Tourist's Guide to Nassau International Airport

Vacationers and other travelers heading to Nassau, Bahamas and Paradise Island will find themselves flying into Nassau International Airport on New Providence Island. The three letter identifier for Nassau International Airport is NAS.

Nassau airport is pretty small by U.S. standards and doesn't appear to have changed much since Sean Connery went there in the sixties while playing his role as James Bond 007. The airport is essentially clean, however, as is most everything in Nassau. The interior has been remodeled some since a visit in 2005, although certain areas still appear to be under construction - eventually.

Restrooms at the airport are freshly remodeled. There is only one men’s and one women’s restroom as the airport just isn't that big. All faucets and valves are of the new automatic variety and worked quite well. Baby changing stations also hung on the wall.

A new restaurant, Cloud Nine, was recently added offering a limited selection of food items. Previously, only the bar and gift shop offered anything to eat or drink and the selection was very limited.

In addition to the one small gift shop, there are a few large kiosks with attractive offerings nicely displayed. Interestingly enough, one prominent one offers Harley Davidson clothing and caps and another, Hard Rock Cafe. Not exactly island flavor!

Arriving in Nassau, Bahamas for the first time may give you an uneasy feeling. If you arrive at the airport at night you may find everything but customs and security shut down. Your aircraft may disembark right onto the tarmac. Minimal lighting, a somewhat grimy stairway, and a long trek down some long hallways on old carpet might start you wondering what you are in for.

Customs at Nassau airport are just a bit confusing, you have to find a line with someone working the booth; just be sure to stay behind the painted yellow line. Customs officials are pleasant enough, at least if you have everything in order.

There is only a small area for baggage claim with two main conveyors and carousels to monitor to try to find your luggage. Once you have everything just follow the crowd out the front door and look for your ride. Taxis are usually plentiful, but if you have any kind of vacation package with Atlantis or another hotel on Paradise Island or perhaps at Cable Beach, you likely have complimentary transportation with Majestic Tours. Just keep repeating the name of your hotel to make sure you get on the right bus. Tips are appreciated by the drivers, but no heavy handed tactics are used to extract them.

When arriving at Nassau International Airport to depart the Bahamas you will find a relatively small ticket area. Air Bahamas is part of that and primarily used to travel from one Bahamian Island to another. Delta seems to be a primary carrier at Nassau, just get in line. Once you have been through the ticketing area, you will carry your checked bags with you to stand in line for security. U.S. travelers will be handed a customs form to fill out while in line; not much seems to be made of how it's filled out, however.

When cleared into the security room you drop off your checked bags on a conveyor belt and go through screening. This screening is fairly cursory and you can keep your shoes on. After that, U.S. travelers get in line to do the same thing again only this time with U.S. Government employees and yes, you will take your shoes off. Nothing like clearing security twice.

If you make it through that Ok, you then stand in another line to go through U.S. Customs and from there into the waiting area. The waiting area isn't incredibly large, there isn't much to do and there is no fantastic view. Bringing a book or magazine to read is a great idea. The waiting area is not new or modern, but workers seem to always be about to keep the area fairly clean.

When arriving or departing during the daytime, be sure and look out the window at the area around the airport; it will remind you of rural Florida. Also note the control tower; it’s not exactly ultra modern or in a well kept area, but apparently it works. This "newer" tower on the other side of the runway from the terminal building does appear to be an upgrade from Sean Connery's trip but not a recent one.

All in all, Nassau International Airport in the Bahamas is an acceptable conduit through which to begin, or end, your Bahamas vacation or business trip.