The Exumas – one of the Bahamas Out Islands chains, consisting of 365 cays, and home to the most magical, translucent turquoise waters. Simply mesmerizing. It had been a while since we laid eyes on it and dove through it, so when we asked Ellie where she wanted to go for her high school graduation trip, she immediately said Exuma. We were originally going to head back to our favorite spot, Staniel Cay, but decided to try something new, a little further south in the chain. Great Exuma.
The thought of staying on a remote island off a remote island sounded appealing, so I booked a cottage on Stocking Island, only accessible by boat. I had also considered a house on Hooper’s Bay, and in hindsight, should have chosen this option. February Point was another place we looked into, and it would have been great as well. In theory, the cottage (which is part of the Peace & Plenty resort on the mainland), would have been perfect for us, but we ran into some issues.
And no trip would be complete without some mishaps. Keeps life interesting and makes trips memorable.
Let’s start this story from the week prior to takeoff though. I was breathing a sigh of relief, because during the first half of June, the island received 14 straight days of rain, and flooding was very bad. But low and behold, an early season hurricane was brewing in the Atlantic, Bret. Then an unprecedented second storm formed on its heels, Cindy. Thankfully, one went south of the Bahamas and the other veered Northeast.
June 26 - Travel Day – one of the smoothest to date. We flew from DC to Miami to George Town on American.
We picked up a beater Corolla from Thompson’s across the street from the airport, and we were on our way. Thankfully, our cottage was ready early so once we checked in at Peace & Plenty, we dragged our luggage down to dock to wait for the boat shuttle. A quick 5 minute ride across Elizabeth Harbor and we were at Stocking Island. By the time we hauled our stuff up the rocky path to our place, we were all drenched in sweat and ready for a dip in the sea.
The Royal Poinciana Cottage was perched on a hill overlooking the water and beach club. Lovely view. And it was decorated very nicely. But it was definitely rustic. And only had AC in the bedrooms. This is a common setup in the islands, and we are used to it, but boy did that living area heat up. It was sweltering. Even for me, and I like it hot. It lacked the cross breezes which help keep the air circulating. No matter, the bedrooms were cool and the beds were comfy. The water pressure was lacking, but we would make do.
We donned our suits and headed down to the beach. Two friendly sting rays hang out here and love to glide over your feet. And they enjoy when you feed them scraps from the conch stand. We grabbed some rum punches and the girls got the drink of the day “Exuma Blues.” Ellie and her bestie were excited to be able order cocktails from the bar since the drinking age is 18 in the Bahamas.
For lunch we tried the conch salad, a burger, and wings. All very good, especially the conch.
We listened to music and relaxed a bit before Mark and I caught the next boat over to mainland to get some beverages from the market for the room. The girls stayed on the beach. George Town is a small town with a few restaurants and bars, small grocery store, liquor stores, straw market, a couple of shops, a pretty church, a government building, and a gas station. We arrived back at P&P about a half hour before the next boat shuttle was scheduled to depart, so we sat at Doc’s for a drink and chatted it up with some folks. Meeting new people is one of the best parts about traveling.
Once back at the cottage, we peeked in the girls’ room, and they were both snuggled under the covers fast asleep in their icebox. We did have to wake up at 2:30 am, after all. After they woke, they mentioned that washing hair was a challenge due to lack of water pressure. We had planned to go to The Beacon for dinner (the only restaurant on Stocking Island, aside from Snappy Turtle which would have required a boat) but while it looked very nice, the menu was extremely limited and offered unusual items which we didn’t think the girls would go for. Had it been just us, we would have eaten there. So, we decided to head back over to the mainland and take the car to Splash (on Palm Bay) for a casual meal.
- * But did we die? - take 1** As we were still trying to get the lay of the land, we made a wrong turn out of George Town, so, since no cars were coming, Mark decided to do a quick 3-point turn. At point 2, a car came speeding up and almost t-boned us. Cat-like reflexes by both drivers ensured that we did not meet our demise at this time. But boy was I freaked out and shaken up.
