Visiting Exuma, Bahamas With Kids

As we all know, 2020 has started out as a year like no other. The fact that we were able to take our Spring Break vacation was truly a miracle. Our Spring Break is typically pretty early, beginning around mid-March each year. This year, we bounced around a few ideas of where we wanted to go, and ultimately decided on a chain of islands in the Bahamas called the Exumas. Last year’s Spring Break destination involved snow (I should actually blog about that trip… it included two National Parks and was AMAZING!), so this year, we wanted warm and tropical.

Turns out, it is very easy to get to the Exumas from Florida. We booked our flight from Miami to George Town, which is the capital and and located on Great Exuma, the largest island in the Exumas. The flight from Miami to George Town was just 45 minutes and absolutely beautiful. You can also fly directly to George Town from Fort Lauderdale; we chose Miami based on schedule and cost.

With the COVID-19 scare just beginning to hit our area and many tourist destinations deciding to close (like Disney… that was huge!), we consciously weighed our decision to travel or not. We decided to go for it, and luckily that decision worked out okay for us. We were, however, armed with Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer, and endless warnings of “don’t touch ANYTHING” and “wash your hands”. As the mother of a child who LICKED THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL just two short months ago (he wanted “to see if it tasted like carrot cake” ???!!!), I was a little nervous about his ability to follow my hygiene instructions. Thinking about it though, he probably has the immune system of a New York City sewer rat by now, so I probably didn’t have to worry. Regardless, we boarded the plane with only about 20 other passengers, at which point we proceeded to Lysol wipe all of the surfaces within 20 feet of us. Go ahead child, lick that seat tray, it’s clean! Okay, moving on now…

We booked a home through VRBO, and it turned out to be the perfect space for us, plus the other family (my brother, his wife, and their 1-year old) that we travelled with. Coconut Breeze is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath home located just 10 minutes from the airport, situated on a private sandy beach, complete with everything we could want for a relaxing vacation. I didn’t take too many pictures of the house, but it was gorgeous, as was the property.

Yes, that really is what the water looked like! The outdoor space included a huge lawn, with some rocky steps down to the beach. The boys loved playing on the rocks, and there wasn’t another person in sight for our entire week’s stay. There was a huge outdoor shower plus kayaks, boogie boards and lounge chairs.

Although there are taxis on the island, you really can’t get around without renting a car. We rented through Berlies Car Rental, but for various reasons, I would recommend going with a different company. They drive on the left-hand side of the road in the Bahamas, and the roads on Great Exuma are not exactly in the best condition – you can probably expect a flat tire or two… unless you are a better driver than our drivers were?!? (There’s a good chance of that!)

On our first full day at Coconut Breeze, we hung out around the house and enjoyed the beach. The breeze was perfect and the water is the most vibrant shade of blue. We ate breakfast and lunch at home most days, then ventured out to a restaurant for dinner each night. The first night we ate at Shirley’s Seafood, which was great, and the second night we ate at Rusty Anchor in February Point Resort, one of the more upscale restaurants on the island. Every restaurant on the island is very laid back and casual – you could show up in a bathing suit and flip flops and no one would blink an eye.

We were watching the weather forecast, so we knew that it was going to get windy for the remainder of the week. We wanted to do a day long trip to see the swimming pigs, iguanas, etc. so we called around and were able to get some last-minute spots with 4 C’s Adventures. They sent us directions and we were all set to meet at 7:30am the next morning to begin our trip.

We got up early with the thought that it would take us just 10 minutes to get to the boat, according to the vague directions they sent us – stay on the road past the airport, go past the doctor’s office, then make a left at the big pine tree and go up the hill. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! It didn’t take 10 minutes to get there, it took 45. Do you know how many doctor’s offices there are on the island? None that we could find! Pine trees? A million. Hills? At least 6. Do yourself a favor and take the shuttle most boat charter companies offer. They will pick you up wherever you are staying, then drop you back off at the end of the day.

We boarded the boat, along with just 5 other people. There are lots of tour companies to choose from, and we felt lucky that we weren’t on a boat with “40 of our closest friends”. With just 9 of us, we never felt crowded or rushed, and we had plenty of time and space to enjoy each of the stops we made. It took a couple of hours to get to our first main stop, but on the way we saw a submerged drug plane, celebrity homes/islands (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s is bananas, and David Copperfield has several islands, all of which are picture-perfect), and some huge starfish.

We ended up just west of Staniel Cay, and our first stop was Thunderball Grotto, named for the James Bond movie that was filmed there. From the outside, it doesn’t look too impressive, then you snorkel into the cave, where it opens up into a giant chamber with tropical fish swimming below and bright sunbeams filtering through the rocks above. Simply stunning. The current rips through the cave, so make sure you are a strong enough swimmer if you decide to visit.

It was kind of difficult to get good photos in there, so you’ll have to go see it for yourself! Next, we went to visit the Staniel Cay swimming pigs. We pulled up and the pigs came swimming out to greet us. How crazy to see farm animals swimming around in crystal clear blue water! Totally wild. Our boat captain was throwing apples to the large guy below, pretty impressive (and kind of disgusting!).

I was the last to get back on the boat because I could have spent ALL DAY with those piggies! So much fun! Next we made a stop at a secluded sandbar where we enjoyed the snow white sand and ankle deep water. The boys found some entertainment!

After the sandbar, we went to Compass Cay to swim with the sharks! One of my boys was a little nervous, and the other one wouldn’t get out of the water! Swimming with the sharks was definitely a huge highlight of the day!

After the sharks, we went for lunch, then we loaded back up and headed back towards Great Exuma to Leaf Cay, home of the iguanas. When we pulled up, there were a few iguanas sunning themselves on the beach, but within minutes, we were swarmed with friendly iguanas waiting for their afternoon snack. As long as you kept your hand flat on the sand while feeding them, they didn’t bite. If you picked them up, there was a good chance you would end up bleeding (Brian!).

