Nassau Shopping: Bay Street, Straw Market and the Port

Nassau shopping is centred on Bay Street, which starts at the cruise terminal gates, with the Straw Market a few minutes along it. Atlantis, Baha Mar and Village Road need a taxi or jitney. Shops keep their own hours, Sunday is a lottery and the resort boutiques stay open longest, so pick one area rather than five.

What time do shops open in Nassau?

Opening times in Nassau depend on which shop you mean. The Straw Market lifts its shutters at 07:30 every day, the big boutiques at Baha Mar open at 10:00 and trade until 23:00, and nobody publishes hours for Bay Street or downtown as a whole, so treat any timetable for the town shops as a guess.

What’s printed:

• Nassau Straw Market, Bay Street: listed 07:30 to 17:00 daily. You’ll also see a close nearer 20:00 quoted, so don’t bank on the late afternoon.
• Bahama Hand Prints: Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, closed Sunday. You’ll see 10:00 to 16:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 14:00 on Saturday quoted too, so check before a long jitney ride.
• Cartier Baha Mar and Rolex Boutique John Bull Baha Mar: 10:00 to 23:00, seven days a week.

The tourist board’s line is that hours shift, especially around holidays and cruise schedules, and that you should check before you go. A ship in port doesn’t guarantee the shutters are up.

Five public holidays close the port itself, and downtown tends to follow: New Year’s Day, Majority Rule Day (Observed), Good Friday, Easter Monday and Whit Monday. If your call lands on one, plan the day around the water instead of the shops.

Nassau shopping areas map

Each pin shows how far that place is from the nearest cruise pier. Tap a pin for directions.

• Prince George Wharf / Festival PlaceWhere ships dock
• Bay StreetAbout 2 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Straw MarketAbout 1 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Atlantis Paradise IslandAbout 2 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Village RoadAbout 4 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Harbour Bay Shopping CentreAbout 3 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Doongalik Studios & Art GalleryAbout 4 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Bahama Hand PrintsAbout 3 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Parliament SquareAbout 1 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Queen’s StaircaseAbout 1 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Fort FincastleAbout 1 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place
• Marina VillageAbout 9 km from Prince George Wharf / Festival Place

Nassau shopping areas compared: walk time, best for and what to know

Six areas cover nearly everything you’d want, and only the first three are a walk from the gangway.

Anything in the bottom three rows costs you a return trip, so weigh it against the time you have to be back on board.

Prince George Wharf: Port Plaza, Port Marketplace and the Festival Place confusion

The port sits at Prince George Wharf, right in downtown, and the rebuilt waterfront runs to 11 acres. Six ships can be in at once, including three Icon-class, and on a big day more than 30,000 passengers come ashore, so the terminal has stopped being a corridor and started being a shopping stop in its own right.

Two zones do the work: Port Plaza, a run of kiosks, and Port Marketplace, about 40 storefronts. An Authentically Bahamian Committee chaired by culturalist Pam Burnside decides what goes into them, and all-Bahamian goods are required in both.

The International Bazaar zone is the one place goods from elsewhere are allowed. That rule is why the terminal makes a better souvenir stop than its captive-audience look suggests.

Look for Ann Marie’s Bahamian Creations, Good Energy Works and Treasures by the Sea International, plus Bahari, Vida Cayo, Graycliff chocolates, Bahama Hand Prints, My Ocean, Haus of Assembly and Isola for gelato. There’s also an information centre, a pharmacy, a taxi station, first aid, cafes, wi-fi and a Tax Refund desk.

And Festival Place? That was the old welcome centre on the same ground, and the small businesses that traded there moved into the new buildings. There’s no Festival Place building left to find, so don’t spend ten minutes of your day hunting one.

Bay Street and downtown: where the duty-free is

Bay Street runs parallel to the waterfront and leads straight off the port, which makes it the default for anyone with two hours and no plan. Tax-free jewellery shops and independent retailers selling local crafts and handmade souvenirs line it, and the historic downtown cluster, Parliament Square, the Queen’s Staircase, Fort Fincastle and the Straw Market, sits within a 5 to 20 minute walk of the ship.

