Nassau Very expensive
Conch is the national obsession — cracked conch and conch salad. Arawak Cay, known as the Fish Fry, is where locals eat and costs far less than the hotel strip.
Budget travel in Bahamas
What a visitor's money does in Bahamas: every guide rated from very cheap to very expensive, cheapest first, then the things that cost travellers money without buying anything — the ATM, the taxi, the SIM.
Very expensive average across 1 guide · 5 is very cheap
Money
Bahamian Dollar (BSD) · 1 BSD = 1 USD · 1 EUR = 1.15 BSD
The Bahamian dollar is pegged one-to-one with the US dollar and both circulate interchangeably. There is no reason to exchange if you are carrying US dollars.
ATMs
Avoid: machines on the cruise terminal side of Bay Street, hotel lobby ATMs
Use: Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, CIBC FirstCaribbean
Bahamian and US dollars circulate at parity, so there is no reason to accept a conversion offer. Machines are scarce outside New Providence.
Getting around
From the airport: Nassau airport to Cable Beach $22, to downtown $32 — government-set rates, per two people
City by city, cheapest first
The cost rating is this site's own, for a visitor, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in. The general rules — the conversion prompt, shoulder season, the airport taxi — are in budget travel tips.
