Bahamas - Naussa and Paradise Island
The Exact Celebration We Needed

For my husbands 40th birthday and our 1 year wedding anniversary, we were looking for a place that offered excellent food, aqua blue waters, fun in the sun, relaxation and of course somewhere to party. We found all of this in the Bahamas! 

The Bahamas is comprised of 700 Islands and over 2,000 rocks and cays, sprinkled over 100,000 square miles in the Atlantic ocean. The archipelago is an ecological oasis, boasting some of the clearest water on the planet. We stayed in the capital, Naussa, on the island of New Providence, which contains more than 70% of the total population.  

Since we wanted such a large range of things to do, we chose the capital to have options. We found an all-inclusive resort, called Melia Naussa Beach, that has its own private beach, 5 restaurants and a swim up bar at the adult pool. All located on Cable Beach, which is known as one of the best beaches in Naussa. 

Unfortunately, our hotel was under major construction because they’re renovating and building a large water park, which will be really cool when it’s complete, but for the time being, it’s inconvenient. We were given a room near the construction site, that looked like it had not been taken care off in years. The water didn’t work in the bathroom, the lights didn’t turn on, our safe didn’t have batteries and to top it off, we had two full size beds. We asked to be moved to a different room and were accommodated the next day. After that situation was taken care off, everything got much better. 

When we started to plan our days, we wanted to make sure we didn’t over book ourselves with activities, like we tend to do when we travel. So the first couple of days we relaxed on the beach, partied at the pool and enjoyed some water sports.

The hotel lacks evening entertainment, so we discovered the free shuttle from Melia to Baha Mar. Baha Mar is a big area (think of it as a shopping, casino and restaurant destination) that connects the Grand Hyatt, The Rosewood and the SLS hotels. The casino, which looks like it was pulled directly out of Vegas, is spectacular and a ton of fun. It has 100,000 square feet of casino space, including a superb sports bar. Baha Mar also has the popular Bond Night Club and almost every ethnic restaurant you want (i.e. Japanese, Italian, American, Chinese). This is where we hung out most of the nights.

The other casino you can visit is in the Atlantis, located in Paradise Island, just a 30 minute cab ride away from Melia. It has 64,814 square feet and a much older feel, but the Atlantis is a destination not to be reckoned with. It’s absolutely worth seeing. It’s a massive resort with its own shopping center, selection of restaurants; its own aquarium and water park. We didn’t want to stay there because it felt like Disney Land, but this is a good place to stay with kids. 

We celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary at the Atlantis. We made reservations at Bahamian Club, which is one of their high-end restaurants serving traditional Bahamiam cuisine. After eating there we hung out at the casino and tried to get into the nightclub, Aura. Because we were not hotel guests, they were charging a $50 entrance for men and $25 for women, plus $22 for a vodka soda, so, we decided to head to Baha Mar and party there instead. 

During a cloudy day, we headed to downtown Naussa to walk around and shop. We took the local bus #10, which we jumped on right in-front of Melia and dropped us off right in the heart of downtown. It costs $1.50 to take the bus and $22-$25 for a cab, save your money and take the bus. The downtown is really small, and can get really crowded because it’s where the huge cruise ships dock. It has one primary road where you walk up and down called Bay Street. There you’ll find lots of great local and souvenir shops, but it lacks bars. 

We hung out in Downtown Nassau for just a couple of hours and then headed to the fish fry that evening. The Arawak Cay Fish Fry is one of the only places in the Caribbean to bar and food hop. It’s a strip filled with hand-painted wooden stands and rainbow-hued standalone restaurants all with deep roots in Caribbean history. It’s a 10-minute ride west from downtown. Unfortunately, we went on a Monday night and it was completely dead, so we made the best out of it. We eat at Frankie Gone Bananas, which was one of the only places opened, sat outside and enjoyed traditional conch fritters and conch salad. Think of conch fritters like fried crab cakes and the conch salad like a ceviche, just 100 times better! Alex had the snapper which was made in traditional sauce baked with sweet plantains, absolutely amazing! 

The highlight of the trip for me was our excursion to Exuma Island. Most of the excursions we found to Exuma to swim with the pigs were $400 a person, but we found one for $250 each and it was worth every penny. 

The excursion leaves out of Paradise Island on a speed-boat and takes about 90 mins to get to the Exuma cays. 

Our first stop was Iguana Island where you feed the Iguana’s grapes. They’re pretty aggressive animals, but were well trained to eat. 

Then, we headed to a private island called Ship Channel Cay. This is where the rest of the activities happen. It’s a super organized tour where the activities happen one after another with an open bar available the whole time you are there. 

You start with the swimming pigs. They line you up in the water and then they bring the pigs to you. These pigs are not wild and don’t roam around the island. They’re well kept and fed. The other excursions we looked into take you to another island where the pigs are free to roam around, but we heard they were more aggressive and not guaranteed to be in the water. It was also a much farther ride, approximately 2.5 hours on speedboat. The 1.5 hour ride felt long to us, so we were glad to have opted out of the longer one.

Once you feed and swim with the pigs, they put them away and take you to the area where the stingrays are. There, they line you up again and give you food for the stingrays. They come up to you and literally touch your legs and let you pet them like little dogs. It’s incredible. 

Once that was done, they get you out of the water and take out a huge hook with a big piece of bait. They throw it into the water and you see all the sharks approach it. They all knew it was feeding time. The staff reels them on to shore for pictures. They’ll also let you reel them in so you can get a sense of their strength. They are very powerful animals!

Once we worked up an appetite, they served lunch and a traditional conch salad right on the water.

We also continued celebrating Alex’s birthday with our new friends.  

Lastly, they take you on a short walk to snorkel where the current takes you back to where the free bar is, home base. You can stay in this private island in one of their hut looking homes. We met a couple that was staying there and they said it was wonderful. If you’re into being excluded from the internet and modern life, the couple we met really recommended it. 

Overall, we spent an amazing 6 days in the Bahamas and honestly, could have extended our trip a few more days to see the other islands. 

If you would like to receive more information on this trip, I can send you my full itinerary, just email me for the details. 

My itinerary includes: 

• Tour company used for Exuma excursion

• Additional hotel and restaurant recommendations in Nassau and Paradise Island

• Best time of year to visit 

• What to pack and wear

• Other islands to visit if you have more time

• Unlimited amount of questions you can ask me for your travel

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Want to read more about beach our adventures? Read about the Maldives here.