The Exumas here offer some of the most beautiful beaches and gorgeous colored waters in the world, so of course – if you have ever seen some of these photographs, perhaps on social media, then you’ll instantly fall in love and want to head right there.
But how exactly would you plan such a vacation? It’s not exactly as straightforward as planning a trip to another state or even to our neighbors in the North.
Luckily, we’ve written everything that you need to know (see also: Everything You Need To Know About Snakes In Spain Before You Visit)in this handy guide. We’ll take a look at a potential itinerary you could devise and a whole host of other information that could help you.
So, if you’re interested in the vacation of a lifetime – read on to learn much more.
What Are The Exumas?
So, in case you don’t already know, the Exumas are a chain of islands known as the Exumas cays. They’re located in the Bahamas, a little Southeast of Nassau.
They’re extremely well known. In fact, they’re perhaps most well known for their unique, white sandy beaches and some of the clearest, bluest waters in the ocean.
In fact, bizarrely before the Exumas were as well known, potential visitors would Google “bluest waters in the world” and they would be presented with pictures of this amazing destination.
You may also know these waters for viral photographs of pigs swimming in them. There’s very few places on earth where you might find this!
What Is A Typical Itinerary?
Without going into super detail so early in this guide, we’ll look at what a potential, typical itinerary might look like if you were going to head out to the Exumas. So, you might have notes of the following:
1. George Town
The most likely thing you will do is catch a flight to George Town. This is a town in the Bahamas, located in the Greater part of the Exumas.
The town alone gets plenty of vacationers, without heading any further – and it’s easy to see why. It’s one of the most beautiful places in not only this area, but the world as a whole!
2. Exploratory Boat Ride
Once you’ve got your bearings, you might want to take in all of the sights around this chain of islands. Now, you will find it near impossible to do this without heading into the water – so your best bet is to catch a boat excursion.
Due to the sheer size of the island chain, these boat rides can last as long as eight hours, so be prepared to make a day of it. It’s certainly well worth doing it though!
This boat ride allows you to take in all of the sights and scenery of the island group, the local wildlife and sealife and of course, you’ll be treated brilliantly on board. So why not let your hair down, enjoy the fresh air and the aromas of the sea on a unique boat trip?
It’s also important to note here that these boat rides aren’t all a case of sitting on a boat. If you’re more of the adventurous type, you can even take part in activities like swimming with nurse sharks, snorkeling and relaxing at the beach bar!
3. Chat ‘N’ Chill
You can take the ferry over and enjoy the Chat ‘N’ Chill, which is a place where tourists can enjoy some amazing food and get together with other vacation lovers. Every Sunday, they have a gorgeous hog roast – which is incredibly tasty and the smell is amazing.
Whilst there though, it’s not all about filling your bellies with excellent food and fruity drinks. You can frolic in the blue waters, relax under the calming palm trees or even head out hiking, if that’s your sort of thing.
4. Little Exuma
You really should head down to see the Tropic of Cancer beach while you’re nearby. You can access this by heading to Little Exuma, and luckily you can do this by car.
Whilst there, you can even head to the famous Santanas and maybe even see a celebrity or two!
5. Shop Til You Drop
Of course, wherever you go on vacation, you’ll likely want to do a little shopping – and George Town has some ideal stores where you can do this. You can pick up local ornaments, sports equipment and even buy sand in a bottle!
What Do I Absolutely Have To Do?
Without a doubt, it’s critical that you book a boat ride. These islands quite literally cannot be explored properly without having at least one boat trip, so you have to be sure that you’re taking part in one.
Let’s face it, if you’ve gone all this way – why wouldn’t you want to do this? If you’re the type of person who gets seasick, you shouldn’t panic. The waters are so calm that you’re unlikely to feel any of your usual symptoms!
Where Can I Stay?
There’s plenty of places where you can rest your head and grab a quick shower. It depends on where exactly in the islands you want to call your main “base” though. Here’s just some of the ideas you could choose from.
Great Exuma
One of the most popular places to stay is where George Town is located, and this is in Great Exuma. There’s a lot of advantages if you choose this area too. First and foremost, this is where the airport is – and that makes a lot of things much more simple for you.
Second, there’s plenty of hotels and restaurants around, so you won’t be lacking in hospitality. However, the shopping options are pretty limited around here, so this is worth noting.
There are two major places you might want to stay in Great Exuma, and your choice might come down to your budget.
Sandals in Emerald Bay is one of the most perfect places you could ever hope to see, but as you could probably imagine – it’s not exactly cheap to book to stay here. Not only this, but it’s strictly adults only, so no chance of bringing your kids unfortunately.
On the same beach as Sandals resort though, you will come across the second potential choice – The Grand Isle Resort And Spa. There’s only one word that comes to mind when you see this place – wow.
Scattered throughout the area are private pools, beautiful restaurants and iconic tourist villas. You will also find shared pools, a spa, and tons of other amenities, whilst also being in perhaps the most photogenic areas on the planet.
Little Exuma
If you’re looking for somewhere a little quieter, you might want to consider looking at the area over the connected bridge from Great Exuma, and that is Little Exuma.
While there aren’t any resorts as there are in Great Exuma, there’s still plenty of small vacation areas to stay in and you will still be faced with glorious sights of their beaches, so it’s not exactly a horror story!
If anything, Little Exuma is for tourists who really want the best of both worlds. It’s still relaxing, it’s still beautiful to look at and it’s still one of the best places in the world – but it’s just not as populated as Great Exuma is.
Staniel Cay
If you’re looking for a place that feels more like a vacation resort, then you’re gonna need to head further North of Great Exuma and find the boating capital of the islands. There’s zero cars on this island, but there’s plenty of small and large boats!
As a result, the air here feels so clean – not that the other areas don’t though! Incidentally, this is also the area where you will find the famous swimming pigs, the beach bar and the Thunderball Grotto (which is something very popular with tourists!).
One of the best resorts in this area is a place called Staniel Cay Yacht Club. It’s not exactly a huge place, but it gets plenty of traffic. It provides excellent hospitality and some of the most welcoming people in the world too.
Which Area Should I Choose?
This is a decision that ultimately comes down to you. You need to ask yourself what type of vacation you’re looking to have, what your budget looks like and how long you will be staying for.
If you’re looking for an easy answer, then Great Exuma is probably the generic one. It’s where the airport and major central meeting points are!
Final Thoughts
And that’s all you need to know about setting up your own Exumas vacation itinerary. We hope we’ve been of some excellent service to you. We hope you have fun!
