Norman’s Cay Exumas customs

The good news is that customs and immigration are now available are at Norman’s Cay in the northern Exumas.

The bad news is that the marina charges $998 plus VAT to use the service… not a typo, that’s two bucks shy of a grand. Plus VAT

And that is charged even if you are paying for dockage at the rate of $7 a foot!

The $998 isn’t charged by customs but by the marina Just like cat cay charges $500 to clear customs there which we still do sometimes.

They already have shifted to electronic clearing with Click2Clear as they want to eliminate cash payments. I read yesterday that Click2Clear is becoming mandatory for planes as well with $5000 for non compliance

May thru July in the Exumas is when a lot of people from SoFl go to the Exumas with smaller boats (under 70/80).

many big boats head north or to the med in May so fewer of them are in the bahamas although with the higher shipping costs travel issues I wonder if as many are headed to the med as in the past

Some marinas charge a little more per foot for bigger boats.

The trend is for boats to get bigger and bigger and some marinas are being built or rebuilt to keep up with the times. Hurricane Cove on the back side of Atlantis in Nassau has just reopened after two years being rebuilt and they have eliminated all the smaller slips that were along the curved bulkhead. I m guessing that now they re charging $7/8 a foot like Atlantis

Newly built normans Cay marina also has mostly big slips, 100’ +, at $7 a foot. Water is $0.50 a gallon and power $0.70 per Kw. It will be a very nice place when fully landscaped and when the restaurant etc are finished. For now it s still pretty much a construction site…

From what I see over there, the bigger the boat the more gets spent in shops and restaurants. Whether we have the owners on board or charter guests in place like Staniel, the food/bar/shop tab is usually higher than dockage.

No. Only been there twice, didn’t like it as much as the Exumas. We prefer anchoring out and that s not what HH is about.

Update. We stopped twice at Normans on this trip for guests to fly in and out

the marina is coming along nicely. The clubhouse and restaurant is almost finished and there is now a small convenience store with basics incl fresh food

the staff is very helpful, shore power is excellent incl 480 which is pretty rare in the Bahamas. I didn’t ask if the fuel dock was open but it seemed to be

The docks are very nice, fixed wood, wide and clean but the pilings do not extend above the dock level. Setting fenders at the right height is a must.

still $7 a foot plus VAT. Power is 0.70 / KWh Plus VAT…

A new small airport “terminal” has been opened, very nice and quaint. Well landscaped. Customs and immigration are there. As mentioned earlier they charge $1000 to clear whether planes or boats.

Landing fees for aircraft are pretty steep: $160 for piston/ turboprop, $1300 for jets under $20k lbs, and $2900 for large jets…

Construction of a series of beach front bungalows is well underway and should open next season

Bottom line: expensive but high quality. The pathway stone work alone is a work of art.

Yeah, $7 a day. It s in line with many marinas on the east coast. I think Miami Beach marina and dinner key is $5 to $6 a foot. Years and years ago I remember similar prices in New England.

Atlantis marina in Nassau is about the same. Highborne and compass are also around $5.

Power in the Bahamas is always very expensive… last night at Norman’s we used 600 KW!

We use about 70/75 gallons a day for the 45kw gen (we can run the whole boat on one without having to manage loads) so at about $6 a gallons it doesn’t make a big difference.

plus it s nice to have them gens off for a short while and these big Ohno are a bit loud anyway.