Last month, Matt and I took a trip with three other couples to the Exuma, Bahamas! It is one of our favorite places and is truly one of the most beautiful spots you can hit in The Bahamas. We went to celebrate my friend, Courtney’s, 40th birthday and we had an absolute blast! We rented a house called The Sand Bar which was in the most ideal location and it was so beautiful. It is a 5 bedroom house, 4 King bedrooms with their own bathrooms and one twin bedroom (that you can request to be made as a king bed instead of twins) that shares a bathroom with one of the other rooms. One of the king bedrooms is a detached pool house that is really neat and has its own bathroom and gorgeous views of the pool and the beach.
The house was very spacious with a big kitchen that came well-equipped and a huge back deck space that was perfect to hang out on. There was a large outdoor dining table, a big Infiniti pool and a hot tub. The house has its own private beach and comes with several water toys to choose from including kayaks to take out and enjoy. In October, we were able to swim comfortably in the pool still and we also loved relaxing in the hot tub and enjoying a cocktail. The house is in an area called Tar Bay and after staying in several different areas of the island over the last 7 years or so, this to me is the best spot and the most centralized spot on the island! There are definitely pros and enjoyable things about other areas, but being central and only 5 minutes from the airport, is a really nice plus!
Since it was Courtney’s 40th birthday, I enlisted my favorite girls at Nico & Lala and had them customize some special 40th birthday swag to surprise everyone with on the trip. They have been doing this for me ever since my bachelorette party and wedding 12 years ago! It is an investment, but it makes for such a special touch to any trip or occasion.
I had them make the design and ordered koozies, shatterproof cups, stickers, a banner, special itinerary, straw toppers, and custom champagne labels. From there, I ordered items from amazon to make a cute welcome box and “hangover kit.” I added things like Liquid IV, make up wipes, Vitamin C packets, spa masks, etc. and then just included all the custom swag for each couple. It turned out really cute and I always feel like they are so special. Then we were able to use all the goodies for the rest of the trip and everyone had a printed itinerary to go by for the week.
These are the boxes that I ordered and used. I just kept them flat to travel and put them together when I arrived. And these are the cute pre-made hangover kits you can buy too or just make your own.
WEDNESDAY
On the day of our arrival, we really just settled into our rooms, unpacked and then enjoyed the pool, hot tub and beach at the house. We had scheduled groceries and alcohol to be delivered to our house on arrival and it makes it so nice. It’s wonderful not to have to run around town when you arrive to stock the house. At the least, just get some basic essentials until you have time to run to the store yourself while you are there.
On our first evening, we made reservations to go to one of my favorite restaurants on the island, 23 North at Grand Isle. They are actually on Open Table, so you can make a reservation online which is great. We took taxis everywhere we went and even with 8 adults we managed to all squeeze into one large taxi the entire time we were there with the exception of going to and from the airport when we had all of our luggage.
THURSDAY
On our first full day on the island, we had rented a boat for us all at Minn’s water sports. You rent the boats by the day, so you can show up anytime between 8am and 5pm to take your boat out and enjoy for the day. Right next to Minn’s is the cutest little breakfast restaurant called Sandpiper Cafe (formerly Driftwood Cafe). I highly recommend stopping at this spot for breakfast and I hear they have amazing pizza for lunch! Check their hours of operation when you are there because I think they can change around a bit.
When you rent your boat, they will give you a map of the area and where you are allowed to go and places to go explore. We took the boat over to a little area called sand dollar cove and hung out a bit and then went over to Chat N’ Chill to feed the sting rays and have some conch salad and drinks. From there, we boated over to the Peace & Plenty beach club which a fun spot to hang out and have lunch.
After a fun full-day on the water, we returned out boat and headed back to the house. We had scheduled Chef Gavin to come and cook at the house with us. He is absolutely awesome and brings his adorable wife along with him to help. They set the table, do all the shopping for dinner and all the cooking and cleaning. The food is always amazing and its so fun to enjoy being at the house and not stress having to get somewhere. We had the most delicious lobster salad. It was out of this world. And then he made some delicious grouper and our favorite guava duff dessert.
FRIDAY
On Friday, we had our full-day excursion scheduled with Exuma Watersports. This was a private charter with just the 8 of us that goes all the way up to Staniel Cay, Compass Cay and lots of other little islands that you get to see along the way. They make the trip so enjoyable and even though I had done it before, you still feel like you see and learn new things each time.
