Ardastra Gardens on our own???

[bribert]

Hi.
We will be visiting Nassau on our cruise next June & I was wondering if anybody has visited Ardastra Gardens on their own, NOT through the city tour combo offered by the cruise line. We have no interest in taking the city tour, & would like to spend more time at the Gardens. My wife is concerned about going on our own for safety reasons.
Any info you may have is greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!!

 

[SSR Lover]

Hi.
We will be visiting Nassau on our cruise next June & I was wondering if anybody has visited Ardastra Gardens on their own, NOT through the city tour combo offered by the cruise line. We have no interest in taking the city tour, & would like to spend more time at the Gardens. My wife is concerned about going on our own for safety reasons.
Any info you may have is greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!!

We did this with our kids in August of '09. After you get off the ship and go through the port building there will be lots of taxi's lined up. It was $4/person each way. We just asked our driver to come back at a specific time (2 or 3 hours later) and he did. He was a few minutes late, but we did get picked up. I suppose you could have someone at the front gate of the zoo call a cab for you if your driver didn't come back, as the zoo is off the beaten path, with no traffic going past it. I had no safety concerns, in fact, our driver had a brand new van (with the plastic still on the seats) and seat belts. I hope this is helpful to you!

 

[BeautyFan]

We did this last Feb '10. The first driver DH approached was too expensive, the second one was $4 pp.

Heads up, no sleeping in! You want to get to the Gardens early as they only do the bird show twice daily. We missed the show but got there just in time to participate in feeding the birds. When you walk in the Gardens, there is a place where you can have your picture taken with a bird on your arm, but that's not where the bird show/feeding is - you have to go further into the gardens for that - they will give you a map.

We asked someone at the gardens to call a cab for us, which they were willing to do, again $4 pp, and that driver was especially friendly and acted the part of tour guide, quizzing us on a variety of Nassau history (which we failed miserably!)

On the way back, we asked the driver to drop us off close to the straw market so we could do a little shopping there and some of the sidewalk stores. It was an easy walk from the straw market to the ship, just stick with the main roads (there are some alley shortcuts, but for safety concerns we didn't take those).

 

[bornred26]

When you walk in the Gardens, there is a place where you can have your picture taken with a bird on your arm

Do you know how much it cost to get the picture taken? My family & I are going in June also & planning on doing the garden on our own.

 

[rcchello]

You can also walk or catch a bus that goes stops down the hill from Adastra Gardens. My wife and I walked both ways but I would not do it with small kids. You do walk past the Colonial Hilton, Fort Charlotte and Arawak Cay on the way.

Taken from their website: http://www.ardastra.com/visit1.html
Making your own way?
Visitors can take the #10 bus from Downtown or Cable Beach to Arawak Cay, and walk five minutes to the entrance. Or any of the numerous Taxis will take you right to the zoo for just a few dollars per person. For those making their own way by rental car or by scooter - the map below provides details of our location and as you approach Ardastra, you will be directed by our road signs. call us directly.

 

[BeautyFan]

Do you know how much it cost to get the picture taken? My family & I are going in June also & planning on doing the garden on our own.

We used our camera and they snapped the pictures for us. I don't remember if they charged us or if it was for tips, but it was only a few dollars. DH & I did this, DD(3) did not, but she did have fun feeding the apple pieces to smaller birds in the enclosed cage.

 

[queenreen]

How far is it to walk from the Gardens to the forts and the Queens Staircase? Any one know?

thanks

 

[msbiscuit]

How far is it to walk from the Gardens to the forts and the Queens Staircase? Any one know?

thanks

I recall the distance as being a little too far for walking and there are safety concerns. Loved the Gardens and felt comfortable there - Fort Fincastle and the Staircase, not so much. If you want to see all those things, I'd just do the tour and enjoy the comfort of the little bus they put you on.

 

[fitnessmouse]

I guess how comfortable you are walking. We walked (may '09) with our kids in stroller.

 

[rcchello]

The distance between Adestra Gardens and the Queens staircase is about 2 miles. You pass Fort Charlotte on the way as well as a beach with a good view of the Cruise Ships.

It is probably okay with older kids or ones in strollers. My wife and I walked to Adestra Gardens to the cruise ships which is the same distance. Probably the same or less than walking Epcot.

A map of the walk below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...,-77.349235&sspn=0.022506,0.0421&ie=UTF8&z=15

I can't vouch for the neigborhoods this map takes you through. I just used google and got the default route, but it does show you the distance.

One thing I learned along time ago - if an area does not look safe to you, you should probably avoid it! Always keep your wits about you this isn't Disneyworld.