Nassau, Bahamas Travel Experience

Everyone has heard of the Bahamas, and everyone knows that the country is home to endless pristine beaches and a large cruise port.  Aside from that there is the world renowned Atlantis resort, pig beach and pink sand beach which some others may know of.  For the history buffs there is a ton of pirate history as the island was home to a number of the most renowned pirates  and was known as the “Pirate Republic.”  Some of those things many people will have known, but not everyone.  There were also a few other interesting facts I learned during our 5 days stay on the island.

The Bahamas is considered a third world country but it doesn’t feel like it.  Asides, from Atlantis there are several other large and pristine resorts on Nassau alone.   These resorts will put a dent in your pockets, so we elected for a more affordable but stay just outside of Nassau in a beautiful quiet resort called Sandyport Beach Resort.  The cruise ship port is massive and is full of shops, restaurants, bars and colourful buildings.  There are also a number of Canadian banks on the island such as CIBC, RBC and Scotia Bank.  It’s safe to say the island doesn’t quite feel like a third world country.  And another fact, being a former English colony, they drive on the left side of the road in the Bahamas. Besides the cruise ship port, the island is home to well maintained, colourful colonial buildings that really pop out and make it a neat experience to walk around.

The people we encountered were all friendly and very proud of their island.  Our taxi driver whom drove us into town twice promoted the island, and told us about the social services, the low taxes and the high wages.  Apparently, Bahamas has the largest per capita population of the middle class in the world (I didn’t fact check that, but it seems somewhat likely).  These were all things I didn’t know and explained why it felt like the people were happy and living well, compared to most small tropical islands I have been to.  Another thing I noticed was that Bahamians are a lot less pushy and in the tourist areas you won't feel pressured and harassed like you will in Mexico, Colombia or even the Philippines. The island is safe despite a few warnings online and  the first language is English too, so these factors make the Bahamas easy  and smooth to travel to.   

We thought that by staying just outside of Nassau in Sandyport that we would have a laid back beach vacation , but there was just too much to see and do so we were clearly wrong.  The primary purpose of our vacation was to get “secretly” eloped, although we ended up telling a few people ahead of time.  Our ceremony was simple and short and occurred right on our resort on the beautiful white gazebo overlooking the Caribbean Sea.  It was beautiful and an amazing experience, but I’ll save the details for another blog at a later date.

Aside from our elopement, we spent some time relaxing and swimming at the beach and pools in Sandyport and planned a couple of other excursions.  We couldn’t afford the heavy cost to stay at Atlantis or on Paradise Island but we wanted to check it out so we purchased a day pass for the resort.  With the day pass, you get access to all of the facilities and we spent the scorching hot day on a couple of the private beaches (which were beautiful), exploring the worlds largest open air aquarium and going down a few of the waterslides.  We also spent a good chunk of time in the kids pool with our baby and it was a blast.  The baby had fun and so did we.  It was a massive Poseidon themed pool and splash pad with a few simple waterslides.  It was a good day, but we could have used more time to go down more of the slides and check out one more of the private beaches.  The resort was full of tons of restaurants, a dolphin sanctuary and some iconic landmarks too which we managed to check out.  To see the vlog of our day in Atlantis click here.

Then on what kind of was like our honeymoon, we did island hopping where we has a 4 stop, 3 island tour near Nassau.  We fed/swam with the pigs on Athol Island, snorkeled on a reef in the crystal blue water, viewed the sea turtles at Green Cay and relaxed on a beautiful secluded beach where we swam and had lunch.  It was a good day but a bit pricey.  Despite the heavy price, we got to do a lot and swim in some beautiful waters.  The tour was on a speed boat with blaring music and was a lot of fun;  we also got to see a number of celebrity homes on the shores of Nassau.

And on our final day, despite going into Nassau to get to Atlantis and for the boat tour, we still needed to explore the town.  We visited the Queens Staircase which was built and dedicated to the queen of England (the Bahamas was an English colony until 51 years ago) and linked the forts of Nassau to the local people in the neighborhoods.  We tried the famous Rum Cake and got a few shots of rum to go along with the cakes.  Of course, being a fan of pirate history and the hit TV series Black Sails, we had to check out the Pirates of Nassau Museum.  I even found time to check out Junkanoo Beach which is right in Nassau and where many cruisers go.  The beach is packed with chairs, umbrellas and vendors and is nothing spectacular but is fun if you want to go for a drink on the beach.  When all was said and done, we were too tired to shop in the famous straw market and decided to just go to a simple gift shop in town. We were hungry too so before we headed back to our hotel we checked out the cruise port and got some food there.  It is a cool port with colourful buildings and lots of places to eat, drink and shop.

At the cruise port we had Conch Salad.  Conch is a shell fish and famous in the Bahamas.  There are many ways to eat it, but Conch Salad is like ceviche but with Conch.  We also tried Cracked Conch which is cut up and breaded Conch.  Surprisingly, Conch is really tasty and doesn’t have a fishy taste, it is the best shellfish I have tried.  Being an island, there is a ton of other seafood aside from Conch.  We ate Red Snapper and Grouper, both were delicious.  We tried these fish at the world renowned Fish Fry which is a strip of local fish and seafood restaurants where locals and tourists mingle to eat fresh sea food and drink like a pirate.  And unknown to me at first, but I learned that the  Bahamas is famous for its Mac N’ Cheese.  We had to have it twice because it was delicious and the best baked Mac N’ Cheese I had.  There is also a lot of island food similar to Jamaica like Beef Patties and Jerk Chicken, both being delicious. Overall, I was impressed with the food as it was all flavorful and full of herbs and spices that the Bahamians like to cook with. 

The food was reasonably priced but the Bahamian dollar is on par with the USD so it can be expensive for Canadians.  There is also a 15% added service charge which is the mandatory tip.  Like most Caribbean islands, things are starting to get a bit pricey.  The excursions are expensive and again for Canadians the exchange adds up.  The taxis are also expensive, but the drivers are honest and all of the prices are pretty standardized there.  One way to save some money is to ride the local bus or Jitney, which we did quite a bit.  It only costs $1.50 but can get hot in there, as many of them don’t have AC.

Overall Nassau and the Bahamas was a great experience.  We got married in paradise, which was the number one highlight, but there were many other things to do.  The beaches and waters are beautiful and probably the best all-around compared to everywhere I’ve been.  What’s crazy is the waters seemed unreal to me, but apparently the water in Nassau and around Nassau is nothing compared to some of the other islands such as Eleuthera and Exuma.  The food was good, and the people are extremely friendly so I’d definitely recommend Nassau.  Yes it is expensive, but since COVID all travel destinations are getting expensive, and if you compare the Bahamas to the other small islands in the Caribbean, it is actually right around the middle of the pack in terms of prices and cost of living.