Gold Rock Beach
Gold Rock Beach
5
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This beach is as pretty as a postcard, with smooth white sands and clear blue waters.
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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles571 reviews
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SWF111111
Baltimore, MD1,438 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
LOVE this beach! We visited in mid May 2023 and had the beach to ourselves. It was a windy day, and we got here as the tide was coming in. This beach is best explored at low tide, but when we were there, low tide was 8:30 AM and PM. 😆 it’s shallow and we did a lot of relaxing on the beach and dipping in the water. We brought everything with us - chairs, a cooler with drinks and sandwiches etc. There is a vendor renting lounges and some refreshments. We stayed all day - it was so quiet and relaxing. It’s a 10 minute walk from the parking lot to the beach, along a boardwalk, so make sure you can carry all you want to bring. There is a trash can. Make sure you have plenty of gas in your car because there is nothing nearby. It’s beautiful- we will go back!!
Written 15 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lisa F
Waukegan, IL15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
You have to do the caves across the road, it is amazing. The beach is a little way but you get to see the sponsors of the bridge. I love the beach because compare to some there isn't the sea weeds and over roughness of the beach. The place is gorgeous.
Written 27 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

snoss93220
New Jersey5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Was sailing on Carnival's Sensation June 28-July 2nd. Was looking for a nice beach to go to on our own, since most of the cruise excusrsions were expensive. I had reserved a car with Avis, as they reported that they had a rental car station at the port where the cruises drop off in Freeport. Learned very quickly, that Avis is about 10 minutes away and shuttles come to pick up (supposly every 10 minutes). After waiting for about 30 minutes and calling Avis, we got frustrated. We had seen a small local car rental car place within the shops right at the port. We were able to get a compact car, which fit 4 adults and one child for a total of $70, including insurance. The lady gave us a map and highlighted the routes to get to Gold Rock. She advised that it would take approx one hour. I had read on this site and other cites that most people made it there in approx 40 minutes from port. It took us 35 minutes. The main highways are EMPTY and the drive is mostly through heavily wooded pine areas.

Word of caution if you are renting, you will be driving on the left side of the road if you go. However, there are cars that we saw that had steering wheels on the left side, but we got stuck with one on the right. My husband was a little nervous, but he did fine, especially since there were hardly any cars on the road!

When you enter the park area on the left, you will pull into a small gravel parking lot which does not look like much and there you will park and someone should greet you and will ask you for park fees. I think we paid $3 per adult and our 6 year old daughter was free. There are bathrooms in the parking lot area and then the caves, ect are up a path past the bathrooms. We did not do the caves.

Gold Rock Beach path is directly across the street from parking lot, there was a local woman parked outside path who was selling cold drinks, snacks. Waters were like $2 and gatorade and soda were $1.50. The drinks were cold. Previous reviews have said that the path is not really marked and you can easily miss it. The path now has like this little wooded fence thing in front of it and a sign. So even if the woman is not sitting there with her drinks, you can see the path quite easily.

There are two paths you can take, as it splits. Take the left split and it is the most direct and will take approx 5 minutes to get to the beach. The right split will take about 15-20 minutes and brings you through the mangroves.

Gold Rock Beach was abosulutley beautiful. It was everything like the photos which are posted on this site. The day we got there, low tide was around 8:30 am and high tide at 2:30. We arrived at the beach around 11:00 and the water was already pretty high and most of the sandbars that Gold Rock is known for were already covered by water. Regardless, the water was still very shallow and you had to swim quite far to get to a point where you were standing and completely covered by water.

The water was warm, clear and beautiful.!!! There was some very slight waves which were prob being caused by a small storm approaching. Unlike other reviews I have read on this beach, we were lucky and did not have any run-ins with baracuda's or stingrays. We saw one little crab, thats it. I was hoping to see starfish, but did not see any of them either. My daughter did have fun collecting coral from the shore area. We did end up having a heavy down pour of rain which lasted approx 10 minutes. We ran under the covered hut that the kayaking excursion people use from the cruises. The kayakers were not there yet, so we just hung out until the rain stopped.

Beacuase of the tide issues, there is very little places to sit on the beach once the tide is high. You can move east on the beach about 100 feet, but we had so much stuff with us, that there was no way we were walking that far. We had to bring chairs, umbrellas, ect with us, because as I researched Gold Rock, there is nothing there.