The word to be sceptical about is duty-free. Nobody publishes a Bahamas-versus-home comparison for watches, jewellery, perfume or spirits, so there’s no reliable percentage anyone can quote you. The only figure that means anything is the one you write down at home before you sail: price the thing you want, in the specification you want, and compare it at the counter.

What Bay Street doesn’t have is the big designer names. Those sit inside the resorts on Paradise Island and out at Cable Beach, so if a specific label is the reason for the trip, you aren’t shopping Bay Street at all.

If you’d rather fold the shops into a bigger loop, there are Nassau walking routes that hit the main sights in a single port day, and they pass most of Bay Street on the way.

The Straw Market: what to pay and how to spot the real thing

The Straw Market sits on Bay Street, a few minutes from the gangway, and it’s listed as open 07:30 to 17:00 seven days a week. It’s one timber-roofed hall of roughly 200 stalls, and it opens hours before the resort boutiques do, which makes it the best first stop of the day.

Hand-plaited palm-frond bags, hats and dolls sit beside imported souvenirs, priced the same way. Look for tight coiled stitching and a vendor with her own weaving in progress behind the counter; that’s the stock that was made here. The straw trade goes back to the early 1940s.

Bargaining is expected. Ask the price first, make a fair counteroffer, bundle two or three items for a better deal and keep it friendly. Opening quotes are set for visitors, so a counter that starts around half and settles nearer two-thirds is the usual shape of the conversation.

Bring cash in small US bills. Card machines are rare, vendors round up, and a large note for a small purchase is a problem for everyone.

Atlantis: Crystal Court and Marina Village on Paradise Island

Atlantis holds the biggest cluster of shops and boutiques on Paradise Island, and it splits into two very different trips. Crystal Court Shoppes runs between the Royal Towers and the Coral Towers, about 35,004 sq ft of indoor retail, and it’s the tourist board’s pick for watches, jewellery and statement accessories. Cartier, Saint Laurent, Rolex, Christian Louboutin, Jacquemus, Balenciaga, John Bull and Carlo are all there.

Marina Village is the outdoor waterfront alternative, and it’s a place you wander rather than power-shop. Atlantis Signatures, Columbian Emeralds International, La Parfumerie, Pirana Joe Resort Wear, Carlo Milano, Paradise Blue Surf Shop, Pandora and The Plait Lady fill it, and it works better later in the day than first thing. Across from Marina Village, the Bahamas Craft Center holds about 100 booths and expects you to bargain.

Getting there means a taxi or the water taxi to Paradise Island. Nassau taxis aren’t metered; they run on a government zone card, so agree the number before you get in and confirm the return pick-up at the same time.

Shops of Baha Mar: the longest opening hours in Nassau

The Shops of Baha Mar is resort retail with about 35 stores covering fashion, jewellery and gifts, and it keeps the most port-friendly hours in Nassau. Cartier Baha Mar and Rolex Boutique John Bull Baha Mar both trade 10:00 to 23:00, seven days a week, so even a late call leaves you time.

Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, Cartier, Bvlgari, Rolex, Lilly Pulitzer and Vineyard Vines are among the names. Cartier recommends booking an appointment before you visit and walk-ins can face long waits, so a browser shouldn’t count on getting to a counter quickly.

The cheap way there is the jitney. Route 10 runs from Bay Street out to Cable Beach, Sandyport and the Baha Mar strip for a flat cash fare, exact change appreciated, paid as you get off. It runs roughly 06:30 to 19:00 Monday to Saturday with a limited Sunday timetable, there are no formal stops outside downtown, and there’s no service to the airport or Paradise Island.

Nassau has no Uber or Lyft, and the jitney is the only inexpensive way out to that side of the island, so it’s worth reading up on how to get around Nassau by taxi and jitney before you commit to a resort run.

Village Road and Harbour Bay: Bahamian art and hand-printed cloth

Doongalik Studios & Art Gallery is the reason to leave downtown. It occupies a restored colonial home and shows dozens of Bahamian artists, with paintings, sculpture, masks and goatskin drums, and Craft Cottage sits inside its grounds selling handcrafted jewellery, painted glass, straw accessories and soaps. Craft Cottage Bahamas is at 20 Village Road, near Fort Montagu, just off East Bay Street.

Bahama Hand Prints is the other draw: garments, bags and home accessories, fabric by the yard, and the chance to watch the printing happen in the factory. It has two shops, one at Nassau Cruise Port and one at Harbour Bay Shopping Centre, so check the port branch before you spend a taxi fare.

