5 Amazing Days in Exuma -the title of this blog can actually be a bit deceiving if you haven’t done your research. This is simply due to travel time. Traveling to Exuma isn’t like booking a plane ticket to a popular Caribbean island or big city. You will spend a large chunk of time during two of your vacation days traveling to and from Exuma.
Exuma is an island chain in the Bahamas made up of 365 cays. Great Exuma is the largest island and is approximately 37 miles in length. Great Exuma is also where the airport is located. Little Exuma is connected to Great Exuma by a small bridge and is accessible by vehicle. The Exuma Cays are the other small islands scattered around. The Georgetown, Exuma airport only has 3 flights arriving per day from the mainland US. There are a few other small airlines that fly in from Nassau. This is the primary reason that two of your five days will be based around traveling. No worries though! I’m going to tell you how you can make the most of your time!
Day ONE – Travel, Customs, Where oh Where did the Luggage go?
I had the pleasure of visiting Exuma with a great group of my girlfriends. We decided to visit in January. This is Caribbean off season and typically less crowded. We all work full time, and January is a less sought after month for vacation. This allowed us to all be off at the same time.
On day one, we flew from our home town airport in Bristol, TN to Atlanta in order to catch our connecting flight. We flew into Exuma on the only Delta flight that arrives each day. This was one of the three mainland US flights.
We arrived in Exuma around 1 pm EST. Upon arrival, the airport staff lined all of the passengers on the tarmac and made us wait until the entire plane had deboarded. The staff then escorted us into customs in a single file line. Exuma has one of the smallest custom areas I’ve seen. It was very rustic you could say.
The customs and luggage area is all located in one small room. The luggage was carted straight from the plane to an open area beside the customs agents and dumped on the floor. There are no baggage carousels or formal processes for picking up your luggage. You just have to sort through the baggage and find your belongings.
One of our friend’s luggage actually didn’t arrive. When she went to file a claim, the airport staff informed us that when the flights are full, oftentimes the airline will just leave some luggage in the US. The airline ships it rush priority the following day. Luckily, our friend had a bathing suit in her carry-on bag and Delta provided a small toiletry bag of essentials for her trouble. (I would have preferred a nice chunk of SkyMiles for the trouble, but sadly, only a toiletry kit was offered.) I highly suggest carrying a change of clothes, bathing suit, and any necessities (medications, chargers) in your carry on.
I also advise that you know the name and exact address of your hotel or rental home. The customs agent that I spoke with seemed very unhappy that we did not have the exact address to our rental home. He was even more unhappy when a friend pulled her phone out to look the address up. They allow absolutely no phones in the customs area.
We rented a sweet, Dodge Caravan for the 7 of us to cruise around the island. By sweet, I mean the check engine and low tire pressure lights were permanently on and there was one radio station to listen to. BUT, if you are thinking of visiting Exuma without renting a car, you would be doing yourself a big disservice. Although the island is only 37 miles from tip to tip, it can take more than an hour to drive to some locations due to the 2 lane winding road. The car selection is also limited, and the car rental agency informed us that the check engine light is on in a lot of their vehicles. SO…when in Rome! They do offer roadside assistance until 5 pm. Taxis are also not easy to come by or cost efficient. FYI, driving is on the left side of the road in Exuma. Don’t worry though! They have this big reminder sticker on the front window to help you remember.
There are two car rental locations at the airport. You can check out car rental prices by clicking here. Once we made it through customs, picked up our rental car, and dealt with the baggage fiasco…we headed to our Villa and home for the week.
We rented a Villa with two separate wings that surrounded a private pool/patio area. It is located only five minutes from the Georgetown airport and oceanfront. You can check out our rental here.
The property manager was amazing! Gabby was so helpful during our stay. She had our entire grocery list purchased and put away for us on arrival. Grocery stores close very early on Sundays in Exuma, so having the option to pre-order groceries was amazing. After putting our luggage away, we spent the evening on the beach and then had a private chef cook us dinner in our Villa. We chose to utilize private chefs on day one and day three. It was nice to travel all day and not have to worry about dressing up to go out to dinner or having to cook something ourselves.
Day TWO – The BEST, Chill Day
We had a nice, lazy, beach day on day two. You could definitely spend this day squeezing in sites, but we were tired from traveling the day before. We also had a FULL day planned for day three. We walked the beach and explored the area around our Villa.
We maybe saw five other people on the beach the entire day. It was gorgeous, quiet, and felt like we had the beach to ourselves. There is a small island that can be reached by kayak or paddleboard. The weather was beautiful on day two, but it was extremely windy. Our villa came with kayaks, but none of us were up to the challenge of battling the wind to attempt to make it to the island. We just admired it from afar.