Alas, we arrived at Splash. Note - every single restaurant was always out of multiple menu items. It is a remote island and supply deliveries are limited, so this is to be expected. Except for the places that change their menu daily based on what is caught and what they have. These are the best places. We ordered a seafood pizza (conch, shrimp, and lobster – delish), honey garlic wings, and calamari. Nice evening boat ride to get back, then we called it a night. The best feeling is having your whole vacation stretched out ahead of you.
June 27 – first full day on island and Mark’s 55th birthday. We woke early as we always do on vacation to enjoy coffee on the deck and review our plans for the day. Mark and I decided to do a little exploring before the girls woke up. Plan was to take the trail over and across Stocking Island to get to the Atlantic side. Quite the varied trail between sand and palms, rocky terrain, an area that looked like a savannah in Africa, a rainforest with a sunken dock to cross, then a hill with more palms, and finally a view of the ocean. On the way back we noticed the sky starting to darken so we picked up the pace. We got past the rocky part before it started to rain then took off running to take shelter under one of Kahari’s pavilions. It only lasted about 10 minutes then the sun was shining again.
We took some obligatory photos on the swing then checked out Kahari's beach around the corner. Great snorkeling just off the beach by the buoys.
Since it was low tide, we walked over to Chat N Chill to see what the fuss was all about. We arrived before they opened which was nice, so we enjoyed the beach and water for a bit. We were informed that the bar would be late in opening because the liquor supply boat hadn’t yet arrived. We contemplated staying for lunch but by the time they got the grills and smokers going and actually opened up, it would be a while, so we decided to head back to the mainland and explore by car.
I had Santanna’s in my sights. Boy, is that a haul. As is everything, but we got used it. The length of Great and Little Exuma (separated only by a small bridge) is 45 miles. Even if you are only going 20 miles, it seems longer due to the curves, speed limits and all the pot holes. They are no joke. It’s like playing a game of Whack a Mole in reverse.
Totally worth the drive. Great vibe, colorful décor, and stellar views. The girls each got one of their crazy pina coladas. Fun drink, but very messy and melts super quick. For food, Mark and I got jerk chicken, fries, peas and rice, and cole slaw. Delicious. One of my favorite meals of the trip. No pics because we devoured it so fast. The girls each got an order of mango jerk wings. So good. They took a dip while waiting for the food. Lovely beach and gorgeous water.
Next up was Forbes Hill Beach. I had heard great things, and it did not disappoint. We also ran into a friend I had met on Instagram, who is lucky enough to live there. This was probably my favorite beach on the island. Tied with Pretty Molly. The sand is so soft and fine, just like flour.
After some limin’, we headed to George Town to catch the water taxi back to Stocking Island so we could get ready for Mark’s birthday dinner at CocoPlum Bistro.
Girls took their shower first, then it was my turn while Mark went down to the Beach Club to fill our backpack cooler with ice (our cottage didn’t have a freezer either). I turned on the water, and nothing. Not even a trickle. I called the concierge who said they would send someone over. Finally, I got a trickle. I did the best I could (there would be no hair washing today). I also emailed the resort asking if we could be switched to another room as this was an ongoing issue. Indira responded quickly and said that it would not be a quick fix and they could accommodate us at the mainland hotel. If it was just Mark and I, we would have made do, but with four people (two of whom have a lot of hair), we decided to consider moving. They could offer us a 2-bedroom garden view. I told her I’d need to see if first and we would have to discuss. I paid for and wanted an oceanfront view. She called back a few minutes later and said they could offer us two separate waterfront units. Sold.
But the priority now was rushing to make our dinner reservations, so we hurried down to the dock for the 5:30 PM boat. Learning moment. You need to arrive much earlier since that it the busiest boat run because the beach club closes at 5 and everyone is trying to get a ride back. They were already overloaded so we waited for him to come back (thankfully we didn’t have to wait for the next scheduled shuttle at 6:30. He came right back. But we were still cutting it close). We quickly checked out one of the rooms and told the manager that we would plan to move in early the next day as we had a scheduled activity that morning. She suggested we move that night. Ugh. That was going to be a lot of work, but we decided we would rather get it over with and wake up in our new space.
