Reviews: Great Harbour Cay Marina

Reviewed by: Amy St. Germain on May 8, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 49'
Draft: 0.0'

Rating: 4

Dock hands were helpful. Showers and bathrooms clean and updated. Efficiently run. Fun music get together Friday and Saturday with other boaters. The marina has bbq night and pizza night. Restaurant on premises had the best Grouper. Locals are very friendly. Bardot beach is not easy to get to Have to hike through woods. Beautiful beach Atlantic side. Mile or so walk. Marina does have bicycles free to use and car or golf cart rental. Airport is close.

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Reviewed by: Lisa Vidor on Jun 18, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Loved it. Fishermen come in with fresh catch most day. Easy to bike around island. Gorgeous beach nearby. Super staff!

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Reviewed by: Richard Slocum on Apr 29, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 44'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 5

We took our 44 ft powerboat from Ft. Lauderdale to Great Harbour Cay. We'd planned to stay 2 nights, but due to rough seas stayed 6. This is a really neat island - at first glance, "nothing to do". But lots of bike riding, low-key beach bar a bike ride away. This is a MARINA. No "yacht club"...meaning NO restaurant or any "real" stores within walking distance. Great docks (fixed), EASY docking, REALLY nice people. (There is a really small store for snacks at the end of the marina, and local fishermen sell lobster and fish at the end of the dock when they go out fishing). Bathrooms are clean, as is the laundry.. The marina organizes pizza night (Saturday) and rib/chicken BBQ (Friday night). A local car rental place will bring a rental car to the marina fro you ($80 per day) if you want to explore. There is a small village with a grocery store - it's in a house, but stocks absolutely everything. STUNNING, BEAUTIFUL basically uninhabited beaches are an easy bike ride away. Caution: Wi-fi is really slow, and cell service internet works but is only 3G. Most all boats (including us) had Starlink, which worked GREAT. All in all We had a really great time bike riding, driving the rental car, and a whole lot of nuthin' . We'll be back!

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Reviewed by: Abroad Reach on Mar 7, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 37'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

We were just planning to use the marine to clear in with customs and immigration, but after some engine issues we asked if they could accommodate us with late notice and they managed even though they were very busy which was very much appreciated. They also have the processes with customs and immigration nailed down, we had many boats checking in the same day, and it was a holiday, and while it took a while it was an easy process right at the marina.

The staff is friendly and helpful with lines, the bathrooms are clean, and the weekly BBQ and pizza nights are a nice touch. The marina is walkable to the beach and there are bikes that will get you into town if you want to grab a few provisions.

It is nice that they have free washdown water as well as the option for RO water at the slips.

Diesel and Gasoline are available but not at the marina, it is a separate fuel dock close to the cut to enter the inner harbor.

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Reviewed by: Lawrence Wolfenden on Feb 8, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 38'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

We didn't take a slip here, but we were able to tie up our dinghy in one of the unused slips at the far end of the marina and take a walk (about3/4 mile) over to the quite beautiful and stunning beach on the east side of the Cay. A little south of the crossing point is The Beach Club which had a pretty good Painkiller and gray conch fritters.

At the marina on Friday night they have a cruisers get-together and BBQ ($15-$18/plate) that started around 1730 and was still going strong when we left at 2200. It's a good idea to sign up early: they serve the plates in order of sign-up and some food options run out as the night goes on. (For example, we ordered ribs when signing up, but were about 3/4 down page 2 of 3, and the ribs were gone by the top of page 2, so had to opt for chicken and pork.) It may have been an unusually busy evening though: a fairly strong front was passing through and the marina was at full capacity.

On Saturdays there is a similar pizza night. (We did not go to that and so can't speak to any other details.)

RO water is available at $0.50/gallon and the staff was very helpful in managing access. They were quick to respond to calls in VHF 16 and use 14 as a working channel.

A fuel dock (diesel and gasoline) is available across the inner basin on the south side of the access cut through the rocks. The fuel dock typically operates 0700-1200 and 1300-1600.

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Reviewed by: Eric Ramsey , SunBums, on Jan 10, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 39'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 3

Stayed here for a week. Dock hands and staff are great. They have a laundry area but we did not use it. The restrooms/showers need a little more work. I feel like they only keep the sink and toilets clean. The floors are always soaked and spiderweb with dead bugs in the showers. The wall could use a little paint or a wash down. The shower curtains are cut and barely cover the shower. They really need to be replaced due to mildew. They provided an excellent map of the area and spots to see. They should provide more info on the cruiser activities they advertise on the website. We were never invited to them. So we arrived on a Monday and stayed through another Monday. Never saw the "potluck". Have no clue what the pizza night is. We did finally see the Friday night music and food but we had already cooked on the boat. The marina is pretty quiet. We were able to buy eggs from one of the dock hands which was great because they did not have any at the grocery stores. There are some bikes avaliable for use but only some of them are good enough to ride. Several had flat tires. There are 2 grocery stores in town and a couple of liquor stores. Be sure to check out Coolie Mae's restaurant and Backside Bar (best Jerk wings). Customs and immigration were awesome and were at the marina when we arrived. The cost is reasonable and the island is amazing. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to visit this amazing island. Locals on the island are so friendly.

