What our guests have to say about Small Hope Bay Lodge . . .

We truly get the most wonderful guests at Small Hope. I suspect that the type of people who choose to go to an off-the-beaten -track resort on a (mostly) deserted tropical island, with no TVs in your cabins are just the coolest anyway!

Our guests bring with them great stories of families and travel and we get to share all of it. The staff and guests here mingle and chat about everything from world politics, to the environment, to the new Star Wars movie, and the most recent Duke game.

Our cocktail hour has seen different people come and go. Many of our guests have made life-long friends here among the other guests and the staff as well. It is such a treat to live and work among some of the most interesting people in the world!

Check out some of what our guests have said about their stay here . . .

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Check out this awesome video of Small Hope!!!!!!!

An amazing video! This really captures the beauty of Andros Island, and all the great activities we offer here!

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Small Hope's "West Side Story"

The west side of Andros Island is a virtually unexplored and pristine oasis. It is miles of waterways and mangroves, estuaries and sand banks. At Small Hope we offer tours to this paradise for nature lovers.

We have several guided tours of Andros Island - half days and whole days, and to some of the beautiful natural attractions this island has to offer - but nothing compares to the West Side. This tour is unique since we have to go by boat rather than vehicle.

It is a whole day tour and starts early in the morning. We drive down to Cargill Creek where we get in to the skiff and start the ride through North Bight, the large waterway that crosses Andros. The tour includes bird watching, fishing, snorkeling, and sight-seeing. You can see the old sponging locations and you'll pass the historic Bang Bang Club, which worn down now, used to have guests like Al Capone! Some of our guests even spot dolphins on this trip!

Check out our guests' most recent trip to the West Side. Looks like they had a great lunch with some very fresh snapper! They also made a new friend - one of the rare iguanas we have on the island.

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Some More Sustainable Practices at Small Hope!

As you may have read from a previous post, we at Small Hope maintain a continuous effort in being as Eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable. This means many things to us - it is why we installed solar energy and use only solar heated hot water, it is why we use water saving devices in our plumbling, why we have LED light bulbs in all fixtures on the property, and most recently, why we have started removing all of the Casuarina trees (also know as Australian Pine) from the property.


The Casuarinas are an invasive species and contribute to excessive beach erosion. In place of these trees we are planting many more coconut palms, as well as many varieties of native grasses and shrubs. Our staff can frequently be spotted along our beach planting and maintaining these new plants.

Come down and see our efforts for yourself, or let us know what practices you think are important for us to try!

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The Most Geological Diversity in Diving . . . and all within a 20 minute boat ride!

People always ask me where my favorite diving locations are. That's a tough question because there are so many factors involved - water visibility, water temperature, fish and sea life, the quality of the dive operation and dive staff, and the location itself (the local people, landscape, and food).

But to me Small Hope Bay Lodge has it all. There are 3 main reasons why I think this is my favorite diving location in the world:

1.  The most Geological Diversity within a 20 minute boat ride. This means we have the opportunity to dive sheer walls that start at about 70 ft and drop down 6000 ft in to the Tongue of the Ocean. We have wrecks, two of which (a barge, and a small airplane) were sunk specifically for Small Hope as dive sites. We have many coral gardens, at shallow, mid-level, and deeper sites. We have great caverns with little pocket rooms and swim throughs. And we have blue holes (both ocean and inland) for some of the coolest dives you will ever do in your life! And all of these sites (totaling somewhere between 60 and 100!!!) are within 20 minutes from our dock.
2. We are the only people diving this reef! This is the third largest barrier reef in the world. And there is no one else around. It is a rare day indeed when you spot another boat on the water and even more unusual to see other divers. This means we have the reef and dive sites all to ourselves. I have been on many dives in other locations when in the middle of a beautiful dive a swarm of 20+ divers descends on the reef, starts kicking up sand, etc. I have been on night dives in other countries where we had to wear a certain color glow stick on our tank to differentiate our group from the many others that were there too. Not here! Just our divers and no one else!
3. The best dive staff EVER. They are safe. They are professional. They are FUN! There is no minimum number of divers for us to go diving. If we only have one person who wants to dive - we're going diving. We also have the highest ratio of staff to guests in the water that I have ever seen. As a dive professional myself, this is key. 

 In addition to the above reasons, Small Hope also has gorgeous weather year-round. 21 cabins right on the beach. The kitchen staff prepares incredible food. The staff and Andros locals are some of the friendliest in the world. The water temperature and visibility are awesome! All these things make it a no brainer. I wanna dive at Small Hope Bay Lodge!

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Get to Know the Staff: Meet Dennis!

Introducing . . . . 

the amazing, Dennis!

Dennis has been around Small Hope for many years. He is known by all as a wonderful, kind, and fun-lovingly man. Most people know him as one of our fabulous Divemasters, but few know that when he started at Small Hope he started in the maintenance department and didn't even know how to swim! Well, those days are long gone. He is now practically a fish - first person in the water on a dive, and last person out of the water. He is also now a PADI Open Water Instructor and has taught probably hundreds of men, women and children how to dive.

He is also our senior Nature Tour Guide and Audubon certified birding guide. He truly does it all here. So if you don't see him on the dive boat, maybe he will be mixing up your favorite cocktail, or pointing out  the elusive Bahama Oriole, or jumping with you in to Captain Bill's Blue Hole.


Fun Facts about Dennis:

# of Years at Small Hope: He celebrated 9 years at Small Hope in September of 2015

# of Kids: Four  (3 girls, and 1 boy)

Kids names: Denise, Denicia, Kendranique, and Xavier

Favorite Thing to do Outside of Work: Explore the nature trails of Andros.

Best Part about Working at Small Hope for him: Variety. You never know what the day will bring. Meeting new people, going on new adventures.

Favorite Food: Crab n' Dough

Favorite Color: Emerald Green




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The Story of Dick's Tree, by Rosi Birch

Small Hope has such a beautiful and long history. There have been so many stories of love, loss, friendship, humor, and adventure here. Some of these stories stretch back over generations and several decades.

One such story is how Dick's Tree became known as Dick's Tree. Click here for the story, written by Rosi Birch, Dick's wife at that time.

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