Never heard of Cabbage Beach? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
What if we said the beach at Atlantis in Nassau? That might give you a better idea of what we’re talking about.
Paradise Island is the small island across from Nassau, home to the Atlantis Bahamas resort. The resort is extremely high-end. While some parts of it are open to the public like the casino and the shopping areas, most of it is open to only guests or to those paying high prices to go on an excursion there.
Meanwhile, Atlantis sits on one of the most beautiful stretches of beach on the planet — Cabbage Beach.
Cabbage Beach is exactly what you’d expect from a nice beach. It has powdery white sand, electric blue water, and stretches what seems like forever.
The bad news is that Atlantis and other resorts have been built right next to the beach, all but cutting easy access for visitors to get to the beach unless they pay for access through the hotels.
The good news is that there is still a free public beach access; it’s just a bit of a trek to get through. If you want to head to the free beach during your cruise, here’s how to get there.
How to Get to the Free Beach on Paradise Island
First things first, if you want to get to the free beach you will need to get over to Paradise Island. Taxi cabs run regularly from the cruise pier to the island. If you take a cab, you can ask them to drop you off at the free beach access. A local cab driver will know exactly where to take you.
Still, many people head over to Paradise Island via the ferry from the cruise pier. Still others want to get to the beach after visiting Atlantis.
No matter where you are coming from, once you are on the island, getting to the beach is relatively simple as long as you know where to go. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the ferry dock or about 10 minutes from Atlantis.
The map below shows the location of the beach access, along with the route to get there.
If you are walking to the beach access, here are directions on how to get there based on coming from the ferry dock.
- First, you’ll walk from the dock up to the road at the end of the Sydney Poitier Bridge (the bridge to Nassau). From there, you’ll come to a light at Paradise Beach Drive.
- Once at the light, cross the street to the other side of Paradise Beach Drive. Then, immediately cross to the right so that you are walking on the north side of Paradise Beach Drive.
- From here you will continue along the street for a couple of blocks until you come to the Comfort Suites hotel. Cross the street to the right, toward the hotel and then continue down the road (Paradise Island Drive) for about 1/4 mile.
- You will then come to a road named Lakeview Drive. Take a left down this street until it dead-ends into Casino Drive.
- Once you reach Casino Drive, take another left. After walking about a block, you’ll see taxis lined up on the side of the street and a sandy road cut through the trees, next to the Riu hotel. This path leads to Cabbage Beach.
If you walk to the beach, then expect it to take about 15 minutes from the ferry or about 10 minutes from Atlantis.
Don’t feel like walking back? There are lots of taxis available right at the beach entrance to take passengers back to the cruise ships.
What to Expect at Cabbage Beach
Never been to Cabbage Beach? If you’re picturing a desolate beach with no one one it, then think again.
The beach is popular with tourists and for good reason — it’s absolutely gorgeous. However, those crowds can make it busy, and vendors selling everything from drinks to parasailing rides walk up and down the beach.
On the beach you can purchase a number of items, including renting umbrellas and chairs.
If you want a little more seclusion, we suggest heading down the beach to get away from the free entrance and things will be a little quieter.
