Spanish Wells

St George's Cay, universally called Spanish Wells, is about three kilometres long and holds around fifteen hundred people, most of them descended from the Eleutheran Adventurers and later loyalist settlers, and it is by some distance the most prosperous small community in the Bahamas. The reason is crawfish: the island's fleet takes a very large share of the national spiny lobster catch, and the money shows in the neat pastel houses, the tidy streets and the golf carts everyone drives instead of cars. It is quiet, orderly and rather unlike anywhere else in the country. A short ferry crosses to Russell Island alongside.

Highlights

• The pastel houses - neat clapboard streets across the small island.
• The crawfish fleet - the boats the island's prosperity is built on.
• Golf cart transport - the island's near-universal way of getting about.
• The beaches - quiet stretches on the north side of the cay.

When to go

December to May is the dry season. The crawfish season runs from August to March, when the fleet is working and the harbour is busiest. Ferries from Gene's Bay run through the day. It is a quiet island and Sundays are very quiet indeed.

Things to know

There is very little for a visitor to do beyond walking, cycling and swimming, which is the point. Accommodation is limited to a handful of guesthouses and rentals. The island is conservative and church attendance is high; Sunday closures are near total. It has historically been an insular community and visitors are received politely rather than warmly.

Nearby

Harbour Island is a short boat ride; North Eleuthera airport is fifteen minutes from the ferry.

Key facts