Club Med Columbus Isle

Hey there...

My wife and I are planning to be at CI toward the end of April. It will be our first CM experience and we're wondering if there's a list of costs for the various "extras".

We've read up on so many of the great things to do and want to come with realistic expectations of what we'll be spending.

Also...is there a cost for internet access (although it seems wifi isn't super reliable there)?

Thanks for your help. We can hardly wait to get away!

Welcome to Club Med!

Not sure what you mean by 'extras'. Club Med is all inclusive. Food and drinks are included, including liquor. Premium brands will cost more, but the standard brands are adequate. No tipping at Club Med - but some people choose to tip housekeepers.

You will pay extra for diving, but snorkeling and other sports are free. As I recall, they even have some bikes that you can hop on to ride to other parts of the island.

Massage is extra charge, and so are excursions.

CI is very remote and there isnt much to see on the island beside the small memorial where Columbus landed.

The airport is walkable from the village and makes for a unique jogging route.

Thanks for the response, Craig.

I was referring to things like diving, renting snorkelling gear, sailing outings, massage...general stuff like that.

Knowing that this is a really remote place, we're pretty sure we want to take in some of those activities, but we're also fairly budget conscious. Just knowing ahead of time would be helpful so we're not disappointed when we arrive and find things are out of our reach financially.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks again! Getting so exited.

Andy, I have not been to CI but I have a couple of thoughts. CM has pretty much outsourced the excursions. At most airports, there is a stand with a bunch of brochures etc. Grab some because often dealing directly with them lowers the cost. I have a 2010 excursion brochure from Turks. The cheapest was a 2-hour sunset cruise for $50. Horseback riding was $75-90. A two-hour paddleboard was $75 and a 3-4 hour kayak was $95. Diving was $190 with gear for a two-tank dive. The highest was a day-long trip around various islands for $275. I think massages were $100+ for an hour. To tell you the truth, we rarely do excursions at CM as there is so much to do and watch at the Club. (However, we had a great horseback trip in Huatulco.) In the mornings there are tennis lessons, fitness classes, and walks which are included. At noon there is water aerobics, the sun dance and usually some games. In the afternoon we go sailing on hobos. There is a class and after that you go on your own. We also windsurf (for us a lot tougher than it looks.) Later in the day there is usually a fitness class and tennis games. We also play volleyball. There also should be some snorkeling. At Turks you go for free on a boat to various reefs-usually a couple of hours. Two trips a day. Internet is like $5 for an hour and maybe $40-50 for unlimited use for a week. (I check email but that is pretty much it.) Hope this helps. As much as I do not like the changes, CM is still the best vacation we have. We have been on over 25 CM trips. Enjoy!

Jim

CI is super remote and the island is devoid of services.

Unless it has changed, the airport terminal including customs, is a small one room building. I am not aware of any outside excursion vendors at this village like there are at Turks, Cancun, etc.

Snorkeling is included, including the boat ride out to the reefs and the bus ride to the boat. Sailing is included. All other sports are included except diving.

There is probably a sunset cruise which will be priced roughly as Jim mentioned. Maybe an island tour for minimal price. Again, I think the bikes are free (unless that has changed), and you can ride just about anywhere on the island easily.

Laundry will be extra charge but at Club Med you seriously dont need much. I always carry on and end up having over packed.

Thanks guys...

This is exactly the info I was looking for. Just a rough estimate for those few extra things. We're not really looking for too much other than sand, sun, quiet and a good time. We've had so much rain in the Northwest lately...about to go crazy!

Thanks so much...this is perfect.

The bikes are now rented out by an outside company and, as I remember, cost about $20 for a half day. As has been mentioned, the snorkeling, sailing, windsurfing, tennis, fitness classes, water skiing, food & drinks ar all included. SCUBA diving is additional. Outside excursions are additional and there are not a lot of them; one that comes to mind is a half day Jet-Ski excursion of the island.
We're sailors/windsurfers and snorkelers and on multiple occasions have spent a week at a Club Med without spending any "out of pocket" money.

Amateur GO ( Professional GM )
http://www.hammocktree.us/amateurgos.jpg

Good point about the fitness classes being included. This includes yoga if there is a yoga GO.

Several years ago I was told that more than 60% of the adult workers on the island were employed by Club Med. This is a small place.

And the food was very good compared to other Club Meds. But these things change. It has been years since I have been there.

Snorkeling (from the twice-daily snorkel boats)is free, including equipment. For details regarding prices for Scuba, you should contact Seafari Bahamas, which runs the on-site program at Columbus Isle: http://www.seafari-int.com/bahamas_en.html

Contact at Columbus Isle:
SEAFARI BAHAMAS

Club Med Columbus Isle
San Salvador, Bahamas
Center manager : Jean-Paul Morales
email : [email protected]
Tel: 1-242-331-2195


The diving there is magnificent, by the way....
(and if you check out the Seafari Bahamas page on Facebook, you can read regular reports on what the divers are seeing, as well as see some photos & videos posted by various GM's & GO's)

Adria