Last weekend in The Exumas was a dream… A sunshiney, tropical dream.
If you aren’t familiar with The Exumas yet, they are an archipelago of over 350 islands in The Bahamas. Some of these islands are privately owned, some have luxe resorts & hotels and others are popular with tourists for their beaches and unique animals.
Over the course of the three days that I was there, I had the opportunity to explore a few of those islands and was completely blown away by their beauty.
Virtually untouched by the hurricanes this year, The Exumas are the perfect place for your next vacation. Make sure to add the following activities to your itinerary! 🙂
Visit the island of the pigs
Recognize this place from the viral Facebook video?
It’s just as incredible as you imagine it would be! As soon as your boat pulls up to the island, a couple of the pigs swim out to the boat to greet you. From there, you’re free to roam the beach and feed & play with the pigs! We got lucky and were able to see a bunch of little piglets nursing and running around.
(check out my vlog below to see those cuties!)
Lay on the beach with iguanas
Allen Cay is covered in iguanas – huge, prehistoric iguanas. They are used to people on the island, so you’re able to get close to them!
And fun fact about this island – Nicholas Cage purchased it for $3.5 million to build a home on it, but quickly sold it when he realized that over 700 iguanas call it home!
Swim with sharks
Looks way more terrifying than it is, trust me!
Nurse sharks are bottom feeders, meaning they have little to no interest in you being there or in harming you. At one point during my visit, I was surrounded by at least 15 and felt completely safe petting and swimming with them. It’s such a fun experience and makes for some amazing photos!
Go Boating
Going for a boat tour of The Exumas is a must when you’re here! The water is varying shades of turquoise and you would be remiss not to spend a day at sea soaking up the sun and swimming in the gorgeous waters.
I recommend a company called Four C’s – they took us around to the four cays and could not have been a more nice and fun staff to hang out with for the day. You can rent out a private boat with them for the day or pay per person to join a charter with others!
Stay at a beautiful resort
The Exumas has no shortage of beautiful hotels & resorts! During my time in paradise, I stayed at Grand Isle Resort, a sprawling property with 1-4 bedroom villas, a huge beach, pool and fantastic dining options.
One of my favorite things about this resort (other than the beautiful accommodations, obviously!) was the breakfast. They have a rotating smoothie menu, which means every day you’re here, you’ll be able to indulge in a healthy smoothie with new flavors and ingredients each morning!
beach, smoothie, surfboards – who’s in?
Hang out at Chat ‘n’ Chill
Chat ‘n’ Chill is located about one mile off the shore of Georgetown on Stocking Island. It takes about 10-15 mins to get here on one of the water taxis that leaves from the government dock in Georgetown.
Chat ‘n’ Chill is a restaurant, gift shop and beach hangout all rolled into one… a.k.a. it’s the perfect place to spend a day in the Exumas.
You can lay out on the beach, relax in a hammock and swim in the gorgeous blue waters that surround the island. There is a conch stand where staff member Ronaldo will make you fresh conch salad straight from the ocean. And be sure to eat at the restaurant – the conch burgers and cole slaw are delicious. Just don’t bother asking what the secret ingredient in the cole slaw is that makes it so yummy – they won’t reveal it!
yes, this is the beach at Chat ‘n’ Chill! heaven, right?
Check out my travel vlog from my time in The Exumas:
xo,
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Major bucket list item! That water looks amazing <3
This destination sounds incredible – no wonder it’s gone viral! What an cool (drone?) photo of you floating with the sharks. Thanks for clarifying that they are ‘bottom feeders’ and aren’t out to eat you hehehe.
This sounds spectacular! I have watched those viral videos and has been on my bucketlist ever since!
Aww this trip looks incredible! The swimming pigs are just too cute and pretty hilarious! Before watching your video I would have said that I would never ever swim with sharks but these ones looks so friendly that I might just change my mind!! Gorgeous post Christina!
Big love,
Jayde
Christina, awesome interview on Brittany K.’s podcast. Thank you. I learned a lot. -Todd, new follower 🙂