Andros in August: Crawfish Season, Warm Seas and Mangrove Creeks

On the first of August, the crawfish traps come out of the sheds and the boats along Fresh Creek start leaving the dock a little earlier. By evening the smell of thyme, peppers and lobster stewing in a pot drifts out of kitchen windows in the settlements.

The sea is at its warmest, the mangrove flats shine under towering clouds, and the big island is quiet. August in Andros is a month for travelers who want food from the water, long hours outdoors and room to themselves.

The mood is slow and a little drowsy. Afternoons belong to the shade of a porch, mornings to the water, and the long summer light keeps dinner unhurried.

A flat coast on Andros in summer · Illustration

What is the weather like in Andros in August?

Andros in August brings heat, heavy moisture, and strong light, while the ocean feels like bathwater and the rain falls in brief, intense downpours instead of lasting all day under gray skies.

Month	Sea at Andros (°F)	Daylight on the 15th (hours and minutes)
July	86.7	13 h 33 min
August	87.1	13 h 02 min
September	86.7	12 h 19 min

On Andros’s side of the water, August brings average highs near 91°F in Nassau, along with rain on about half the days, usually in the form of abrupt summer downpours. Across the water on Andros, the same rhythm is what you plan around. The morning is usually the clearest stretch, with a soft haze over the flats and a light breeze, so it is the time for anything that asks for effort or a long look at the water.

By early afternoon the sun is heavy and clouds build high over the island. A shower can sweep through, soak a settlement for a while and leave steam rising from the road, then the sky clears again by late afternoon. Dress for sweat and for a sudden wetting at once: light cotton or linen, quick-drying layers, a hat and sunglasses.

The days are still long, with a little over thirteen hours of light in mid-month. That leaves a lingering evening on the dock, when the heat finally loosens and the mosquitoes and sand flies at the water’s edge become the one thing to prepare for. The sea hardly cools overnight, which is why a late swim or a boat ride after supper feels natural this month.

Can you swim in Andros in August?

In August the water is warm enough for a leisurely, drawn-out swim, and you won’t gasp when you get in or feel rushed to climb back out.

The water near Andros Town sits in the high 80s, so it feels closer to a bath than a plunge. Along the eastern shore, the third largest barrier reef in the world runs offshore, and the reef is the reason people come here with masks and fins or with a dive operator. The inland blue holes are a different kind of water, deep and dark, and they are looked at from the edge unless a local guide or an operator tells you otherwise.

Surf and shore vary with the wind and the weather of the day, and a stretch of coast that looks glassy at dawn can look different by afternoon, particularly when a storm system passes in the Atlantic. Pack a light long-sleeved shirt or a rash guard to block the sun, plus reef-safe sunscreen, and water shoes if the bottom is rocky or grassy. Families, snorkelers and anyone who simply likes warm water will enjoy the month, but ask local hosts about the particular beach before you go in.

What to do in Andros in August

Crawfish season begins on August 1 and lasts through March 31, so when August arrives, the whole island starts eating them. Menus say crawfish where a visitor from the mainland would expect spiny lobster, and the first weeks of the season are when the dish arrives in force: grilled, cracked, or stewed in a thick brown gravy over rice. A cold crawfish salad with lime, onions and peppers is the quieter version, good under a ceiling fan at midday.

The first Monday of the month is Emancipation Day, a public holiday across the islands. Settlements often mark it with music, church gatherings, food stands and sailing or rowing races, and a stay timed around it gives you a glimpse of how Androsians spend a summer vacation. Where the program is not posted, ask at your guesthouse in the morning, since much of it is arranged by word of mouth.

Fishing the flats and creeks

Andros is known to anglers for its bonefish flats, and the tidal creeks around Fresh Creek and the wider mangrove country are where guides take small skiffs at first light. You glide over pale sand and turtle grass, watch for the tail of a feeding fish, and listen to a guide who reads the tide as others read a clock. The hours before the sun climbs are the ones to claim, because by midday the glare and the heat push everyone to shore.