But first, dinner. This evening we were heading North to Cocoplum Bistro. We really enjoyed this restaurant. Small, but very cute. And great food. The grads started with a Bahama Mama and Sex on the Beach. This was such a novelty for them to be able to order cocktails. And expensive for us! For our meal, Mark ordered the lobster thermidor and rest of us had poke bowls. Then a banana split for dessert.
We could see the sky turning pink so after dinner we headed to the beach for some sunset shots. What a gorgeous evening.
Then reality set in. We made it back to P&P for the 9 PM boat. Once on Stocking, we told the captain we would probably need at least a half hour to pack up and get back to the dock. He told us he would pick us up at 10. You would have thought there was prize money involved as fast as we shoved everything back into suitcases, beach bags, coolers, and a trash bag. Not to mention all of the beer and wine we had just lugged over the day before, that now had to be schlepped back. 15 minutes! We carried as much as we could so we (meaning the girls) only had to make one trip. Down several set of stairs, then bumped along the rocky, hilly path down to the dock. But Mark, the mule, had to go back to get the worst of it while we watched over our stuff. I wish I had a photo. That poor man. He was loaded down like a sherpa and completely soaked with sweat.
The boat guys helped us get everything on board and then back out again. Then we had an even bigger set of stairs to haul everything up. No matter. We were almost home free (cue the foreshadowing). The cool old bar was buzzing as it was karaoke night, but there would be no fun for us.
I got the keys and the girls scurried off to their room. We were on the second floor, so we had another set of stairs to deal with. I opened the room and was greeted with a blast a warm sticky air. The unit was set to 72 just at the girls was (and their room felt great). Something was not right. And the floor was all wet. Mark surmised that they must have just mopped. Nope. Condensation from all of the humidity was pooling across the entire floor. Mark started to unpack his clothes and re-load the mini fridge. Not me. I sensed another room change. But we had planned to stick it out for the night as it was late. We had to sop up the water though, and I didn’t want to use our two bath towels, so I went back to the lobby and explained the situation. Indira came up and said we absolutely could not stay in that room and we would have to move to the garden room for the night and then they would find us a new room in the morning. Shoot me.
June 28th - the morning dawned bright and clear, and we were excited about our clear kayak adventure in Moriah Cay Harbor. But not before making one more move. As we were moving out, we noticed a brand new AC unit sitting outside of room #2. This would be our 4th move in 2.5 days. Aside from busted patio chair slings which we swapped out, this room would do just fine. And even if it wasn’t fine, we weren’t moving again. I will say the staff here is great (shout out to the awesome Ash!), and this historic hotel has a lot of potential, but they need to step up their game. We completely understand that shit happens, especially on a small island, but something as simple as checking the room before moving us in would have saved a lot of hassle.
After switching rooms, we decided to have breakfast at Copia in the P&P resort (eh), then we made our way to Ferry Bridge to meet up with TT for our kayak launch. What a delightful woman and entrepreneur. After receiving our instructions and map, off we went. Me and Mark in one kayak and Ellie and Emerson in the other. First stop was a place where sea turtles hang out. We just floated and watched them zip around us. We paddled through some mangroves then into a sandbar area where the Lazy River is supposed to be. We weren’t exactly sure where it started or where it went, so we just started exploring a bit. Another family was trying to figure out the same thing. Mark did feel a nice little current for a short time, but then slack tide hit, and it became a “dead asleep” river. Timing is key here. Just before we started paddling out it started to slowly pick up. Another man told us that it’s hit or miss. Some days the current comes whipping around from the ocean and other days it doesn’t. Oh well. It was nice and peaceful. And the Atlantic beach side is gorgeous. As we were winding our way back out the other side of the loop, a big stingray swam right under us. The clear kayaks are very cool.
TT also made a keychain for Ellie and Em commemorating their graduation. Such a nice touch. And a wonderful memento of the trip.
Everyone was starving so we decided to hit up Tropic Breeze. Another great lunch spot with amazing views and a beach.
