As promised, the first installment of Travel Tuesday is all about Exuma. We traveled to this wonderful little island in the Bahamas in July with two other families and had the most amazing trip. Six adults and six children (all of the kids were between 4-8) found it to be the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. We flew Delta from Atlanta directly into Exuma (although super convenient, this direct flight is costly). The flight is about an hour and forty five minutes–just enough time to get an inflight cocktail and flip through a magazine.
We stayed at the Grand Isle Resort and Spa (www.grandisleresort.com) and found the accommodations to be top notch. We shared the penthouse with one of the other families on our trip and the room was incredible. Note: Rent a golf cart from the resort. Although the rooms aren’t too terribly far from the pool/beach/restaurant, having a golf cart for all of our gear (mostly tired kids) was super helpful.
The other family in our group stayed in a two bedroom villa, which was also nicely equipped. We were all very pleased.
Great Exuma is nothing like Nassau (Paradise Island/New Providence) in that it’s extremely undeveloped. Other than Grand Isle and Sandals, not many hotels, shops, and restaurants exist. We loved this! We were truly able to unplug and unwind. However, if you visit the island, don’t plan on grocery shopping or dining out. We pretty much ate every meal at the resort. With six kids in tow, this suited us just fine. The food was good and it was very convenient. But, if you’re a foodie, you may find the lack of dining options frustrating.
We loved everything about the island, but what put Exuma on my radar several years ago was the pigs! They were so.much.fun. We used Exuma Water Sports (www.exumawatersports.com) for our day with the pigs and they were wonderful. Ask for Justin. Since we had kind of a large group and didn’t want to have to stick to a strict agenda, we booked a private tour. Worth every penny. In addition to the pigs, Justin and his first mate took us to meet iguanas, dive for starfish and hike a breathtaking trail. We also stopped on a gorgeous beach with a blowhole.
In addition to all the family adventures, I managed to sneak off for a few hours one morning for a dive with Dive Exuma (www.dive-exuma.com). We did a pretty standard reef dive and a blue hole. Although the reef was the “prettier” dive (way more marine life), the blue hole was a super cool experience. 90 feet down with crazy temperature changes……I’m so glad I did it. Dive Exuma’s staff is very knowledgeable and their equipment is great. I’m pretty new to the world of SCUBA, and they were all extremely reassuring and friendly.
While I dove, the hubs took the kids to Chat N’ Chill for some grub and to feed the stingrays. I actually don’t think I have any pictures from that little excursion (sad!), but it was totally worth the effort to get off the resort. The stingrays (and a shark) were awe inspiring and the little beach bar is the stuff dreams are made of. Be warned that the line gets super long later in the day. We went early (never too early for a cold beer on vacation!) and didn’t have any issues. However, by the time we left to head back to our resort (shortly before lunch), the place was packed.
Back at the resort……
I just cannot stress enough how naturally beautiful Exuma is. And how much our kids enjoyed this “playground.” The water around Exuma is some of the prettiest I have ever seen, if not THE prettiest.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions if you’re thinking of booking Exuma/Grand Isle for a family vacation.
As much as I would love to able to share a trip, Travel Tuesday won’t be a regular thing on the blog. But, hopefully, I can share a trip or two each month that will be helpful for those of you with the travel bug.
