The Bahamas are made up of 700 islands, with only about 30 of them being inhabited. Freeport is in Grand Bahama. The cruise port of Freeport is an industrial port. It's not exactly the prettiest port with container ships, cranes, dry docks, etc. There is no beach at the port. There's a Senior Frogs and some shops.
Our first time in Freeport, we didn't know what to expect and didn't book any excursions. What a mistake! We walked around for maybe 10 minutes and got right back on the ship. On our second time to Freeport, we decided to book the Family Beach Break excursion through Carnival. Important Note: the Family Beach Getaway, All-Inclusive Beach Getaway, Beach Getaway and Beach Getaway with Open Bar excursions ALL go to the same spot. They do get staggered a bit but at some point this beach becomes extremely crowded. If you prefer less people, you'll want to get the earliest excursion departure time. With very limited options in Freeport, if a beach day is what you're looking for, this is the perfect excursion. If you do the all-inclusive option, you'll get a buffet lunch. If you do the family or open-bar options, then you can order a la carte from the restaurant. Being that we booked the family excursion, we got to order food from the menu.
This excursion is run by Bahamas Adventures and is located just west of Taino Beach. It takes about 30 minutes to arrive from the cruise port. There's not very much to see in Freeport, something you'll quickly realize on the way to the beach. Once you arrive, you will find local vendors and a gift shop. You can either walk thru the gift shop or walk around the right side of the building to the beach. Immediately to your right, you'll find the playground for kids with the free water sport equipment behind.
To the left is the beach front restaurant with plenty of seating on the deck and in the sand.
There are two bar locations. One in the middle of the covered deck restaurant seating area, and another right on the beach.
It's a decent beach with free beach chairs and umbrellas to rent.
The sand is white. The sand in the water is smooth; water shoes aren't necessary. The waves are small. Perfect for small children! There's even a trampoline out in the water that you can swim out to!
Have I seen better beaches? Absolutely! But this is definitely a decent, no-frills beach to visit if you don't expect much and just wish to relax on a beach for a few hours. Typically Freeport is a very short port of call; 7am to 1:30pm is often the schedule. You have to be back onboard your cruise ship at the latest 30 minutes prior (so in this case, 1pm). The earliest excursion normally leaves around 8am so you only get 4-5 hours total on the island.
