Grand Bahama's south-shore reef line carries far less traffic than the Nassau stops, so the coral is in better condition.
4. Lunch. Included in the fare rather than bought at a beach bar.
5. Island commentary between stops. The part travellers write about afterwards, as much as the water.

What the fare already covers

Who this suits — and who should book something else

This suits you if you are on Grand Bahama, you want a full day rather than a half, and you or someone with you is nervous in the water. The cap of ten and the scooters together make it the gentlest introduction to snorkeling listed.

Book something else if you are staying in Nassau — this is not reachable in a day, and the three-islands speedboat day is the closest equivalent there. If you specifically want pigs, no Grand Bahama departure offers them. The listing also states that this trip is not wheelchair accessible and asks for a moderate level of fitness.

Meeting at Port Lucaya

Port Lucaya Marketplace sits on Sea Horse Road at Lucaya, about ten minutes by taxi from the Freeport hotel strip and twenty from Grand Bahama International. It is a walkable cluster of shops and bars around a marina, and the boats load behind it.

Hotel pick-up is offered on this departure — take it if it is available for your hotel, because taxis on Grand Bahama are the only realistic way around and the island is spread out.

Know before you go

• Confirmation can take up to two days. Do not book this for tomorrow morning.
• This is Grand Bahama. Check which island your hotel is on before you pay.
• Moderate fitness is asked for. The scooters remove the effort of finning, not of getting in and out of a boat.
• Not wheelchair accessible. The private Freeport turtle trip states step-free access and an accessible vehicle — ask that operator directly.
• Service animals are allowed. Tell the operator when you book.
• Bring reef-safe sunscreen and a towel. Six hours is a long time in Bahamian sun, and neither is provided.

What travellers say about this trip

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