A staffed four-bedroom on the pink-sand side asks $28,000 a week in winter and closer to $48,000 over New Year, while the same house two streets back on the bay side rents for a third less. Harbour Island, Briland to the locals, prices the famous beach above almost everything. The full structure, by location and season, with three worked examples.
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The number that matters first: $8,000 to $150,000 per week. That is the real spread for villa rentals on Harbour Island, and where you land inside it turns on four things, in this order: the week of the year, which side of the island you sleep on, the number of bedrooms, and how far your gate sits from the pink sand. The island is barely three miles long, so location here is measured in streets, not miles, and the beachfront row carries a premium of around 30 percent over the bay side.
Harbour Island runs two seasons. The dry winter high season is December to April, when the weather settles and Dunmore Town fills. Low season runs June to November, with the hurricane-season heart of August to October pulling rates down 35 to 50 percent, and a few houses closing. The single most expensive window is the Christmas to New Year fortnight, with Easter close behind, running two to three times the low-season figure with a 7 to 14 night minimum on the best beachfront houses.
Indicative weekly rates in US dollars for staffed villas on the island. Low season is roughly June to November. High season is December to April. Festive is the Christmas to New Year fortnight, quoted as a weekly equivalent. Pink-sand beachfront houses sit at the top of each band.
| Villa size | Low season (Jun–Nov) | High season (Dec–Apr) | Festive (Christmas–NYE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 bedrooms | $8,000 to $14,000 | $12,000 to $24,000 | $20,000 to $40,000 |
| 4 bedrooms | $11,000 to $20,000 | $16,000 to $38,000 | $30,000 to $62,000 |
| 5 bedrooms | $18,000 to $34,000 | $28,000 to $58,000 | $48,000 to $95,000 |
| 6+ bedrooms | $30,000 to $60,000 | $48,000 to $100,000 | $80,000 to $150,000+ |
Bands reflect staffed villas in Dunmore Town and along the pink-sand beach, May 2026. The handful of true beachfront estates sit at the top of each band and book a year out.
The pink-sand beach, the three-mile eastern shore that made the island, carries the clear premium. A house on the beachfront row, with a gate that opens onto the sand, rents for around 30 percent more than an equivalent house set back toward town. The trophy estates here are few, which is why they price by the night over the festive weeks and book a full year ahead.
Dunmore Town and the bay side hold most of the island’s villas, the candy-coloured cottages and the larger compounds within a few minutes’ cart ride of the beach, the restaurants, and the harbour. This is where the value sits, and for many renters it is the better trade, since the beach is a short ride away and the houses come with gardens and pools that the beach row sometimes lacks. The bay-side sunsets are the island’s other draw, and they are free.
The Bahamas applies 10 percent VAT to vacation rentals booked for under 45 consecutive days, the standard rate set in 2022 and confirmed by the government’s VAT guidance. On a $28,000 high-season week that is $2,800. Some managed houses also add a service charge of 5 to 10 percent, so ask whether the quote is inclusive before you compare two properties.
There is no airport on Harbour Island. You fly to North Eleuthera, then take a two-minute water taxi across to the dock, roughly $8 to $15 per person each way plus a porter and a cart at the other end. Once on the island, everyone drives a golf cart. Budget $70 to $90 per day per cart, and most families take two, the single most reliable line item on a Briland week.
Most managed villas include daily housekeeping, and many include a cook whose groceries you pay at cost, roughly $70 to $120 per person per day given that nearly everything arrives by boat. A dedicated chef adds $300 to $450 per day. Provisioning a self-catered house runs high here, so a stock-up delivery from Nassau or the mainland is worth pricing against the island shops.
Expect a refundable deposit of $2,000 to $12,000 depending on the value of the house, taken by card hold or transfer before arrival and returned within two weeks of checkout.
Each budget is built from the rate plus the fees that actually land on the invoice. On Harbour Island the carts and provisioning move the total more than anywhere else in this guide.
Headline: $11,000 / wk (September, Dunmore Town, housekeeping included).
VAT (10%) $1,100. Water taxi and porters $80. Provisioning $1,000. One golf cart $560.
All-in: about $13,740 for the week, roughly $1,960 a night for a house that sleeps six.
Headline: $30,000 / wk (March, beachfront row, cook and housekeeper included).
VAT (10%) $3,000. Water taxi and porters $160. Groceries $2,800. Two golf carts $1,120.
All-in: about $37,080 for the week, roughly $5,300 a night for eight.
Headline: $110,000 / 10-night minimum (New Year, full staff).
VAT (10%) $11,000. Water taxi and porters $300. Chef plus provisioning $8,500. Three golf carts $2,400.
All-in: about $132,200 before activities and gratuities.
Three levers move the all-in cost on a Briland week.
Take May, not the deep-summer discount. May holds dry, settled weather at 20 to 30 percent below the February peak, before the storm season opens. August through October sits inside the hurricane window, and the larger discount carries real disruption risk on an island reached only by boat. May is the honest saving.
Sleep on the bay side, walk to the beach. The pink-sand row costs around 30 percent more, and the beach is a five-minute cart ride from almost anywhere in Dunmore Town. Unless your week is built around a beachfront gate, a bay-side house with a garden and pool puts the saving toward the chef, and the sunsets are better on that side anyway.
Provision once, properly. The island shops are small and dear, and renters who buy day to day spend more than those who place one stock-up order on arrival. A single provisioning delivery, planned with the cook, trims the food line without thinning a single dinner.
From about $8,000 per week for a three-bedroom on the bay side in low season to $150,000 or more for a pink-sand beachfront estate over New Year. Most quality four-bedrooms land between $16,000 and $38,000 per week in high season.
The Christmas and New Year fortnight, roughly December 20 to January 4, with Easter close behind. Festive rates run two to three times the low-season figure, the best beachfront houses carry a 7 to 14 night minimum, and they book 9 to 12 months ahead.
The Bahamas applies 10 percent VAT to vacation rentals booked for under 45 days. Add a golf-cart hire of about $70 to $90 per day, provisioning at island prices, any extra staff, and a refundable security deposit. Some managed houses add a service charge on top.
Most professionally managed Harbour Island villas include daily housekeeping, and many include a cook with groceries paid at cost. A dedicated chef, a butler, and extra housekeeping for large parties are usually extra. The island runs on golf carts, so a cart or two is part of every budget.
Low season runs roughly June to November, with the hurricane-season heart of August to October at 35 to 50 percent below the winter peak. The spring shoulder of May holds dry weather at 20 to 30 percent below February, the smartest window for value.
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