Hours are Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, closed Sunday, though you’ll also see 10:00 to 16:00 on weekdays and a shorter Saturday.

Getting there is a taxi or a jitney. Ask the driver before you board: route 10 is the westbound Cable Beach run, and whether it swings past Craft Cottage is a question for the person behind the wheel.

What to buy in Nassau and what survives the trip home

The port authority’s own shortlist is a good place to start: locally blended teas, Bahamian rum and rum cake, plus locally crafted gifts, souvenirs, clothing and accessories from the port shopping centre. Vendors at the port sell coconut- and thatch-palm bags, hats and souvenirs, and the straw work is the thing most people keep.

• Straw and palm work from the Straw Market or the port, bought with cash and a counteroffer.
• Bahamian art from Doongalik Studios & Art Gallery and Craft Cottage, which is the one thing on this list you won’t find at home.
• Hand-printed textiles from Bahama Hand Prints, sold at the terminal as well as at Harbour Bay.
• Rum cake, rum, locally blended tea and chocolate, all of which appear on the port’s own list. Graycliff chocolates have a shop in the terminal, which makes them a buy-on-the-way-back purchase rather than something to carry all afternoon.

Wine and spirits, rum cake, tobacco and chocolate are the categories the VAT-free scheme is built around; food, confectionery and beverages generally aren’t eligible. If you’re carrying bottles home, check your allowance before you buy more than a bottle or two.

Money in Nassau: US dollars, cards and the 10% VAT

US dollars are taken at par throughout Nassau and change often comes back in Bahamian dollars, so spend the local coins or keep a couple as a souvenir. Cards work at the resorts and at most Bay Street shops; the Straw Market, the jitneys and the taxi rank are cash territory.

VAT is 10%. The relief that exists isn’t a refund desk at the airport: it’s claimed at the till, at approved retailers only, on purchases of $25 or more, with proof of non-residence and onward travel.

A passport, driving licence, government photo ID, cruise ID or boarding card all count, so the passport can stay in the cabin safe. You pay a processing fee of 15% of the VAT that would otherwise have applied, which the retailer may waive.

One wrinkle before you buy a watch. The scheme expects wine and spirits, rum cake, tobacco and chocolate to be collected at a secured point at the airport or port when you leave, which is written around flying out.

Nassau Cruise Port lists a Tax Refund service but publishes no terms, so ask at that desk when you arrive, not on the last morning. Buy from an approved retailer that does the paperwork at the payment, and confirm the collection point while you can still change your mind.

Shopping comfortably: where to bargain, what to carry and the walk back

Bargain at the Straw Market and the Bahamas Craft Center; prices in shops, boutiques and the resorts are fixed, and haggling in a fixed-price shop is awkward for everyone.

Carry only what you plan to spend, in small notes, and keep it where you can see it. The Straw Market is a crowded hall and a purse swung behind you is the easiest thing in Nassau to lose. An anti-theft messenger bag that keeps cash and cards in front of you solves most of that in one go.

If a watch or a piece of jewellery is the point of the day, carry the card that pays for it and leave the rest on the ship.

The terminal sits at the foot of Bay Street, so the ship is a short walk away whenever you want to drop bags back on board rather than carry them all afternoon.

Nassau shopping FAQs

Is it cheaper to buy Gucci in the Bahamas?

Gucci is stocked at Atlantis on Paradise Island, not on Bay Street, and nobody publishes a Bahamas-versus-home price comparison for it. Note the price at home before you sail and treat the 10% VAT as the only difference you can count on.

Is there a shopping mall in Nassau?

Not in the covered, town-centre sense. The nearest equivalents are the Shops of Baha Mar, about 35 stores, and Atlantis’ Crystal Court Shoppes, both resort retail rather than a high street arcade. Downtown Nassau is a street, Bay Street, with shops along it.

How far is the shopping from where the ship docks?

Bay Street starts at the terminal gates and the Straw Market is a few minutes further along. The port authority puts Parliament Square, the Queen’s Staircase, Fort Fincastle and the Straw Market within a 5 to 20 minute walk. Atlantis, Baha Mar and Village Road need a taxi or jitney.