A day on the water is also a lesson in the island itself. You pass mangrove nurseries full of small fish, wading birds standing in the shallows, and channels that seem to lead nowhere until they open onto a hidden flat. Bring a long-sleeved shirt, a brimmed hat and polarized glasses, and expect a guide to set the pace rather than a clock.

Fresh Creek, Androsia and the settlements

Fresh Creek is the place to spend a slow midday indoors. The Androsia batik workshop, with its bright floral fabrics hung out to dry, is a good stop when a shower rolls through, and it is a short wander from the creek and its small boats. Around Andros Town you will also find local restaurants serving fried fish, peas and rice, johnnycake and conch in several forms, plus stalls where fruit and baked goods appear in the morning.

Farther along the island, settlements keep their own character. Red Bays is associated with the island’s basket-weaving tradition, and the stories of the chickcharnie, a red-eyed, three-toed bird-like creature of Andros folklore said to live in the pine trees, are told with a wink to visitors who ask. A conversation with someone on a porch often teaches more than any plaque.

Wilderness, birds and the blue holes

The interior is the island’s other half, a roadless landscape of pine, mangrove and shallow water that makes Andros feel more like a continent than an island. August is green and wet here, and the birds are busy. The national park in the west is among the great wild spaces of the Bahamas, and a boat or a knowledgeable guide is the way to see any of it.

Blue holes are the island’s signature, round pools of intense color set among pine and scrub or opening in the sea close to the shore. You come for the color, the silence and the geology, and you listen to what the people who live nearby say about each one. Plan these outings for the morning, then retreat to the shade and a cold drink before the hottest hours.

Evenings are for the water’s edge. Anglers return with their catch, fish are cleaned on the dock, and the settlements wake up around dusk with music from a bar or a porch radio. Dinner is simple and generous, and the crawfish on the plate is often a few hours old.

A two-day itinerary for Andros in August

Day 1 starts at first light on the water, because the flats are at their calmest and the air is still tolerable. Join a guide for a skiff trip through the creeks around Fresh Creek, stop for a swim over a sandy patch, and be back at the dock before the heat settles in. Breakfast can be a plate of johnnycake and eggs at a settlement diner.

Midday belongs to the shade. Have a crawfish lunch at a local restaurant, then walk through Andros Town and the Androsia batik workshop while the sun is at its height. If a shower comes, that is the moment to linger over a second cup of coffee and a conversation with the staff.

In the late afternoon, ride out along the shore road to see a settlement or a quiet stretch of coast, then be at a waterfront table for the evening. Stew crawfish with rice is the order of the season. After dark, the quiet is complete and the stars are strong on a clear night.

Day 2 turns inland. In the morning, go with a local guide toward the blue holes and pine country, where the sun is filtered and the birds are loudest, and take plenty of water. Come back to the coast by midday, when the heat is strongest, for a long lunch and an hour off.

The afternoon is for the reef. Take a boat out for snorkeling or a dive with an operator, since the water is at its warmest and the light is high enough to reach the bottom. Finish with a quiet walk at the water’s edge and a cold drink on a porch as the clouds go pink.

If rain sets in for the day, spend it indoors with the batik workshop, a long meal, and the stories of people at the table. Showers rarely hold the whole day, so keep a boat trip flexible and head out when the sky clears.

Is Andros busy in August?

No, Andros is quiet in August, and that is much of its charm in a month when mainland beaches fill with families on summer break.

The island is large and thinly settled, so even a busy week feels spread out. The crowds that exist are mostly anglers, divers and a few families visiting relatives, and the holiday around Emancipation Day brings Bahamians home, so local gatherings and boats can be livelier that weekend. Restaurants are small, and tables are easy to picture rather than hard to find, but small places keep short hours and a late arrival can mean the crawfish is gone.

Rooms on Andros are limited in number, with lodges, guesthouses and small resorts rather than large hotels. As a habit, reserve early for the Emancipation Day weekend and for any week when you want a particular guide, boat or dive trip, and give yourself more flexibility for the rest of the month. A guide with a skiff is often the scarcest item, since the best mornings are in demand among anglers.

