After meeting a lovely couple in 2022 on our last holiday they inspired us to look at going to the Bahamas & Exumas Region . So my planning began.

Our trip was a 7 day cabin cruise aboard a Catarman leaving Nassau for a week in the Exumas.

As I like to have at least a day before cruising we opted for 3 nights in Nassau. We stayed about 30 minutes drive from the main tourist area in a smaller resort Sandyport Marina & Hotel. We booked a 1 bedroom villa which was so pretty. All rooms at Sandyport have a kitchen etc. plus a beach, swimming pool & lagoon , hammocks etc & best of all not heaving with 1000s of people.

WIND WIND & RAIN ! We encountered a couple of days of very windy days so we decided to explore Nassau plus a trip to the Atlantis Nassau on Paradise Island. We actually didn’t go past the foyer as if your not a guest it costs from $150 per person to look around.

Nassau is a small town basically cruise orientated with lots of souvenir shops plus a little out of town is the fish fry area where its filled with little shacks selling seafood, daiquiris etc (worth a visit). There are other places to visit Queens Staircase , Pirate museum etc it was a damp drab day for us so we chilled back at our resort

Back at Sandyport there was also restaurants, bars shops to explore plus the protected lagoon to swim in.

Our highlight was our 7 day Catamaran cruise . Our cabin had its own ensuite , queen bed & huge windows. This cruise means you have a captain( Alex )& hostess( Sunshine) plus you share the space with another 5 couples but being a 65ft vessel there was plenty of space to relax aboard.

Meals were prepared with love & yumminess from Sunshine lots of fresh fish, salads , & everyday a fabulous cocktail, plus a cooler filled with wines, mixers & spirits on the bar to help yourself.

This cruise is uber relaxed .During the day swimming off the cat, swimwear & coverups throughout the day & casual at night. Raff did download some movies etc plus we had wifi to connect & chill in our cabin at times.

The beauty of this cruise however is that you sometimes have beaches to yourself, you can dive off the cat & get into the little cays where big cruise ships cannot get to.

Our charter had a set itinerary Highborn Cay, Normans Cay, Stanley Cay.

Highlights were swimming with the nurse sharks , swimming pigs, Igunans but mostly the crystal clear unbelievable blue waters . Mr R snorkelled off the wreak of a drug cartel plane ( the current was very fast) but it was so clear.

We were cautioned about the pigs & Alex gave us the do’s & don’ts no food & putting up your hands to show you don’t have anything but they do swim out to boats hoping for food to be tossed at them .

Nurse sharks was similar we were given a bag of frozen shrimp that the nurse sharks, plus other fish & birds try to get but amazing experience.

Sailing , swimming was fantastic warm water white sand no need for reef shoes here.

We had a amazing time in the Bahamas , meet some beautiful people from around the world on our charter & had some bucket list activities.

However here is a quick list of tips, info.

1 The Bahamas is not cheap…. book ahead & pay in your currency . If staying at big hotel check if all inclusive it might be a cheaper option lots of taxes fees added to bills.

2 The visit the pigs, sharks from Nassau on a day trip its costs roughly $450usd per person which gives you about 1/2 hour at beach location only as its about 2-3 hours to get there.

3 We used Lets Go Bahamas for transport as there are no Ubers. This was a exceptional car service, infact our last morning we had a early pickup from yacht to airport & the owner did the pickup & gave us a wakeup message too.

4 Even though gratuity is added onto your bill, staff will still ask for a tip.

5 Bahamian dollar is matched to the US dollar. Everywhere takes US notes better not to get local currency hard to get rid of.

6 Buy your sunblock (reef friendly) before you go otherwise the prices are high.

7 Make sure you try a conch salad they are delicious . Fresh seafood , fruits are the best options .

8 Take notice of timings at airport it can take a long time to get through immigration as you do US immigration upon leaving The Bahamas .

9 We stayed at Sandyport Hotel in Nassau all villas , rooms looked good some are upstairs no lifts .

10 Our cabin charter was with Dream Yacht Charters ( which has offices worldwide including Australia ) I booked over the phone & because we were repeat clients we got a small discount.

11 We flew with American Airlines from Los Angeles via Miami onto Nassau ( all on one ticket incase of delays )

12 As always have a open mind & heart & embrace the unexpected.

Mr R & I had a incredible adventure our favourite the crystal clear warm waters & people we made as friends.

PS None of the places gave us discounts for mentioning them , do your own homework but as always feel free to reach out with questions or insights of your own.

Till NEXT ADVENTURE stay safe, be open & BE KIND .