Green Turtle Cay

Historic New Plymouth

New Plymouth rewards slow walking. The Albert Lowe Museum, set in a restored Loyalist home, is among the oldest museums in the Bahamas and tells the story of the cay's shipbuilding and settlement history. Nearby, the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden honours the Abacos' founding families with bronze busts arranged in a quiet green square.

The village's pastel facades, picket fences and narrow lanes make it one of the most photogenic settlements in the islands.

Miss Emily's & the Goombay Smash

Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar is a Bahamian institution — the birthplace of the Goombay Smash, the rum cocktail whose exact recipe remains a closely guarded family secret. Generations of sailors have left business cards pinned to its walls. It is the definitive stop for understanding the Abacos' drinking culture.

Beaches & anchorages

Gillam Bay, on the cay's eastern shore, is a long, shallow, sandy beach ideal for wading and beachcombing. Coco Bay and Ocean Beach offer further quiet stretches. On the water, White Sound shelters the Green Turtle Club and Bluff House marinas, while the New Plymouth harbour and Black Sound provide protected anchoring.

Anchoring and Approach

Green Turtle Cay sits in the northern Abacos, which means reaching it from points south involves crossing the Whale Cay Passage. This mile-and-a-half stretch where the Atlantic meets the Sea of Abaco can turn nasty in north or east winds; swells stack up against the outgoing current and conditions deteriorate quickly. We listen to the cruisers net on VHF 68 at 8:15 AM for real-time reports and time our crossing for slack water on a calm morning.

Once across, the cay offers three protected harbours. White Sound to the north shelters the Green Turtle Club and Bluff House marinas, with depths of four to five feet in a narrow channel about thirty feet wide. Black Sound to the southeast has a similar shallow entrance best attempted at high water. Holding in both sounds is marginal, so mooring balls are the safest option.

If the winds are easterly and the forecast settled, anchoring outside Black Sound directly in front of New Plymouth provides good holding for multiple boats and easy dinghy access to the settlement dock.

What It Is Really Like to Visit

New Plymouth feels like a Nantucket village transplanted to the tropics. The grid of pastel clapboard houses, stone churches, and white picket fences dates to the Loyalist migration of the 1780s, and the settlement has resisted the resort sprawl that transformed parts of the Abacos.

You can walk the entire village in an hour, pausing at the Albert Lowe Museum for ship models and local history, lingering in the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden, and ending at Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar for a Goombay Smash. The cocktail was invented here, and the walls are papered with decades of business cards left by visiting sailors.

The cay moves at a pace set by tide and sunlight. Shops close for lunch, the bakery runs out of bread by mid-morning, and evenings revolve around waterfront dinners and starry skies unbroken by city lights.

Where to Eat and Drink

Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar is mandatory, if only to taste the original Goombay Smash in the cramped, character-filled room where it was born. Beyond the famous cocktail, the cay has a surprising range of dining options.

Pineapples Bar and Grill offers casual meals beside a saltwater pool with live music on Friday nights. McIntosh Restaurant and Bakery serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily; Friday night is Lobster Fest, featuring Bahamian lobster prepared a dozen ways. Plymouth Rock, a tiny counter-service spot on the main street, does a superb breakfast sandwich.

For upscale dining, the Green Turtle Club serves fresh seafood in a waterfront setting with attentive service. Reservations are wise during peak season. Provisioning is possible at small groceries in the settlement, but selection is limited, so top up staples in Marsh Harbour or Treasure Cay before heading north.

When to Go and Local Tips

The safest window for crossing Whale Cay Passage is during the trade-wind season, November through May, when prevailing winds blow from the east or southeast. Wait for a morning with light winds and no significant north swell; experienced cruisers treat the passage with healthy respect.

Green Turtle Cay is a natural layover when conditions turn unfavorable, so provisions and patience go hand in hand. We have spent extra days here when the forecast soured, never regretting the extended stay.

Golf carts are the primary transport and can be rented near the ferry dock. The settlement is compact enough to walk, but a cart opens up the beaches on the cay's eastern shore, including Gillam Bay and Coco Bay. Fuel and water are available at the marinas in White Sound; dinghy dockage in New Plymouth is limited, so arrive early on busy days.

Getting there

By private charter, Green Turtle Cay is reached by crossing the Whale Cay passage north of Great Guana Cay — a stretch best timed with settled conditions, which your captain will plan around. Without a boat, a ferry connects from the Treasure Cay ferry dock to the cay's two landings. Golf carts get you around ashore.

Frequently asked questions

Where was the Goombay Smash invented?

At Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar in New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay. The original recipe is a closely guarded family secret and the bar remains the most famous place to try the cocktail.

What is there to do on Green Turtle Cay?

Explore historic New Plymouth and the Albert Lowe Museum, visit the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden, have a Goombay Smash at Miss Emily's, and relax on Gillam Bay or Coco Bay beaches.

How do you get to Green Turtle Cay?

By private charter (crossing the Whale Cay passage, timed for settled conditions) or by ferry from the Treasure Cay ferry dock. There are no rental cars — get around by golf cart, bicycle or on foot.

How do I safely cross Whale Cay Passage?

Wait for a calm morning with winds under fifteen knots and minimal north or east swell. Listen to the cruisers net on VHF 68 at 8:15 AM for firsthand reports, and time your crossing around slack tide to minimize current-against-wind chop.

Where can I anchor at Green Turtle Cay?

White Sound and Black Sound both offer mooring balls in protected water, though their entrance channels are shallow and best entered at high tide. In settled easterly conditions, anchoring outside Black Sound in front of New Plymouth is a good alternative with easier access.

Is Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar still open?

Yes. The bar remains a beloved institution and continues to serve the original Goombay Smash. Walls covered in business cards and a welcoming atmosphere make it a must-visit for any sailor passing through New Plymouth.