Traveling to the Guana Cay by boat from Florida - Things to do in Guana Cay, Abaco
Abaco, Bahamas is, in my opinion, one the best vacations you can do on your own boat from Florida. I know some of you with larger boats and further range will argue that there are better destinations than Abaco and I am sure you are right. But for those of us with center consoles and a little bit more of a range limit I don't think there is a better destination for fishing, diving, spearfishing and relaxing than the islands in Abaco. I have had stays on Grand Cay, Spanish Cay, Guana Cay and spent a little time at Hope Town.
Guana Cay
Guana Cay is by far my favorite island in Abaco among the ones I have stayed on. Guana Cay boasts the most beautiful beaches I have been on. 7 miles of soft white sand with perfectly clear waters. And best of all it is as quiet as can be! Only about 150 people live on Guana Cay. No cars, streetlights, noise. Guana Cay is a great place to have a relaxing island vacation while still having a few amenities.
Guana has a couple restaurants and bars. Nippers is by far the most popoular. Be careful though don't drink too many of their drinks or you might wake up in an unknown location. Every Sunday Nipper's puts out a feast of food centered around a pig roast. It's a fun party and attracts people from all of the nearby islands. Grabbers on Fisher's Bay is also a great little place to grab some food and a couple drinks. Grabbers has a nice pool to hang out in and also boasts one of the best spots on Guana Cay to watch the sunset. Guana has a grocery story, a full service marina (Orchid Bay), a dive shop and other amenties you don't get on some of the more remote islands.
Of course if you are going to Abaco by boat you are hopefully doing a lot of fishing and diving. The diving and spearfishing off of Guana are amazing. The reefs just offshore of the beach are simply amazing. The Great Abaco Barrier Reef consists of large, branching formations of Elkhorn Coral with medium to large Brain and Star Coral. The formations are riddled with fissures providing meandering trails and caves as well as isolated coral Gardens. The barrier reef has many sites with 20-30ft walls dropping from the surface straight to the sand. Grouper, snapper, sharks, reef fish, turtles - you name it and you'll see it on the reefs near Guana. The spearfishing is also very good. We have done our best on Hogfish and Grouper at the reefs on the north end of the island. Make sure to check out the Fowl Cay marine preserve just to the south of the island. Fowl Cay is a protected area offering some grat snorkeling and marine life.
Fishing off of Guana is just as good as anywhere in abaco. The depth drops from 150 to about 600 ft not more than a half mile from shore. Trolling the drop in the winter and spring should give you some great catches of Wahoo and dolphin. Put in some time and you'll be sure to get a chance at a Marlin or Sailfish as well. Trolling out to the canyons which start about 13 miles out will give you your best chances at getting tuna, marlin and sailfish though. Look for the birds and your sure to get a shot at some nice tuna. We have also had good luck and trolling near the flocking birds around sunset just off of the island in 200-600ft for nice football sized Yellowfin Tuna. We have had our best luck at catching grouper by fishing metal jigs in 130-200ft of water. Shimano Butterfly jigs bouncing off the bottom should give you a shot at some decent fish. Be careful not to snap your jigs in the coral heads though! Yellowmouth, Nassau, Red, Tiger and Black grouper should chow down on the jigs.
Guana Cay Beach just off of Nippers. One of the most beautiful beaches I have been to.
For a great place to stay on Guana Cay check out BlueCoralLanding.com. This house is a great place to stay. It isn't the fanciest on the island but has a great dock on Fisher's Bay and comes at a fair price.
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A nice catch of Dolphin, ...
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Katie's biggest Wahoo to ...
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A nice sialfish caught at...
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Sunset in the Tortugas ov...
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