Then off to check out Tropic of Cancer Beach. I was surprised at the number of people on this beach. And there is now a bar in the little pavilion leading to the beach. Couldn’t even get a photo of the iconic blue line and coordinates. It’s a stunning beach, but a little too busy for me. So, we set off for Pretty Molly Bay. An awesome, calm, secluded beach. Just our speed.
Dinner tonight was at the Exuma Yacht Club. We were looking forward to no more driving for the day, and listening to some live music. A short walk from P&P, this place has a great vibe. We ordered some cocktails and enjoyed the tunes. Our fave drink here was “Fish Lips” – vodka, strawberry puree, pineapple juice and peach schnapps. Totally making this at home. For eats, we ordered calamari and a variety of their big sushi rolls. Everything was delicious and we all agreed that the calamari was the best we had the entire trip. Ran into Kelly and her daughter again so we chatted for a bit.
Then a leisurely walk back to enjoy some time on the P&P dock so Mark could have a cigar and an Old Fashioned. The breeze was lovely. Perfect ending to a great day.
June 29th – Boat day! We walked across the street to pick up our 17’ Whaler from Minn’s to enjoy a day on the water.
First stop was Man O War Car to relax on the sandbars. Definitely busier than the Staniel Cay/Pipe Creek sand bars, but I guess that’s because that area just has more of them. Or maybe things have changed since last we visited.
Then we headed to Fowl Cay reef for some snorkeling. And first time trying our new Go Pro. As soon we attached to a mooring ball, a ton of sergeant majors started swimming around the boat. Very healthy coral reef and lots of big fish, plus a big Manta Ray.
Next up, Sand Dollar beach/Stocking Island sandbar. Very pretty. Storms were popping up all around us but thankfully on this day they missed us completely.
Time for lunch. We tied up at Snappy Turtle and enjoyed a delicious meal. The cracked conch sandwich was the best we found on island.
Then we took the short walk over to the Atlantic beach. Beautiful.
Off to the Beach Club and Spongebob Reef in front of Kahari.
Starfish Beach and Da Sand Bar was next up.
A ramschackle but fun bar on a nice beach. The girls left their mark.
Last stop was Jolly Hall. At least I think was still Jolly Hall. We went to the far end where the palm trees were and dropped anchor. The girls explored a bit while we cooled off in the water.
- *But did we die? – take 2** I had just pulled up the anchor and was sitting on the bow as Mark stood up to put the throttle in gear. But as he did, a loop on his shorts somehow hooked onto it, and the boat suddenly revved and took off toward the rocks on shore. The anchor flew back onto me, and I screamed “MMAAAARRRKKKKKKKKKK!!!” – thankfully, his cat-like reflexes once again kicked in and another crisis was averted.
After returning the boat and getting cleaned up, we hopped in the car and headed to Mike’s to pick up a pizza to eat on the beach at sunset. The ladies in there were as sweet as pie, and they invited us to their beer fest in Rolleville Sunday night from 5 PM until dawn!
We walked/slid down the new beach access to Hooper’s. It’s more of a steep wood plank slide with not much for your feet to grip onto. Best to do this with bare sandy feet for some traction. There is a hand rail though. We spread out our towels, poured some wine and dove into our pizzas.
Then the girls went for a sunset swim.
Another day in paradise.
June 30 – Debacle day. It started out as a beautiful morning.
We set out on the long haul to CocoPlum Beach. I knew approximately where the beach access was, but I stopped to ask a local woman who was walking down the street. She said “just ahead, turn at the white can.” We appreciated that advice as the beaches on Great Exuma are not as well marked as those on Little Exuma. We passed a light blue can, but no, we were looking for white. We somehow missed it and asked someone else who had no idea what we were talking about, so we started back. Finally, we saw a white can behind a sign (not a beach sign) and partially covered by a wood enclosure. But it was definitely a white can. This must be it. I was anticipating that this would be a very hairy access road complete with monster potholes and flooding. We were prepared. We started off, and it wasn’t so bad. Until it was. We all stared at the mountainous, crevassed terrain ahead and wondered if it was a good idea to continue. But I knew lots of people do this everyday, so it can’t be that bad. So, we powered on, slow and steady. This beach better be worth it.
