Garden of the Groves and City Tour

Garden of the Groves and Freeport City Tour Grand Bahama International Bazaar Port Lucaya
Rated 4.6 out of 5
Read 81 Reviewsor
Excursion Highlights:
  • Explore the breathtaking Garden of the Groves, thriving amidst recovery from Hurricane Dorian
  • Witness the resilience of the Grand Bahamas as you tour the ongoing recovery efforts via a narrated bus ride
  • Shop duty-free Port Lucaya Marketplace
  • Relax at the white-sand Lucaya Beach
  • Take a scenic drive through Royal Palm Way
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Price: $70.00
Children (Ages 2 and under) are free but must be accounted for.
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Summary
Shore Excursion Size ? Standard
Shore Excursion Type Eco, Nature
Shore Excursion Duration 4 Hours
Activity Level ? Easy
Shore Excursion Leaves From ? An approximately 5 to 10 minute walk from the cruise ship pier.
Food/Beverage Provided None
Recommended Dress We recommend wearing comfortable clothing and sensible walking shoes. Sunglasses and sunscreen are also suggested.
Restrictions Guests must be able to walk over paved, gravel, wooden planked, and packed dirt surfaces.

Garden of the Groves and City Tour

A grand half day awaits on this fun-filled Grand Bahamas City Tour that includes Garden of the Groves and much, much more!

This narrated bus ride will first take you through the industrial area of Grand Bahama. Unfortunately, the island suffered significant damage from Hurricane Dorian in 2019; however, as you ride through the area, you will witness the ongoing recovery efforts to restore the affected areas. Get a first-hand look at the resiliency of the people of the island as they continue to rebuild during challenging circumstances from one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the island.

Your first stop and the highlight of this excursion is the Garden of the Groves, which fared surprisingly well during the hurricane. Here you'll explore winding trails through lush vegetation, cascading waterfalls, and sparkling fountains. Visit the picturesque chapel, which has been consecrated and is a favorite place for weddings, prayer, and meditation. Explore the Garden Shoppes and discover the sacred beauty of the Labyrinth.

At Garden of the Groves, indigenous and migratory birds and butterflies take insects from the many newly planted flowers and shrubs. Since the Garden was re-opened, it has been certified as a Wildlife Habitat by the U.S. Wildlife Federation. This means the new operators are providing the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover, and places to raise young. You can take a walk down into the cool fern grove and admire the imposing limestone boulders that tower over both sides of the trail, or relax on the "Lofty Fig" deck, where you will have the opportunity to purchase local delicacies and cool Bahamian drinks.

From there, this Freeport cruise tour takes you to the famous Port Lucaya Marketplace, a collection of twelve island-style buildings nestled on a five-acre peninsula, which overlooks one of the most complete Marinas in The Bahamas. Stroll among the eighty specialty stores, boutiques, restaurants, outdoor and indoor bars and cafes. You'll find the most luxurious and respected names in jewelry, china, crystal, perfume, and designer apparel and accessories, all at duty-free prices. Should you opt not to explore the marketplace, you also have the option of spending approximately 45 minutes at the nearby Lucaya Beach--a white-sand coastline, which is perfect for sunbathing and swimming.

Afterwards, as you make your way back to the cruise ship, you'll be taken through Royal Palm Way, which was also once known as Millionaire's Row. View some of the local residential areas while also getting a glimpse of the famous Cooper's Castle. This 46-acre property is situated on the island's highest point of elevation and has become a local symbol of determination and hard work. The castle owner, Reverend Harvard Cooper, was born into a poor family in 1931. As an adult, he became a successful entrepreneur and owned franchises in the Bahamas for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, in addition to other businesses that included a chicken farm. To this day, his family still lives in the estate.

Guests wishing to stay longer at the Market Place or Lucaya Beach, are responsible for their own transportation back to the pier. Taxi shuttles run between the market (or the beach) and pier most of the day.

Please Note: This tour is only for guests arriving in Freeport via cruise ship.

81 Ratings
4.6out of 5 stars
1-10 of 81 Reviews
Rated 4 out of 5
Oct 25, 2024
Beautiful walk
Beautiful, but it was out there a bit from the cruise ship port. It is worth the drive and the guide, Marilyn, was absolutely wonderful. I really wish that we had more time there to spend walking and exploring on our own.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 31, 2024
Very Beautiful Tour!
Our tour driver named Boo is a native Bahamian who knows this island and its history. He answered all our questions and was very accommodating to our group of four. It felt like our own personal tour and not a big cruise excursion. Loved the beautiful gardens. Well worth booking it through RCI.
Rated 5 out of 5
May 2, 2024
The guides were excellent
Fabulous tour of the Gardens and Island with knowledgable and interesting guides
Rated 5 out of 5
Mar 28, 2024
Beautiful Gardens
This was a very interesting stop. We totally enjoyed Marilyn as our guide. The garden was quite beautiful. The tour stopped and we shopped for about 45 minutes. Very nice vendors.
Rated 5 out of 5
Mar 4, 2024
The Gardens Were Beautiful!!
This was a wonderful tour! Not only did we learn a lot of the history of Freeport, we saw some of the most beautiful vegetation we have ever seen. This was definitely worth the money and the time. Our tour guide whose name was Phillip was also a pleasure to ride with. The only thing that was not explained well was the shopping. It wasn't really exceptional. The shopping back at the port was probably a better choice. But we didn't take the tour for the shopping, so it was fine with us.
Rated 5 out of 5
Feb 17, 2024
beautiful gardens
great destination and bus ride through the town. very good and informative bus driver
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 11, 2023
Nice tour
Very pleasant tour. Very good guide through the garden.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 11, 2023
Enjoyable and Educational
The city tour and time in the garden were both so enjoyable. Such a beautiful and peaceful time with nature.
The shops in the garden were very nice also.
I can't remember our guide's name for the garden, but she was excellent!
Rated 4 out of 5
Jun 12, 2023
Nice Tour of Garden
Garden of the Groves was an excellent site to see on Grand Bahama Island. Very well done tour of garden. Our tour director was very informative and also gave us a good tour of the city. Unfortunately Freeport has not recovered from hurricane of 2019 and this was sad to see. This island needs more tourists and $ to recover. My issue was with fellow travelers on the bus who continuously talked and make it hard to hear the tour director's comments. Not the tour director's fault. Otherwise was a worthwhile tour.
Rated 5 out of 5
May 29, 2023
Very Educational & Interesting
On an excursion from our cruise ship this made the most out of the few hour we had away from the ship. We received a very descriptive account of what happened to the island during Hurricane Dorian and got to see some of the remaining damage to homes and trees during the bus trip to the Gardens. The gardens were beautiful and we got to see many of the Bahamian plants and creatures at the Gardens. It was reassuring to see that preservation is not just an American quality.