The Bahamas / Money rules

Bahamas money rules

Eight things worth remembering while you are there, each linking to the fuller explanation.

Open it, then press and hold to keep it in your photos. Works with no signal.

1. 1Your own dollars spend here, at parOne Bahamian dollar equals one of yours by law, and both currencies move around the islands together, so the notes already in your wallet work and change arrives as a blend of the two. Nothing to exchange, no penalty for using yours, no arithmetic.The peg, and paying in dollars
2. 2On a card screen, still pick Bahamian dollarsThis is the trap folded inside the good news. Handing over your own notes is free of charge, but selecting them on a terminal or a cash machine is the conversion racket, which helps itself to a few percent whether or not the currencies sit level.Declining the conversion
3. 3Stock up in Nassau before the Out IslandsEleuthera, Harbour Island, Andros and the Exumas all run thin on card acceptance and thinner still on machines, not all of which can be relied on. Draw what the trip needs while you are somewhere large.Cash on the Family Islands
4. 4The straw market and the Fish Fry want cashNassau market stalls and the food shacks out at Arawak Cay do not take a card, and the market expects you to haggle rather than accept a first number. Small bills do both jobs.Where cash is the only option
5. 5No ride-hailing at all, so settle the fare firstNeither Uber nor Lyft operates anywhere in the islands, so a taxi is the only answer. Fares are set by government zone rather than by meter, which sounds fixed and arrives as a number from the driver, so agree it before the door shuts.Taxis, zones and fares
6. 6Read the bill first, then tip like you would at homeTipping runs on US lines here, rare in this part of the Caribbean, so what you would do at home is roughly right. Resort restaurants and larger parties often add a gratuity of about 15 percent already, and where it is there nothing more is needed.Automatic gratuities, and what to add
7. 7Hand the tip over in cashEither currency is fine and small bills are easiest. Given directly it reaches the porter, the housekeeper or the boat captain, which is not something a line added to a card can promise.Tipping in the Bahamas
8. 8Flying in means the passport book, not the cardThe card is for arriving by land or sea, so air travel needs the book. There is no form to file beforehand and no visa to buy, and the stay you are stamped in for is generous.Entry, and which document

These are the rules that do not really change, which is why they are worth carrying. Exact fees, rates and prices do move, so check the The Bahamas guide for anything current before you rely on a number.

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