- *But did we die? - take 3 (the car almost did)** I could hear the girls squealing as they were flung around the back seat and then a loud, awful scraping sound, and I was certain that we had ripped the undercarriage of the Corolla completely off. When we finally got on steadier ground, I could see the water below. As we made our way down the hill, I only saw two houses and a private property sign but no parking and no other cars. We ventured a little further and up another adjacent hill and saw a home under construction. So, I walked over and asked one of the workers if this was the right place, and in broken English he said yes, but we still weren’t sure.
- *But did we die? – take 4** Since this road seemed in much better shape, we decided to look for a better place to park, finding nothing, we came back toward the house and as we were rounding the uphill corner, a black sedan was speeding toward us in reverse. I screamed and told Mark to lay on the horn. He did, and we tried to scoot over but the car kept coming. Then came to a screeching halt right next to us. The guy looked over at us with a big grin and said “I saw you the whole time.” Then he told us we could park on his site. Grateful, we did, and I looked under the car to make sure nothing was amiss. Miraculously, everything was intact. Guess these island cars are used to the abuse.
So we parked, gathered up all our crap, walked down to the beach between two houses and then walked until I found a suitable spot. It was pretty enough but didn’t seem quite right. Mark and I took a walk further down the beach and noticed some people seemingly standing in the middle of the sea. They were at CocoPlum, we were not. My family was not too happy with me for making them pack up again so soon, but oh well. As we headed South, we slowed down at the blue trashcan and upon closer inspection the words Cocoplum were written. Arghhh. I hope that woman got a good laugh!! After having been on the road from hell, the correct access was tame in comparison. There were some deep potholes and flooded out areas but nothing crazy. Finally, we made it. And just as we did, the dark clouds rolled in. And the tide was coming in, Sigh. We took a nice walk on the sandbars but would have to return another time to see this beach in its full glory.
Time for lunch at Big D’s Conch Spot. What a cute and colorful place. But as soon as we arrived, the skies opened up, so we found a table under cover, ordered lunch and chatted it up with Big D himself. What a great guy. Unfortunately, the food was just okay. The conch at Snappy Turtle was much better. But it’s more about the experience.
On the way back to the hotel, we decided to stop at Smitty’s for some snacks and drinks. Highly recommend Smitty's...much better selection than in town.
- *But did we die? – take 5 (It felt like I did)** In my haste to get out of the car in the rain, I slammed my thumb in the door. Holy Mary Mother of God did that hurt. I inspected my smashed appendage, certain half of it was chopped off, then sat in the car alone until I could compose myself. One activity I looked forward to each day after that was sticking a needle into my thumb to release blood and pressure.
Since it was still raining, we did some shopping at Sandpiper and the Straw Market.
We didn’t have any dinner plans this evening, so we decided to try Shirley’s. I had heard nothing but good things. The meal started out fine, but it soon became apparent that our waitress was high as a kite. The girls and I had finished our dinners and Mark hadn’t even gotten his yet. When he asked her about it, she said “I totally forgot about it, what did you order again?”. No matter. His food finally came out. Then she started dropping drinks. We asked for the check, and when she brought it out, she waved it above her head asking everyone in the dining room whose check it was, finally handing it the couple who had just sat down. We took it from them, paid the bill and wished them good luck.
Then some chill time at P&P.
July 1 – Turtles! But first, we grabbed breakfast at Splash on the way to Hooper’s Bay. Very good. And they have happy hour from 8 am – 9 am. No, we did not partake. Thankfully, we arrived early to the beach, so not many people were there. As we as we walked into the water, an adorable little guy swam up to us. Ellie was giddy with joy. We swam with three turtles and had the best time.
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We relaxed on the beach for a bit then went to pick up some subs from Sugar Scoops.
