When you think of the Bahamas, you think of crystal clear water, sun, white sand beaches, and paradise. Exuma was all that and exceeded all my expectations. We have been to many places in the Caribbean, and I can honestly say the water in Exuma was the clearest, most beautiful water I have ever seen. It looks like a picture perfect postcard (try and say that 3 times fast) ….how many of y’all actually did it?! Anyways, it is absolutely beautiful!! There are so many shades of emerald and blue and turquoise in the water. If you have ever been on Instagram you have probably at some point seen the famous Exuma pigs that you can swim with. I talk about that and the excursion we went on here. So, have I talked you into going to Exuma yet?!
Airport & Transportation
If you are flying directly into Exuma then you will be traveling through the Exuma International Airport (GGT) on Great Exuma. It is a very tiny airport. It looks like a triple wide trailer and that is pretty much the extent of it. They are very strict about absolutely no phones or pictures to be taken at the airport! Trust me you will get yelled at if you try to take a picture! If you are staying at a resort like we did, more than likely they can set up transportation to and from the airport for you. Our transportation was included, but there are plenty of taxis readily available at the airport. Since we stayed at the Sandals Emerald Bay there was a line you stand in specifically for Sandals guests and wait your turn for a taxi. As we were waiting for our taxi, one of the vans came flying up around the corner coming in hot!….enter Smitty! I knew I wanted to ride with him! I was ready to get to the beach after all!! His van was full so we weren’t able to ride with him that day…but guess who picked us up to take us to the excursion..yep Smitty!!! He was awesome and so funny!! Look him up for your taxi needs…Smitty’s Taxi.
Where we stayed
We stayed at the Sandals Emerald Bay. If you don’t know, Sandals resorts are all inclusive. You don’t have to pay for anything when you get there….food, drinks, alcohol, water sports, scuba diving, tips..I think you get the picture…everything is paid for before you arrive! There are 11 restaurants, 6 bars, and a beautiful golf course on the resort. There is plenty to do at the resort in case you don’t want to leave; however, I suggest you get out and explore! They do have Airbnb on the island so if…excuse me, WHEN we go back I would like to do that rather than a resort to get a more local vibe, but it’s all personal preference! You can check out my review of Sandals Emerald Bay in another post.
Things to do
If you’re staying at a resort like we did, you probably don’t have to leave because there will be lots to do there, but you definitely should get out and see Exuma for yourself! Book an excursion through one of the local places, or Sandals offers an excursion as well. The one thing I had to do while in Exuma was swim with the pigs! It is definitely an experience and if you’re lucky there will be piglets to hold too!
There is a place called chat ‘n’ chill that I hear is not to be missed! We however missed it…I know, I know…we just didn’t have enough time and I regret we didn’t get to go…but there’s my excuse for why I have to go back! See what I did there! Everybody at the resort was talking about it, and Smitty even recommended we go. They have a pig roast on Sundays and you can make conch salad. You can feed the sting rays there and they have volleyball on the beach. At night, they have bonfires on the beach. They have a website chatnchill.com if you want to look it up before you go.
Another place to go to is the Tropic of Cancer Beach or Pelican Beach. I heard it is so beautiful and I’m sure it is, after all this is Exuma we’re talking about! Again, we didn’t have time to go here but everybody talked about this as well. I don’t want you to miss anything like we did. If we could have stayed one extra day we for sure would have fit both of these in!