On this full-day trip, you swim with the pigs, feed the iguanas on iguana island, swim with the sharks at compass cay, snorkel thunderball grotto from James Bond, have lunch at Staniel Cay yacht club and visit and see some amazing little beaches. The lunch at Staniel Cay yacht club is always a highlight for me too. I love that spot and they have a really cute little gift shop to bring home some souvenirs.
You don’t finish this excision until about 5pm and then you have about a 30min drive or more back to the house. So by the time we got home, it was fairly late. We decided to just cook some frozen pizzas that we had plus make some nachos and call it an evening. It worked out perfectly.
SATURDAY
Saturday morning we had our 7 beaches tour excursion scheduled with Exuma Watersports. The excursions start at 9am, so we got up early and headed that way. On the boats, they provide beer, water, canned mojitos and soft drinks to enjoy. If you want anything else to eat or drink, you have to bring it yourself.
On this tour, they take you to the big beautiful sandbar that I love plus a total of 7 different beaches to see and enjoy. This tour is much more of a drinking and relaxing tour that gives you an opportunity to see more of the great and little Exuma island. You don’t do any snorkeling on this one and they even take you to a homemade lazy river. This is a fun and easy excursion to do with kids also.
If you get the chance, take a trip with Justin (he’s the one in the black hat). He’s a hoot and owns the Exuma water sports with his Dad. He knows so much about the island and surrounding areas and he makes sure everyone has a great time.
After our excursion, we stopped for lunch at one of my favorite little local spots called Island Boys. They have amazing chicken wings here and its just a fun, outdoor, casual spot. They quesadillas were a hit too!! We headed home and enjoyed the afternoon at the house again and then waited for Chef Gavin to come back again for dinner! This time he made some amazing fish cakes on greens that was delicious and then some lobster au gratin and a homemade rum cake for dessert! It was all amazing and now I need to try to make my own version of fish cakes.
SUNDAY
It was our last full day on the island and we hadn’t nothing planned that we had to do. We enjoyed sleeping in and took to a slow morning of mixing cocktails at the house and relaxing in the pool. One of the guys on our trip was dying to do some fishing, so he actually scheduled a fishing trip for the morning; so we hung around until he got back home. Once he was back, we decided to go check out the “Pig Roast” at Chat N’ Chill that they do every Sunday. We took a taxi to the government doc where you can catch a water taxi for $10 a person and boated over to Chat N Chill. The pig roast was pretty good and the sides were worth eating!! We all fell in love with the Coleslaw and I don’t even really like coleslaw. It was delicious. This is something fun to do if you have a Sunday on the island.
We headed back home at our leisure and decided to have one more fun dinner on the island before we had to pack up and head back home. We had dinner at the Rusty Anchor in February Point and we really all had a very nice meal. This is one of the more upscale restaurants on the island; but truly, nothing is very dressy. You can get by with just about anything anywhere on the island.
MONDAY
Monday was our last day and we loaded up in two taxi and headed the quick 5 minute drive to the airport. They do recommend that you get to the airport plenty early. I think we were there a good two hours before our flight, if not more. We checked in with our airline and checked in our bag and then we walked across the street to Kermit’s lounge and had breakfast. I highly recommend the breakfast sandwich if you find yourself there for breakfast. I was expecting something not very good and was pleasantly surprised. They also have a little junky gift shop over there if you need to bring back any little gifts for your kids or family members. After we ate, then you walk back over to the airport and have to go through security. So just make sure you give yourself enough time to do that. It can get really busy over the summer months; but in October, we didn’t have long lines.
:: VACATION RECAP ::
:: Where We Stayed ::
The Sand Bar
:: Where We Ate ::
At home with Chef Gavin
Island Boys
23 North at Grand Isle
Rusty Anchor at February Point
Chat N Chill
Peace & Love Beach Club
Tims On the Bay (lunch)
:: What We Did ::
Boat Rental with Minn’s Water Sport
Day Trip via Water Taxi to Chat N Chill
Half Day 7 Beaches Excursion with Exuma Water Sports
Full Day Trip with Justin at Exuma Water Sports to Compass Cay
:: Our Previous Trips to the Exumas ::
Our Stay at Sandals Emerald Bay 2017
Couples Trip for Matt’s Birthday 2019
Family Trip for Spring Break 2023
My Dad’s 60th Birthday Trip 2013
Exuma, Bahamas Travel Guide
