LONG ISLAND

 As the name implies, Long Island is very long and it might not look like much from the maps but you definitely feel it when once you are there. We are kiteboarders and we are always looking for that next adventure and excited to discover new spots as I am sure you and your wife share the same thoughts so I can tell you from first-hand experience ( depending on where you are staying on the island) there will be many times you will arrive home at night if you don't plan your day accordingly on long Island. Just a heads up but nonetheless, it takes nothing away from how spectacular this island is and how every hour spent there was worth it all.

 

Pros:

• Sandbars and lagoons are incredibly beautiful and even better for kiting when the winds are good.

• Top-notch beaches as you would expect and to name a few that we loved are Gordons Beach on the very south and Cape Santa Maria on the very north and Clarence town in the middle of the island

• Famous Blue Hole. An absolute must-see on this island

• The churches are impressive for a small island of the Bahamas including I believe the oldest church in The Bahamas.

• Very close to Exuma and its famous Sandy Cay about a 20 - 30 minutes boat ride from long island depending on the weather and departure location from long island. The most impressive sand bar, the purest blue water, and scenery (best at low tide) I've ever seen in kitesurfing in my career. You might have seen this spot in the final parts of the video I made visiting the long island.

• Long Island Lagoon call the "Snakes" which is also next to a cay where you can find swimming pigs and iguanas.

• Famous monuments, etc, and these are just some of the highlights we've seen on and around the island.

Cons:

 

• The Island is very long like mentioned before especially comparing to San Salvador. From North to South of the Island, it can take you about 2 hours driving or more depending on how you drive or how many stops you make. Compare to San Salvador which takes about 1 hour to go around the whole island without a stop but generally, on San Sal, it will either take you 5 to 20 mintiness to drive to the main spot on the island for kiteboarding and about the same to go to the town for shopping, etc. So distance on San Salvador doesn't matter but on Long Island, depending on what you want to do, where you stay, and where you want to kite, time is very crucial to get the most out of every day.

• From my experience on this island, there are no Safe and easy spots for kiteboarding on the east side of the island which is where 80% of the good winds in the Bahamas come from which is a bit of a shame and the only thing missing to call this island perfect. There is one spot that I can only recommend for kiters which are in clarence town and it is a beautiful spot and for good kiters such as you or better, this won't matter and you can kite a lot more spots on the eastside without issues but I always make my recommendation for a kite spot base on a level of a beginner up to an intermediate because, in my eyes, safety comes first. All the spots that we try to find to kite on the east side of the island are either full of rocks, too deep, wavey, and too dangerous, or take too much effort to be safe and become a lot riskier if something happens unexpectedly. Clarance town beach is the only Beach I consider good for kiteboarding on the east side of the island and the reason it is a good spot and not a great spot is because on the left side of this beach, you have a bit of rock to be careful of and it gets worst as to you go more down on the bay and on the right side of the beach, a massive deep blue hole. For good kiters, this is not a problem and a lot of places to set up your gear and a beautiful spot to kite but for beginners that have a higher chance of making mistakes, this is not the safest spot but nonetheless, the best I've seen on the east side of the island.

• On the west side of the island, it's the opposite story. Incredibly beautiful beaches, lagoons, sandbars, shallow waters, and so many beaches to choose from but the problem is, most of the time the winds there would be offshore so either super gusty to kite some of those lagoons or not enough safe winds to kite those beautiful beaches unless the winds are coming from the west side, or, which brings me to my last con but also a must either way....

• To kite more in Long Island or to at least get the best experience, it's best to have a boat. Even if it was just to kite more or not, I would still recommend hiring boat support because even though it's more difficult to kite in long island, the locations the boat can bring you near and around long island is incredible and the best spots you will ever kite in The Bahamas and this more than makes up for the hassle to get to a kiteable spot.