We had dinner at Cocoplum Bistro that night. I wish I had gotten a picture of the full menu, or photos inside the restaurant! It was a quaint bistro with limited indoor seating and a lot of outdoor seating. The food and service was phenomenal! I had the Poke Bowl and I highly recommend.
Day THREE – Adventure Day! Swimming pigs, Sharks, and Thunderball Grotto
We had a full-day, private boat tour booked for day three. This fully packed day is how we managed to have such a chill second day. Our boat tour covered SO MANY THINGS. We used Exuma Watersports. You can check out our tour here.
We had paid for included transportation to the dock when we booked our tour. When no one showed to pick us up, we called to see if everything was ok. The tour company had accidentally written us in on the wrong day. We ended up driving to the dock ourselves to meet them. They gathered a crew and boat for us speedily. They were so apologetic and truly made it right. I think everything happens for a reason, because Justin and Bardo truly made our trip! It was meant for them to chauffeur us around the islands. They were so fun and energetic, truly making the tour so much more enjoyable. I cannot recommend this company enough! Many people may actually recognize Exuma Watersports. The Bachelor filmed an episode of Ben Higgin’s season on the exact boat we used! This boat tour was the highlight of our trip.
We started the tour by stopping off at Iguana Island. The iguanas are fairly domesticated due to human interactions, but still exercise caution. As Bardo liked to tell us, “every living thing bites, even us.” We fed these little guys some grapes, posed for some photo ops, and headed on our way.
Justin was great to point out sight-seeing spots, such as Faith and Tim McGraw’s house, caves, and David Copperfield’s island.
After sight-seeing for a bit, we stopped at a beautiful sand bar. We had the entire area to ourselves. This is the stop that made me wish I had invested in a drone. I wanted to truly capture the magnificence of these remotely scattered sand bars throughout the cays. It was gorgeous and surreal. It’s hard to describe the experience adequately with only words. The sound of the ocean, while walking along this isolated sand bar, with no other people in sight…it was such a peaceful moment. That statement says a lot, because the word peaceful typically does not apply to any sentence containing the 7 of us ladies.
After the sandbar, we traveled to Thunderball Grotto. Thunderball Grotto was made famous from the James Bond film. Sadly, my go pro had a full SD card and I am too technologically challenged to delete it while under pressure and on a time crunch. We didn’t get many photos inside, but we were able to snorkel in and around the grotto. Bardo escorted us in, took a photo for us, and made sure that we were all staying safe. The marine life and bright blue water was mesmerizing.
Compass Cay was next on the list. Compass Cay is the private island where you can swim with nurse sharks. There is a charged landing fee per person, but we paid this in advance to our tour company. We were able to swim, pet, and even hold the sharks! It was a cool experience. Although, the sharks aren’t known for biting, they do have the capability. Always utilize caution when dealing with wildlife.
Once we left Compass Cay, we went to see the famous Swimming Pigs at Pig Island! Exuma Watersports is actually the founder of theswimmingpigs Instagram! It was obvious that these sweet pigs had a known relationship with Justin and Bardo. As we pulled up to the island, Justin began calling the pigs. Imagine a few other tour groups there, all of them giving the pigs attention. We pulled in, Justin called out to the pigs, and they immediately trotted over and swam out to the boat. We fed them carrots and gave them lots of attention! As you can see, they are really camera shy. (I’m also a bit sarcastic, if you haven’t picked up on that by now.)
After swimming with the pigs, we stopped off at Staniel Cay Yacht Club for lunch. We were immediately seated at a high top table in a private room. We enjoyed the grouper fingers, conch fritters, and I had the Mahi as my entrée. Every single bite was delicious. 10/10 stars.
After lunch, we did a bit more sight-seeing and looked at wildlife. We saw an eagle ray and some sea turtles! The crew offered to let us snorkel some more, but we were all exhausted and a little chilly. We then took the long boat ride back to the dock.
I truly cannot recommend Exuma Watersports enough. It was an amazing experience and one that I will never forget! Check out their official theswimmingpigs page on IG!