Getting around is part of the plan. The island is long, and the distance between settlements is real, so decide your base first and build outings around it. Andros Town Airport is the arrival point for the central part of the island.

What to pack for Andros in August

Pack for heat, water and insects, and keep the bag light enough to carry onto a small boat.

Light cotton or linen clothes, for hot, sticky afternoons.
A long-sleeved sun shirt and a wide-brimmed hat, for hours on open flats.
Insect repellent, for dusk near mangroves and creeks.
Water shoes, for rocky shorelines and grassy bottoms.
A compact rain jacket or a dry bag, for sudden showers on the boat.
Reef-safe sunscreen and a mask and snorkel, for the warm reef water.

Good to know before you go

The U.S. State Department rates the Bahamas Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, and says most crime occurs in Nassau on New Providence and in Freeport on Grand Bahama.

August falls inside the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, and the most active stretch begins in mid-August and carries into mid-October. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation monitors tropical storms in the Atlantic, and the Bahamas.com hurricane page carries updates. Keep your plans flexible, travel with a cushion in your schedule, and remember that Emancipation Day on the first Monday of the month is a public holiday when some businesses close.

Andros in August vs July and September

Going in July gives you slightly longer days and a sea just a shade cooler, with the crawfish season still a few weeks away. The island is just as quiet, but the storm calendar is less advanced and you miss the first lobster dinners of the season.

September brings shorter days, a sea that stays very warm, and the heart of the hurricane season, when more travelers choose to stay home. The island becomes even quieter, and crawfish is fully on the menu, but the weather has a bigger chance of turning, so plans bend more often.

Choose August if the crawfish opening and the Emancipation Day holiday appeal, and if you accept the heat and a flexible schedule. Choose July for the longest light and the fewest storm worries, or September for solitude and warm water if you can adjust your dates.

Is August a good time to visit Andros?

Yes, August suits travelers who like heat, water and an unhurried island, and it is not the month for anyone who wants cool air or a packed schedule of sights.

Anglers, divers, food lovers and people who enjoy wilderness will find plenty to do, and those who are bothered by humidity, insects or the chance of a storm should choose another month. On arrival, settle your guide or boat for the first morning, since that is the time of day the island is best, then let the rest of the days follow the weather.

What marks August here is the first crawfish of the season, eaten at a table a few steps from the creek where it was caught, with the warm sea still glowing in the evening light.

Sources

Open-Meteo Marine API, average 2015-2024, checked October 10, 2026
sunrise-sunset.org, sunrise and sunset calculated for the 15th of the month, checked October 10, 2026
NOAA NCEI, GHCN-Daily station BF000078073 (Nassau Airport), normals 1991-2020 computed from the daily record (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=daily-summaries&stations=BF000078073), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, crawfish season (https://www.bahamas.com/blog/its-crawfish-season), checked October 10, 2026
NOAA National Hurricane Center, Climatology (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (bahamas.com), Hurricane and storm information (https://www.bahamas.com/hurricane-storm-information), checked October 10, 2026
Wikipedia, Andros Town Airport (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andros_Town_International_Airport), checked October 10, 2026
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Wikipedia, Andros, Bahamas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andros,_Bahamas), checked October 10, 2026
Wikipedia, Fresh Creek (Andros Town) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Creek), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (bahamas.com), travel blog, Andros nature (https://www.bahamas.com/blog/the-wild-side-of-andros), checked October 10, 2026
Wikipedia, Geography of the Bahamas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Bahamas), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (bahamas.com), Island FAQ (https://www.bahamas.com/plan-your-trip/island-faq), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Department of Immigration, Entry requirements (https://www.immigration.gov.bs/entry-requirements/), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Department of Immigration, Before your arrival (https://www.immigration.gov.bs/entry-requirements/before-your-arrival/), checked October 10, 2026
U.S. Department of State, The Bahamas Travel Advisory, Level 2 (https://travel.state.gov/), checked October 10, 2026