Is downtown Nassau safe?

[bigbet1234]

I have been to the Bamamas once, but didn't leave the Atlantis other than to go across the street to get some water and eat at a bar.

I have an upcoming trip here at the end of June. Was wondering how safe it is to go across the bridge and visit downtown Nassau?

I have been to Jamaica, and it was horrible with all the hustlers, they freaking ANNOY me!

What can be expected and does anyone have any places worth visiting?

[bigbet1234]

...

[gregm]

I wouldnt leave the tourist areas around nassau but if you are, the "over-the-hill” section of nassau and south of downtown does have crime but its certainly nothing like an american inner city where you have prevalent gun crime.


This is from a recent article in Time magazine

The national crime rate has been rising there in recent years, alarming the government and its tourist board. The Bahamian murder rate hit record highs during two of the past three years, and the country's crime rate appears to be ascending in 2010. Crime was up 17% in the first quarter of this year, with an 18% jump in armed robberies (to 224, up from 190 in the same period in 2008) and a 17% spike in murders (27, vs. 23 in 2008).

Historically, crime in the Bahamas has generally been confined to residents, outside of episodes of pickpocketing and other petty offenses. But the recent tourist robberies in Nassau may signal a troubling shift, and they have drawn a swift response from the local authorities. Police have stepped up patrols in downtown Nassau, especially in tourist-heavy areas, and installed a network of closed-circuit TV cameras, according to Vernice Walkine, director-general of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation.

She points out that some 4.6 million visitors — including 3.9 million Americans — dock at the country's ports each year, revealing the crime rate as relatively low. But "none of us would ever suggest that these things don't happen, because they do," Walkine says.

http://www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1992105,00.html#ixzz1KsUVajht

[Iced]

I've been to Atlantis a few times and have only left the resort to check out some of the shops and restaurants a couple streets over. I wouldn't mingle in downtown Nassau, place is scary.

[The Madcap]

I generally have a rule for travelers: The only way to not be considered a tourist is to stick along long enough to be considered a local.

And if you ain't a local, what business do you really have pretending to be?

Downtown Nassau is like Savan on St. Thomas. There are certain places where if you walk down the wrong street, well you might stumble into a drug deal and get a knife in your gut. If you don't know an area, avoid it. Especially after dark.

If there's something special on the Island to see, and you've got a local to take you there, then you will see it. And if not, well then you won't really know what you're missing will you?

[bigbet1234]

Madcap, is this from experience in Nassau?

I have heard there are some really cool bars and shops across the bridge.

The cruise ships drop off tourist across the bridge, and they make their way over to Paradise Island.

It's hard to trust a cabbie in places like this.

May just go for the hell of it. We went to Falmouth, Jamaica and walked around, now that was scary

I generally have a rule for travelers: The only way to not be considered a tourist is to stick along long enough to be considered a local.

And if you ain't a local, what business do you really have pretending to be?

Downtown Nassau is like Savan on St. Thomas. There are certain places where if you walk down the wrong street, well you might stumble into a drug deal and get a knife in your gut. If you don't know an area, avoid it. Especially after dark.

If there's something special on the Island to see, and you've got a local to take you there, then you will see it. And if not, well then you won't really know what you're missing will you?

[gregm]

Everyone in Nassau wants to work in the tourist industry from what the locals say, I just can't imagine how great the shops and bars are in the over the hill area.

I will say this, if you can get to to one of the stalls under the bridge that sell fresh seafood, it worth a try. Lots of conch dishes, but they actually better than alot of the places in Atlantis at a third of the price.

[PuckOff]

I've been to Nassau and not once had a problem in the downtown area. I actually wouldn't even call it a downtown to be honest with you. It's pretty small.

I agree with Gregm on the fresh seafood deal.