The Bahamas and Key West · Freeport, Bahamas
Freeport, kept on a card.
Freeport is on Grand Bahama, the Bahamas' northernmost big island, and the day here is a marketplace, a beach and a garden. The most photogenic stretch is a car ride from the harbor.
Where the photos are in Freeport
Port Lucaya Marketplace
The largest open-air shopping, dining and entertainment area in the Bahamas, with over forty specialty stores and boutiques, eleven restaurants and eleven bars around a waterfront square and marina.
Taino Beach
A family favorite next to Lucayan Beach, a wide beach of white sand opening onto usually calm water, about ten miles and a 20 minute drive from the port.
Gold Rock Beach
In Lucayan National Park, protected by the Bahamas National Trust, about 25 miles from Freeport. The shoreline runs out yards into the sea at low tide, and it has been a filming location for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Garden of the Groves
A 12 acre botanical garden and family attraction about ten minutes from Freeport, with lush gardens, a meditation labyrinth, wildlife and a cafe. The light is best and the crowds thinnest in the early morning.
Celebration Key
On the south shore of Grand Bahama, a private destination for one cruise line's guests. Ships that call there do not dock at Freeport.
How the light works
The beaches are broad and white, and the sun on the sand is hard, so shoot people in the shade of a beach umbrella or with the sun behind them. Gold Rock Beach at low tide is a huge flat mirror of sky and sand, and it is the picture you want. The garden's paths are dappled, so use open clearings for portraits.
Before you go ashore
Freeport's cruise harbor is not close to the beaches and gardens: Taino Beach is a 20 minute drive, Gold Rock Beach is about 25 miles, and the Garden of the Groves is about ten minutes from Freeport. Check your ship's daily plan to see where it is docked, and take a taxi or a tour rather than trying to walk.
Details checked September 2026. Piers, fees and schedules change, so confirm with your ship's daily plan.
Questions people ask
- How far is Taino Beach from the Freeport port?
- About ten miles, roughly a 20 minute drive.
- What is special about Gold Rock Beach?
- It is in Lucayan National Park, about 25 miles from Freeport, and at low tide the shoreline runs far out into the sea. It has been a filming location for the Pirates of the Caribbean.
- How big is Port Lucaya Marketplace?
- It is the largest open-air shopping, dining and entertainment area in the Bahamas, with over forty stores and boutiques, eleven restaurants and eleven bars.
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