As I mentioned above, we hired a different private chef for day three. After making the 45-minute drive back to the villa, it was so nice to walk in to the smell of food being prepared. When I made our chef arrangements, I reached out to the villa property manager to inquire about Chef options and availability. She simply sent me a list of four names and told me that she had worked with all of those chefs. I contacted each one and discussed pricing and menus before we decided on our final two. Unbeknownst to us, Gabby (our property manager) actually owned one of the catering companies with her mom Brenda! We had chosen Brenda as our chef for day three. Gabby was extremely humble and classy about it. She never advertised or pressured us to choose any chef. We were simply impressed by the menu. Gabby and Brenda prepared us an amazing surf and turf meal. The service and the food was impeccable. I highly recommend the Coastal Caterer during your stay in Exuma!
Day FOUR – Exploring – Hooper Bay, Stocking Island, and Tropic of Cancer
On day four, we explored the island on our own. Our first stop of the day was Hooper Bay. This area of the island is known for sea turtles. Hooper Bay can be a little confusing to get to, so I will do my best to explain it here.
You can type in google maps, “Hooper bay beach access.” You will find a small beach access lot on the side of the road.
It does NOT look like your typical beach access. You will actually cross the road near Driftwood condos.
You will then follow this dirt path down to the beach.
Once you arrive at the beach, you can head toward the piers where the sea turtles like to hang out. We only spent an hour or so here because one person in our party had to leave a day early, so we dropped her at the airport after Hooper Bay.
Next on the list was Stocking Island. Chat ‘N’ Chill is a bar/restaurant located on Stocking Island. In order to get there, you must take a ferry. We took the Elvis Water Taxi for $20 per person. They will accept cash or cards. I will just be honest…we were a little sketched out by the water taxi situation. Someone flagged us down into a random, dirt parking lot and informed us this was where we need to park.
Then a guy introduced himself as “Big Pimpin” and told us to follow him. He led us to this bar and told us to wait here.
He then disappeared down an alley. Again, we were a little sketched out, so we grabbed a local couple walking by and questioned them about the legitimacy of this water taxi access. They assured us that this was, in fact, the way to get to the water taxi and eased our minds. Once Big Pimpin returned for us, we walked to the dock and boarded the water taxi.
Once we arrived at the island, we gave the ferry driver a return time and set out for Chat n Chill.
We spent a few hours relaxing in the water, playing with sting rays, enjoying fresh Conch Salad (AMAZING), and hanging out at the Peace and Plenty beach villas area. Peace and Plenty had the greatest staff. Sean, Cassie, and Alvin were so much fun.
After taking the ferry back to Great Exuma, we drove on to Santanna’s for dinner. Santanna’s is located on Little Exuma and took around an hour to get there. It is an open air restaurant with amazing food. The grouper and plantains were sooooo good. My mouth is watering thinking about them.
After dinner, we drove to Tropic of Cancer beach to watch the sunset. The sunset was gorgeous, but we also got bitten by sand fleas. We didn’t stay long, and although it was beautiful, I’m not sure I would go back. I have read that DEET or coconut oil can avert sand fleas.
Day FIVE – Sadly, our last day
Day five. Our LAST day in Exuma. We woke up and enjoyed coffee and a sunrise walk on the beach. Then, we packed up the house, loaded the van, and somberly prepared to return back to the land of turnover times and pre-op antibiotic status.
We had a 10 am checkout with a 2:30 pm departure flight. We decided to visit the straw market and look for souvenirs. The straw market has several different vendors with souvenir t-shirts, trinkets, straw baskets, and hats. We grabbed a quick brunch at Driftwood Café before heading to the airport.
After brunch, we dropped the car off and arrived at the airport around 2.5 hours prior to departure. A member of the security staff lined us up outside. He interviewed us individually before allowing us to all proceed in together. Thankfully, we arrived early. Someone in our party had a ticketing error, and arriving early gave us ample time to get that corrected. The airport is small, the lines are long, and the pace is slow. I do suggest arriving early. There are a couple of gift shops once you pass security. There you can grab a snack, beverage, or souvenirs.
That is the end of our amazing 5 days in Exuma. I would highly recommend visiting, no matter who you are traveling with. Solo, children, friends…. bring them all! The island, the ocean, the locals, and the food were all top notch. I can’t wait to go back and take my family.
I am also conscious of the fact that traveling solo, as a couple, or as a small family may make a private house, private boat tour, and private chef out of your budget. This was an extremely cost efficient trip for us, because we were a large group and split everything 7 ways.
If you enjoy the all inclusive options, there is a Sandals located on the island. I also specialize in Sandals vacations and would be happy to assist you with a quote.
If you are looking for other options within your budget, check out this link.
There are many companies that offer private as well as non-private, cheaper tours. You can check them all out here.
Also check out my Trip Planning Resources here!
If you are new to international travel, read my First Time International Travel Tips post here!
Happy Travels!
