Freebie Friday: Companion Airfares to the Bahamas Gratis

The view from the Atlantis Resort by Derek Skey

Recently, a colleague of mine at Wiley Publishing (which is the publisher of the Frommer Guides) came by my office to shyly pose a question. She and her new husband were going to be taking their first non-honeymoon trip together and after the long, long winter we've just suffered through, she was thinking of going either to the Caribbean or the Bahamas. She said her interests were culture and cuisine more than beach-time, so I was frank with her steering her towards such Caribbean islands as Puerto Rico, Jamaica and St. John's. I also noted that the Bahamas weren't nearly as far south as the Caribbean, so the weather wasn't as foolproof. Sometimes, just as in Florida, spring days could be downright chilly, not beach weather at all.

She ignored my advice and chose the Bahamas for a very simple reason: the cost. This year, in an attempt to lure visitors, Nassau/Paradise Island are giving away companion airfares for free. Of course, there are a lot of strings attached including:

• Bookings must be made by Feb 28
• Travel is good until Dec 23, though the months of April and July are blacked out as is August through the 14th
• Travelers must purchase their airfare as part of a package and stay a minimum of four nights at one of 17 approved hotels (including the famed Atlantis).

To see all of the details, click here. And you may be able to find out whether its actually "better in the Bahamas" (I think you can tell from my first paragraph where I stand on that slogan).