At Island Time Charters our goal is to provide the best possible experience on/in the water in the Bahamas! The captains are enthusiastic about customer service and safety. Our personalized trips are designed to give you the opportunity to plan your day with your family or friends. So whether it’s fishing, beaching, island hopping or any combination let us give you a truly memorable Bahamas boat charter experience! Please note, we are small company and love to give our customers a truly personalized experience. With that in mind, please be patient with us during booking procedures as we are on the waters during the day and have LIMITED ACCESS to our cell phones. We want to communicate with our customers personally to ensure the best experience on the waters possible.
WHAT TO EXPECT
SNORKELING:
Operating in a completely natural environment, it is not uncommon to see stingrays, turtles, vibrant colourful reef formations and multiple varieties of sealife. While we occasionally see sharks on our tours, our snorkeling spots are in calm, clear areas and the chance of seeing a shark while in those areas are very low. There are areas where there are higher concentrations of sharks, and while there are other companies that specialize in shark dives on the island, we do not. The snorkeling spots depth range from 2′-20′ and include both inshore and offshore stops. For our guests, we always play it safe and keep our snorkelers safety as first priority. To that end, we keep life jackets, noodles and floats on board for our guests who want the extra flotation, and we ensure that our crew members always keeps their eyes on our guests, both in and out of the water. Also, we do not require our guests to wear a life jacket while snorkeling.
FISHING:
For the fishing portion of our tours, we find that bottom fishing yields the best action and results. Fish average 1-10 pounds, with 10-30 pounders caught fairly often, and include species such as grouper, yellow tail snapper, trigger fish and french grunts, ( all of which are absolutely delicious!). This does not necessarily apply to our strictly fishing tours, where we go trolling on the open ocean for much larger game fish, and while the possibility of a trophy fish is always there, trolling in general yields less fish than bottom fishing or reef fishing. Fishing licenses are not required, and we will be happy to teach any of our guests how to fish. For our fishing tackle, we use light spincasters with 15-20lb mono line, and our trolling gear run 30-70lb mono. For bait, we use a combination of natural baits and artificial lures. For our six and eight hour tours, we will be happy to assist with having your catch cooked, either when we grill lunch on the beach, (if that option is chosen), or afterwards at one of the local restaurants, or even if you choose to take it home for later. The fish that are caught during your trip ARE YOUR FISH, and we will never keep any of our guests fish unless our guest offer them to us.
REMOTE ISLAND BEACHING:
Whether our guests choose our local tours or Out Island tours, all of the remote beaches that we frequent feature powdery soft sand and no riptides or undercurrents. There are no bathroom facilities, chairs or umbrellas on the beaches and in most cases our guests are the only persons there. Access to the beach is by boat only and you will have to get in the water, (about 2′-3′ deep) to get on shore. We only go to calm, clear beaches with easy access for our guests, and there are some trees close to the shore to provide shade from the sun as well.
Lunch/Snacks/Beverages:
All of our tours include bottled water and sodas, which include coke, diet coke and sprite. Alcoholic beverages can be provided by us, such as beer, rum or wine, or you may bring your own as well. We only charge our guests what we pay locally and you can make your specific requests during the booking process. Legal drinking age in The Bahamas is 18. All of our boats have coolers on board and all beverages are served in the can, ice cold. For our six or eight hour tours, we can grill lunch on the beach at $25/pp, (minimum 4 persons) and the menu consists of hamburgers, hotdogs and chips. Depending on time, we can also prepare fish if any is caught before lunch, circumstances permitting. Special food requests are welcomed, and can be worked out during the reservation process, at which time any allergies or dietary restrictions can be discussed as well. We value ALL of our customers requests, which is one of our hallmarks. Other lunch options include lunch at a dockside restaurant,( food at customers expense, no additional fee for transportation), or bringing your own lunch.
WATER SPORTS/ACTIVITIES
We can arrange for jet skis to meet our guests on the remote beach at $120/hr per ski. The jet skis can hold two persons each and life jackets must be worn at all times when riding. Riders must be 16 years old to ride by themselves, and cannot be under the influence. The skis must be paid for in cash at the end of the time and may not be available if the wave conditions are too high. Our jet ski providers are trusted and licensed operators who adhere to the same professional and moral standards that we do. Arrangements for the skis can also be made during the reservation process. Paddle boards are available for rent at a cost of $50/board for the half day, and $85/ for 6 or eight hour tours. We will be happy to give paddle board lessons as well, but you may laugh at us more than learn from us! We do not offer tubing or skiing as our boats are too large for pull behind water sports.
During the reservation process, please feel free to discuss all questions and concerns with us, as well as ANY special requests, no matter how weird it may sound:) PLEASE NOTE: Island Time Charters and their Staff will not be held responsible for any injuries that may occur during any of our tours, and all guest assume their own liability once on board any of our vessels. We are here to make you, the customer 100% happy! Safe travels, and see you soon in The Bahamas!