Yeah well that sums it up!
To pin it down, we stayed on one island: Georgetown
Focus of the trip: Kitesurfing and wildlife
you prefer a video instead of a long text? go all the way down!
That’s anyway what you will end-up doing unless you are a fanatic of lying around at the beach =) or Exuma is just one island among several you will be visiting for a couple of days.
As I can’t stand still longer than 10 seconds, that was not an option.
We spent a total time of 2 weeks on that island and were lucky to have wind 95% on the time. You are not planning to go kitesurfing or simply lying on the beach, 2 weeks might be a bit long and island hopping a more diverting option.
During our stay we also planned two day-excursions and changed beach on a regular basis.
To fully enjoy the island and have the freedom to discover and change places depending on the wind conditions, we rented a car for two weeks.
Crystal clear water? infinite white sand beaches? Beautiful aquatic wildlife?
A good place for renting is “Sure to Shore”. The service is simple and the staff super friendly. Prices are fair and good compared to the rest of the island.
For our Hotel, we stayed both weeks at Mt. Pleasant Suits Hotel
These are apartment with living room, kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom. For the price and size, compared to the rest of the island, a very viable solution. We cooked on a daily basis for dinner and took snacks for lunch.
Cost of living
Local money is the Bahamian dollar but you can also use American dollars.
The island is quite expensive as nothing is produced there and all the goods are imported by boat.
The boat arrives on the island twice a week. This means that fresh vegetables or fruits are at hand upon arrival of the boat.
We tried a few supermarkets to see the difference in price but to be fair there were none.
Three options:
Take an all-inclusive hotel if you can afford it, go to the restaurant or cook yourself.
We opted for the last one.
We went shopping on a regular basis as the price of restaurants was not that cheap.
As the island does not produce anything on its own, all the goods are shipped from Nassau and from Florida. Therefore, the prices are just incredibly high!
A 200 g Nutella pot 10 $, a bag of air (Lays) 8 $, a baby cauliflower 8 $ and so on.
Restaurants
We tried two restaurants which were quite good – they all sell fish and burgers in general.
Prices range between 10 and 15 $ for sandwiches and up to 30 $ for normal plates.
Shirley’s – mostly for sea food and fish
La Fourchette – belongs to the Paradise bay hotel.
Chat’n’Chill – located on Stocking Island, this is the place you want to visit!
Health
There is no specific vaccine you should need for that place.
The most annoying thing that you can encounter (aside from getting bitten by a shark which is a low risk) are sand fleeces. These terrible creatures are everywhere. As soon as the sun sets, run for your life. They are everywhere on any beach and hunt you down.
You might also pay attention when walking in water as you might step on jellyfishes.
Additionally, Zika is a possible risk to consider in that area
Beaches and cultural sights
We didn’t see any cultural sight. I don’t think there are really any. But from a beach point of view, you won’t be disappointed.
From our location (more or less in the center) we could easily split our days between north and south.
Coco-plum Beach (Rolletown)
Probably among our top pick. That beach a is a beautiful white sandy beach that sretches over several kilometers
Probably the “kitesurf” beach although you might find yourself alone.
You will find a lot of areas where you can simply walk and stand. Not suitable for foils, you will definitely have your share of fun with your twintip as a beginner or advanced rider.
Access to the beach is tricky, we missed it twice as we were talking. Basically, while you drive from Georgetown to Rolletown, you will have a random rough road that enters the forest on the right, 2 km before Rolletown. There is a sign indicating “Coco Plum”. There are also blue trash bins a that intersection
Best wind: north /north-east / east
Exuma-point
Our favorite spot. The water is extremely shallow so be careful by low tide. There is no beach so to say, therefore it is a bit trickier to start your kite and requires a bit more experience.
Additionally, because of the extreme tides and water level changes, make sure you secure your stuff while you go kiting.
Wind: south, south-west, west, North, North-west, choppy by south
Flamingo Bay (Rocker’s point settlement)
Quite a long 2km beach with beautiful colored blue water. Deeper and adapted for foils. It is right in-front of paradise bay hotel. Alternative is to park at Big-D
Wind: north, north-east, north-ouest
You will sometimes see the beach Man-o-war and Moriah cay pop-up. However, these two small islands are home of various bird species and going there with your kite will scare them. Please leave them at least that spot. You will have plenty of kitesurfing opportunities with the spots I mentioned above.
Summary in images!
Movie Part 1
Movie part 2
Looking for other hiking or travel destinations? Check here!
Looking for other places to stay ? check here!
Or do you simply have a question? Contact me!