WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VISIT THE BAHAMAS

I just came back from a warm and much-needed vacation in the Bahamas with my family! Living in Europe means it’s super cold this time of year, and getting away to warmer weather really made my heart happy. We went to Nassau, and stayed on Paradise Island (connected to New Providence Island by a bridge). Although not the biggest island in the Bahamas (there are over 700, btw!) it is the one with the largest downtown area/best city life. The other islands are more secluded - but just as beautiful.

There are two seasons in the Bahamas – winter and summer. January is winter season, but also high season because the weather is typically dry, and temperatures are warm. So rain is unlikely, but you may need a sweater at night when the weather cools down.

The locals are very friendly, and they go out of their way to help you with anything you need. The Bahamas function almost fully on tourism, so this is a big aspect of their culture and lifestyle and you can feel it everywhere you go.

This type of vacation is best for those who want to relax and be by the beach. Although there are activities to do (walk around the city, boat rides, extreme sports, etc.) this is mainly a family place where you come for some rest and relaxation.

With that said, I am rounding up my top tips on what you should know before you visit the Bahamas.

1. How to budget

So this was one of things I was most shocked about – the Bahamas are really expensive. And I don’t just mean the fancy restaurants and bars, I mean the regular grocery stores where the locals go. The grocery stores have most of the same products that you can get in the US, but at least 30% more expensive. You can find less expensive restaurants, which will be about $6-10 a plate – but even a fast food place like Wendy’s costs $9 for a basic combo meal. The restaurants around Paradise Island were about 50% more expensive than their US counterpart. Granted, these were around the hotel chains, so of course prices are marked up, but even so, there aren’t as many nice options downtown, so you either pay that price for those restaurants, or go farther away for something cheaper. For example, a 12-inch pizza was $29.

If you want to be cost efficient, I would recommend doing what we did and buying breakfast in the store (eggs, toast, avocado, coffee) as well as snacks for the day (grapes, pretzels, water) and then going out for dinner. Some places where we went to dinner, the portions were so large that we brought the leftovers home and ate them the next day for lunch. If you are in a hotel this can be more challenging, but I would still recommend buying snacks in the store for the daytime so you don’t end up spending $20 (minimum) per person for lunch.

2. Where to stay

If you can afford a fancy hotel, then do it. We stayed in an Airbnb which was definitely more affordable and allowed us to cook and bring home and store food – which we love doing. We stayed in a 3 bedroom, 3,5 bath Airbnb. It was great! We had plenty of space – there was a large kitchen, a living room and everyone had their own rooms and bathrooms. We stayed in a beautiful community close to the beach that was far enough away from the hotel scene not to bother us, but close enough to walk to if we wanted some life.

We stayed on Paradise island, which is where the famous Atlantis hotel is located. This island is very touristy, but very beautiful and clean. New Providence island, which is located just across the bridge, is where the downtown area is located. This island is where the majority of the locals live, and although there are beautiful beaches and scenery, there is a lot of poverty, destroyed buildings, and underdeveloped towns. There are beautiful houses to stay in, but I would recommend Paradise Island for where your hotel or Airbnb is located.

3. How to get around

The two islands do have buses, but there aren’t that many stops and it doesn’t go through the whole city.

Taxi’s are readily available and at every corner, but they are expensive. One trip for two people is anywhere from $12-35, plus you have to pay the $2 toll fee whenever you go to Paradise island from New Providence island. Unless you plan to stay on your hotel property most of the time, this can really add up.

What we recommend as the best way for getting around is renting a car. We paid less than $100 per day and this allowed us to go where we wanted, and as often as we wanted. Many of the most beautiful beaches we saw were far away from the tourist area, and so a car was the only way to get there. And we don’t think many people rented cars, because most of the beaches we saw were empty!

Here are some of the top places we recommend visiting on the islands:

·         Jaw’s beach (where they filmed the ‘Jaws’ movie)

·         Adelaide Beach

·         Cable Beach

·         Cabbage Beach

·         Downtown Nassau

·         The middle of the island (just so you can get a feel of the non-touristy areas as well)

4. What to do

One of the most popular things to do in the Caribbean is island hop, and from the Bahamas that is really easy since there are many islands close together! For many reasons (weather, availability, price) we didn’t end up going to any other islands. However, if I ever went back I would definitely take a day boat trip to Exuma Island to see the famous swimming pigs and nurse sharks!

If you do go, there are a few things to take into consideration. The first is, plan ahead. I would recommend booking your tour 2 weeks before you go (so you can make sure to have a spot) and try to book it at the beginning of your trip. The reason why is, if the tour gets cancelled because of weather (like it did for us) the company will give you alternate dates and the more days you have left on your trip, the better chance you have of going on a different day.

Beware that these tours are pricey. The cheapest tours for the all-day Exuma trip, for example, was $400 per person. Now, I am sure it is worth it, but just keep that in mind when budgeting for the vacation!

5. What to pack

The weather in the Bahamas is generally very mild, ranging from 68-80 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter (20-27 degrees Celsius). Bring bathing suits, cover-ups, dresses, sleeveless tops, loose pants, skirts and sandals for the day. For night, you can wear the same clothing, but with a sweater.

People typically dress casually, however if you go to one of the nicer hotels, you should probably wear a nicer outfit – a summer dress and sandals are perfectly acceptable. For men, shorts and a collared shirt is fine.  

You can find everything in the Bahamas you would in the US, but more expensive, as I mentioned, so I would recommend bringing sunscreen from home. Because of this, I would also bring bath toiletries from home if you can, like shampoo, conditioner, and body soap.

Overall, our vacation was very relaxing and the weather was great! This is definitely a relaxing place to visit, and not one where you are always on the go, so keep that in mind when picking which island you visit in the Caribbean.

Hope this Bahamas guide was helpful! Feel free to let us know if you have more questions.