We really had the best day with 4 C’s Adventures and I would highly recommend the full day tour to anyone visiting the Exumas. The boys loved it and did great, and they were completely exhausted by the end of the day. With this in mind, I probably wouldn’t recommend the trip to anyone with kids under 5 years old; the half-day trip might be a better option.

The next day we set out to visit Coco Plum Beach, which is supposed to be gorgeous at low tide. Unfortunately, the driver was counting on the navigator to tell him where to turn, but the navigator had found an amazing online sale that she just couldn’t tear her eyes away from. Not naming any names, but long story short, we missed the turn. However, just as life usually works out, we found someplace better (plus a great pair of shoes at an unbelievable price!). We ended up at this awesome beach/sandbar that kept us entertained for hours! We found so many interesting sea creatures – crabs, sea cucumbers, starfish, conch, and lots of other fun critters. I don’t know the name of this spot, but if you take Queen’s Highway all the way north, past Rolleville, eventually you will end up here. We had the whole place to ourselves (as was the case with this entire vacation), so we explored and played for hours. It was so good that we came back the next day and played some more!

After one of those days (quarantine life has completely ruined my sense of day/time/space), we headed in the opposite direction, towards George Town, and hopped a boat over to Stocking Island to Chat ‘N’ Chill Beach Bar & Grill. Chat ‘N’ Chill is located in Elizabeth Harbour, and there are no roads or bridges to get there. You can rent a boat and drive yourself or you can hop on a boat/water taxi at the government dock and be at Chat ‘N’ Chill in just 5 minutes. Luckily, there was a captain with a boat ready to take us (plus a friendly stranded German tourist) over to Stocking Island. The captain dropped us off, we paid him, and we told him we would be ready to be picked up in a few hours.

Chat ‘N’ Chill is basically a shack that sells beer and cocktails and simple Bahamian food (that attracts flies like nothing I’ve ever experienced!). There’s also a small boutique that sells ugly t-shirts and other touristy junk, and I won’t even get started on the bathroom that smells like a zoo (or a fraternity house, whichever you relate to better). Don’t get me wrong though, the island is so, so fun! There are hammocks and swings and rope swings, sand volleyball and corn hole, slack lines and sting rays and a famous pig roast on Sundays. We had a blast at Chat ‘N’ Chill!

Our captain was there and ready to take us back to the dock precisely at the time we had agreed upon. I don’t know his name, otherwise I would recommend him! Oh, and if you find yourself in George Town near the government dock, you have to stop at the little daiquiri stand that’s right there. Best Pina Coladas ever, and you can take it to go! There are lots of other drink choices, but Pina Colada was a group favorite on multiple occasions. Sorry, I wish I had taken a picture or knew the name of it. There’s a conch salad stand right next to it, but with the windy weather, EVERYPLACE on the island was out of conch salad. Too windy for the boats to go out. Super disappointing.

Another spot you can’t miss on the island is Tropic of Cancer Beach on Little Exuma. This is at the very south end of the island. The water is the most amazing multiple shades of blue, and the beach is just gorgeous. We spent an afternoon there, then went to Santanna’s Bar and Grill for dinner, just a few minutes drive away.

We left Tropic of Cancer beach, got to Santanna’s, and realized that the Covid-19 scare had finally reached our perfect, peaceful vacation spot. This was Friday, March 20th. Santanna’s was open, but we weren’t allowed to sit there, and we could only get take out. So we had our first (of a few) island picnics! Oh, and if you go to Santanna’s, go right next store to the bakery and get yourself a rum cake, you won’t regret it!

The next morning was Saturday, our day to pack up and leave Coconut Breeze! We were sad, it really was the perfect vacation home for all of us. I caught the sunrise that morning, and it was spectacular.

While the rest of our group headed to the airport for their flight back home, we still had another day to enjoy Great Exuma. I had booked one night at Paradise Bay Bahamas, just 10 minutes from Coconut Breeze. We arrived and realized just how absolutely ideal this place is! We booked a two bedroom villa, and the boys were so excited to have their own separate “bachelor pad”. In fact, Dax informed me that he now needs his own TV and refrigerator stocked with apple juice in his room at home. Haha, not happening buddy. Paradise Bay Bahamas was honestly one of the cutest, cleanest, most idyllic resorts I’ve even been to. And as an added bonus, we were basically the only guests there! There was one other couple from England whose flight home had been cancelled. The beach was empty, the pool was empty, the restaurant was empty. We LOVED it!

The two bedroom villa offered spacious rooms, each with their own bathroom and private entrance. The space was great for us, and we had an ocean view from our front porch.

The onsite restaurant, La Fourchette, was amazing as well, and the owner (manager?) was more than accommodating. Brian didn’t do too bad with the room service either… drinks for happy hour, coffee in the morning. A welcome and refreshing sight! But hmmmm, I promise you that he DID change his clothes this vacation!

One last beach walk before we headed to the airport on Sunday. I tried to convince Brian that we should stay, but he said something about “work”. Lame. The Exumas are magical with some of the most beautiful beaches and water I’ve ever seen. We will be back for sure!

When the quarantine is lifted and you need a change of scenery, think about visiting the Exumas. It was a vacation of adventure, relaxation, and making wonderful memories together as a family. You will love it, trust me.

OR, if you want to stay closer to home, check out SLACK TIDE in the beautiful Florida Keys! You can bring your boat and dock it right outside! Plus, it’s just 20 miles to Key West… and couldn’t we all use a little Key West right about now?! Dates are still available for the summer, check it out! (Pssst Reed and Alex, see what I did there?!)

Stay safe everyone, we will get through this! Love from our family to yours!