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Reviewed by: Jason Spitz , Breathe, on Dec 28, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Great week at GHC Marina once again. Staff is fantastic and pizza night, grill n chill, and get togethers are once again happening. Steven remains the ever grateful host, taking cruisers where they need to go. Customs and immigration are friendly. Note that not all are able to give 6 months immigration. Several newer bikes were available. Weekly rate continues to pay 5 nights and get 2 free. Hot showers are available and the staff cleans them a few times daily, although the restrooms could use updating. Great place to check in.

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Reviewed by: Bruce Krizmanic , S/V Inspiration, on Jun 22, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 39'
Draft: 4.7'

Rating: 4

We made an unplanned stop here, had weather moving in. The staff did their job, no more or no less. The showers are clean, dock side water, both potable and not.
There is a small c-store as well as a restaurant.
We took a golf cart to a nearby beach which was very nice but other than that not much here.

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Reviewed by: Tom Burton , SeaDancer, on May 13, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 50'
Draft: 0.0'

Rating: 5

What a great find. Beautiful and secluded island. Marina very nice with nice bathrooms and laundry. They have bikes to get around but it can be a hike. You can rent a car and get around this interesting island. Marina is very protected. Decent Wi-Fi. Dockhands are friendly and can handle anything for you. Don't wanna miss

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Reviewed by: Jeremy Hatch on Apr 3, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 49'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 5

Still great (we stopped last year also). Clean, casual with nice mix of transients and longer stay cruisers. King is a wonderful help & an excellent musician. Be sure to catch the Friday night "Grill & Chill" on the dock- local vendor cooks while boaters provide the live music. Slow boats leaving before sunrise need to be cautious if the numerous boats anchored on both sides of the channel, if the wind changed overnight, don't assume they aren't in the channel. Also know that the fuel barge often arrives at sunrise. Fortunately, sends a Secuite message before he enters the cut.

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Reviewed by: Jason Spitz , Breathe, on Jan 14, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

We spent a week at GHC Marina in January 2022. The marina has fixed concrete docks. The staff receives 5+ stars. They are responsive before and during your stay. Hail them on 16 VHF and they will assign your slip. We emailed a couple days before. Weekly and monthly discounts are available and make the marina reasonable for the Bahamas. GHC doesn't look like it's changed much in the last 20 years and has a very relaxed vibe. Customs and immigration come right to the marina to check you in and the process was simple, even during Covid times. We did use Click to Clear and they had all our documents. Have your health clearance printed or a photo on your phone. The marina WiFi is spotty.. sometimes it is good and minutes later no connection. The staff took a group of us to Bullocks Harbor to the liquor store to get ALiV SIM cards. 2 one speed rusty bikes were available. Bathrooms were maintained a few times daily. King is a fantastic asst mgr and dockhand and will help any way he can. The harbor master, Steven, his daughter, and Consuela were all nice and accommodating. Cruisers, both transient and long term were all super friendly. Definitely a worthwhile stop.

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Reviewed by: Marilou on Jun 20, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 51'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 4

Great staff well protected harbor. Bikes for use to get to village. Customs available for checkin.

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Reviewed by: Gary Church , Laa-Dee-Dah, on Jan 15, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 64'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 4

Extremely well protected marina with a good helpful staff. Great stop for customs and immigration which come to your boat. Covid testing is available to meet Bahamas 5-day test requirement.

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Reviewed by: Tom Casey on Jul 8, 2018
LOA: 44'

Rating: 4

Steven and assistant Smokey were great in accommodating our dockage needs. As mentioned in previous review, this is a great hurricane hole, BUT, in summer it is hot with little wind. My biggest pet peeve with marinas is uncovered garbage and all the flies that swarm your boat if you try to BBQ or eat outside, and GHC fails here. They do give boaters a welcome packet, which many marinas do not. This is our second stop here but first WWG review. Recommended highly if you stay inside your yacht.

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Reviewed by: Lucy Wilcox on Apr 4, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.9'

Rating: 5

Marina is located in a very protected hurricane hole. The dockmaster assisted with lines and getting us set up with power. The office organizes pot lucks and pizza nights and will order fresh bread for you. The Wi-Fi was decent and worked well for us. Complimentary bikes to explore the island's beaches and Sugar Beach Lodge ruins. There is a grocery store, convenience store, a restaurant and take out on site, as well as golf cart rentals. Customs and immigration will come to the marina. Great stop in the beautiful Berry Islands!

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