The great thing about this beach is prob the seclusion and its beauty of course. We were the only ones at this beach for 80% of the time. Other people who will be there will be the kayakers from the cruise ship excursions. They will come and eat lunch as a group under the covered hut area and then they will swim a little.

We were only able to spend a couple of hours at Gold Rock. Mainly due to the car rental issue of wating for Avis, who never showed up and then the rain and thunderstorms we had, we lost another 30 minutes. Since the weather was so so and we were running out of time before we had to be back at ship, we decided to eat at Bishop's, which I also researched.

There are signs for Bishop's out ont he street by the parks parking lot. The lady selling the drinks will tell you its 7 miles on the right. Those directions were AWFUL. If you are going to goto Bishops to eat, continue down the road, as if you were going to drive past the park, and at one point the road will kinda split....keep to the right. Once you split, you will be on road for a few minutes and you will see a small police station on right side in High Rock. When you see the police station, turn right on the street right before the police station parking lot. Follow that little street all the way down, (there will be this small round about) and when u get to the end of street, make a right. You will follow this down the coastline for about 45 seconds. It will lead you straight into Bishops parking lot. You can either eat in the inside restaunt which is to the right or the outside tiki hut bar on the left. You can reseach Bishops Bone fish restraunt on the web. It gets mainly great reviews. It is mostly seafood, and they had hamburger/chicken fingers. It is worth going if you like seafood, all fresh, and really good. They have conch dishes and my husband got snapper, which is served with the head on. Bishops has a hotel as well. which also gets raves reviews even though it does not look like much. You will most likely be one of the few at this restaraunt, we were the only ones!!!! One note of caution, do not eat in the inside restaraunt unless u are covered up. If you want to sit around in your bathing suit, go outside and eat. My daughter decided to take off her cover up in restaraunt and Bishop walked over and told her to put her beach cover up on.

The car rental return was quick and easy, we made it back to ship within one hour after leaving Bishop's. The day was cheap for us, as we split the car rental costs with our friends. For me and my husband and child, the car rental was $35, park admission $6 and lunch was approx $40 which included 3 seafood meals, 2 sodas, one Bahama Mama and tip and gratuity. We also put in $7 for gas into car. Total cost for our own cruise shore excursion was $88 for a family of 3. Considering that most people do not even leave the ship at Freeport or complain that there is nothing to do...we had a GREAT time and we were able to do whatever we wanted and were not stuck on the hustle and bustle of a shore excursion schedule!!

I hope that I can go back to Gold Rock Beach again one day and experience it at low tide and without cloudy and stormy skies. It is truly a beautiful and peaceful place!!!!
Written 2 July 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ambassador10164
Rochester, NY1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
If you go to Grand Bahama, you should not miss Gold Rock Beach, I was there last weekend, the beach is peaceful, very little people, miles of turquoise waters and white sand beach, the water is crystal clear, just marvelous. I hope you have a great time in the Bahamas, just don't leave without seeing this marvelous beach.
Written 23 September 2003
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jet36087
Boston, MA4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Gold Rock beach seriously had to be the most gorgeous beach I've ever seen.

It was peaceful, serene and almost deserted. The water was calm and clear almost all the way up to your waist. After that the different shades of torquoise waters were utterly amazing.

Bring your snorkel because we saw fish, coral and a HUGE starfish, just sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

Its a little hike to get there but believe me, its worth it.
Written 17 June 2004
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