Then back to Forbes Hill Beach on Little Exuma. This ranks up there as one of my favorite beaches, along with Shoal Bay East on Anguilla, Salomon Bay Beach on St. John (sadly, Irma wiped this one out), Crescent Beach on Compass Cay, and Valley Trunk on Virgin Gorda. We swam, floated, relaxed, read, and ate our subs with toes in the sand.
Dinner this evening was at Blu and was Ellie’s official graduation dinner. It was the most upscale restaurant we went to. The service was great, and ambiance and view were lovely. It overlooks Man O War Cay. It was expensive though, and portions were pretty small. We were excited for the cinnamon guava bread budding some friends we had met told us about. But it wasn’t on the menu this evening. Wonderful experience overall.
Once we got back to P&P, we got a drink in the historic Flagler Room, then played the janky ring toss game and chatted with Trace and Lauren, from Alabama. They were headed home in the morning, but we had one more full day to go.
July 2 – We were smitten with the beaches on Little Exuma, so we headed back to Pretty Molly Bay in the morning. And we saw TT!
Once our stomachs started rumbling, we made our way to Rusty Anchor in February Point. I wanted to check this area out anyway. It's a beautiful, colorful villa resort. Bonus, you can keep a boat here. And as I said before, I'd definitely consider staying here next time. Or on Little Exuma. May as well stay close to those spots you find yourself at most. Very tasty lunch – Mahi tacos, tuna poke, and a burger for Mark since they were out of cracked conch.
Plan was then to catch the boat over to Stocking Island to spend some time at Chat n Chill. But a storm rolled through, so we had to wait it out until it passed. That water is still beautiful and electric blue even when it's storming.
We were warned about going to C&C on a Sunday, but we did anyway. It was hopping. I preferred the vibe there during the week, but there was some great acoustic music, so we listened to that and played with the stingrays for a while before walking back to the Beach Club for one last drink. The Beach Club is fun, but 1-2 afternoons was enough for us. Between the music choices and some of the clientele, it seemed they were going for more of a Miami feel. We preferred the pristine, laid-back beaches.
We really wanted to go to the Exuma Yacht Club for dinner again, but they, along with a number of places, were closed on Sundays. So we went back to Splash in hopes of more seafood pizza and calamari. The menu this evening was extremely limited, but we made do. Then headed inside to get away from the bugs and sit at the bar swings.
The girls took one final swim, then it was time to head back and start packing. Boo.
July 3 – We had a noon flight, so in the morning, we finished packing, Mark gassed up the car and got the sand out, and we did a little last minute shopping. We gave Copia one more shot for breakfast, and it was very good this time. Super breakfast sandwiches.
A little history about the Peace & Plenty - Lord Denys Rolle, a British loyalist, seeking to flee Florida after its cession to Spain in 1783, set sail from Savannah, Georgia for Great Exuma on board an English trading ship, Peace and Plenty.
Uneventful travel day home (except for my explosive sand). I always take water bottles filled with sand home from the islands. This time it was from Forbes Hill Beach since it’s so perfect. It got flagged in Charlotte while going through security. TSA tested it multiple times, then called over two explosives experts who deemed it explosive since it contained chlorides and could be detonated. Hoping this was just a fluke. Ellie’s sand from Hooper’s Bay made it through with no issue.
All in all, it was a great trip. We will be back one day, but have other new places to see, and favorite islands to revisit first.
Until next time!
General thoughts, observations, and tips:
• Pot holes are a serious issue, especially around George Town and on the beach access roads. Drive slowly and with caution.
• More places took credit cards than I was expecting, but still a good idea to have a lot of cash because the machines do go down regularly.
• The locals are extremely friendly and welcoming. They make the experience great.
• Tips were included in all meal checks.
• This is a day drinking island. There is not much night life if you are looking for that.
• Sun is extremely strong. Bring more sunscreen than you think you will need.
• Bring a Yeti or similar type cup, as ice melts super quick and drinks get watered down. We used our backpack cooler every day.
• I used tap water to make my coffee some mornings and had no issues. Mark only used bottled.
• Great Exuma was busier than I was expecting, relatively speaking.
• Be flexible and patient - island time is a real thing. What's your hurry?
• Don't turn at the white trashcan.