reegieluigi
Pittsburgh, PA27 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
This beach is worth the walk through some beautiful forest--then you come up upon small sand dunes and walla! Miles of unspoiled beach and crystal clear water. It was breathtaking. We were 2 of only 5 people on the beach and, as it was low tide, we found a sand bar between a tide pool and the ocean and plopped down our towels. We felt like we were on our own private island. There is some noticable hurricane damage in the trees (mostly dead) behind the beach, but it doesn't take away from the scene, and reminds you of how powerful the storms must have been. You have to rent a car or take a tour bus to get to the park but it is well worth it. If you do drive yourself out, the signage for the park is small, and it looks so nondescript that you might drive right past it, thinking it is just a side entrance to the park. Nope, that's the entrance. Cross the road for access to the beach, and be sure to also explore the caves that are near the parking area. While very small, the park truly is one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. Entrance fee is $3 per person, and if you don't see anyone to pay when you arrive, chances are they'll find you on the beach and collect the $3.
Written 12 June 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jbd82
Grand Rapids3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
If you love beaches, you have to go to Gold Rock Beach at the Lucayan National Park. From Freeport/Lucaya, take the main highway toward the west end (it will take about 20-30 min by car, 45 by moped). The national park has a small parking lot. On the north side of the street there are some caves to explore, on the south side there's a short trail (5-10 min walk) to the beach. It will probably be deserted, and it WILL be beautiful. This is a much better beach and the water is warmer than the beaches by the hotels in Lucaya. There's a sand bar 20 yards out, which is completely out of the water when the tide goes out. It will cost you $3/person to get into the park.
Written 6 March 2006
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cruisetalk
Dallas1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
I was there the week of Thanksgiving 2009. We rented a car. "They drive on the left". Take Grand Bahama Hwy East until you reach Fortune Bay Drive. Take a right. Head South to E Sunrise Hwy. Take a Left on E. Sunrise. Go back towards Grand Bahama Hwy. You will cross a bridge (Casaurina Bridge) on the way back to Grand Bahama Hwy. Once you are back to Grand Bahama Hwy, take a right and the beach is 11 miles up on the right. It will be across from Lucayan National Park. There were five of us and the Taxi ride would have been $250 round trip. The rental cost's around $100. Check the tide schedules and try to get there at low tide. Absolutely stunning.
Written 2 December 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Greg M
Noblesville, IN31 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2012
After getting off of a cruise ship we rented a car for $85 (keeping in mind it is $15 round trip to Taino Beach per person) and decided to drive on the left side of the road and visit what ended up being the highlight of our cruise to the Bahamas. Six od us piled into a small 1999 Honda and about 45 minutes later we arrived. If you make it to Freetown, you have went to far. Freetown consisted of 8 or so homes and a school. You will drive 12 or so miles only making one turn and you will begin to feel as if you have went the wrong way and are lost. The only warning you have that you are approaching the park is a speed limit that says 15 mph and some rumble strips on the road. The park is marked with a small green sign that says Lucayan National Park and is on your left. There is no mention of Gold Rock Beach on the signs. Pay the attendant $5 per person (12 and under are free) and he will explain the park trails to you. The north loop has a couple of caves with crystal clear water and signs on the trails explaining what you are looking at. We spent maybe 25 minutes walking the trails and checking out the caves. There are clean bathrooms by the parking area at the beginning of this trail. We then went to the south sir of the road and walked the longer trail leading in. Again there were signs explaining the vegetation to you. We had thw WOW factor as we crossed the dune and saw the beach. The tide was out and as we arrived at around 10am, there were only two others as far as we could see. There was a large beach and we put our towels and what food and drink we brought on a tree right by the trail head. Some of our group snorkeled and the came back with half a dozen sand dollars. They also saw live starfish. As we walked the beach we watched a sting ray maybe 10 feet from shore. We walked back the shorter trail on the way back and there were several fish under the trail bridge. At the roadway when we came back out was a vendor selling water and soda for $1.50. There were maybe 25 people on the beach when we left at 1pm. It was clear sky's and 92 degrees during our visit. There are no facilities except what is by the parking lot. The walk to the beach from the lot is maybe 5 minutes.

Watch driving the round a bouts because unlike the ones that I drive daily, sometimes the cars entering the traffic circle must yield and sometimes it is the car in the circle, oh and you go left in them!!!!

The rental car had to be returned to the pier by 3pm and gas was $6 per gallon and they only took cash at the station we stopped at.
Written 5 April 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BangkokTraveller
Boston65 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
This beach in a part of Lucayan National Park. It's a short easy hike from the parking lot, which also has 2 underground caves as a part of this Lucayan National Park. The short hike across the mangrove, walking on the board walk. Once we got to the beach, what we saw in front of us is just breathtaking! Nice sandy white beach, "so blue & so clear" water... Lovely! We got there around 2 pm, there was not a single people on the beach that I could see. We just swam & enjoyed our time alone on the beach. It's like our 2nd honeymoon. The only people visit us was the park ranger. And later, another group of peole with the rental car arrive. Overall, we were alone for at least an hour. Make sure to bring water, snack, beach gears, etc. (And please bring the trash back with you.) If you don't rent a car, you can get there by several tour operators. We have our rental car, so we got there once other people leave. (The tour people will leave around 1-2 pm. I went with the tour on the first day. The second day, I got there by my rental car.)
Written 28 May 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Gold Rock Beach - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

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