Anush and I always wanted to visit the Exumas in the Bahamas, and our recent trip exceeded all our expectations and we had such an amazing time! This was our first time to the Bahamas and as I had mentioned in an earlier post we really wanted to stay on a tiny island and live like a local to get the real experience of island life. We stayed on a little island called Staniel Cay in the Exumas which are the outer islands in the Bahamas. The reason we chose Staniel Cay is its proximity to a few of the attractions we were interested in like the swimming pigs, nurse sharks, great snorkeling as well the convenience of it having a small airport, grocery stores and two restaurants on the island.

Tank : Daydreamer LA via Palapa Lounge beachwear, Sandals : c/o Tkees

Here is a recap and travel guide if you are ever planning a trip to this beautiful paradise :

How do you get there?

We were already in Fort lauderdale, so we just took a short flight to Nassau and then another small flight to Staniel Cay. To get from Nassau to Staniel Cay you can look up Flamingo air. And be prepped to have your jaws drop with the stunning views while you fly over the Exumas!

Where to stay?

We stayed at a super cute resort called Embrace Resort. We absolutely loved the quaint charm of this place which gives you a taste of true Bahamian island life. We were notified in advance that there were parts of the resort still under construction , but that didn’t bother us much during our stay at all. Our villa was spacious, clean and comfortable. The best part about the resort is that it is conveniently located and is a close walk to the town center, groceries and the two restaurants on the island. The best way to get around tiny Staniel Cay is walk, golf carts or bikes. They resort has golf carts to rent which we did for a half day on one of the days. For the rest of our time there we chose to walk around and had the most fun exploring different parts of the island. The staff was very helpful and courteous, and gave us tons of tips on how/where to go exploring around the island. We also booked our boat excursion to see the pigs and sharks via Embrace Resort and were very happy with the service! All in all, this is a perfect island stay at a great price.

Dress : c/o Dasha the label 

Bag : Kayu, Hat : San diego hat co

Bikini : c/o Andi Bagus (top and bottom)

Top : c/o Andi Bagus x LJC designs

What are the things to do?

1) Swimming with the pigs : No visit to the Exumas is complete before a visit to Pig Island, where you can cross off Swimming with Pigs off your bucket list! Check out my post HERE for more details.

2) Island hopping and swimming with the nurse sharks : If you have know how to drive a boat, you can rent a boat from Staniel rentals or the Staniel Cay Yacht club for the day or whole week. Embrace provides half day and daily rentals as well. If you’re like us and would prefer a guided tour, Embrace can arrange that for you as well. Aside from Pig island we also covered world famous Compass Cay where we got to swim with nurse sharks and also went sandbar hopping after that! See more in my post HERE.

The color of the water in the Exumas is just unreal! It looks like a swimming pool, don’t you think?!

3) Beaches on Staniel Cay : On the island of Staniel Cay also there are tons of things to explore ! There are a few beaches on the island that are all super pretty and easily accessible. Our favorite was this little cove called Pirate Trap beach, see more in my post HERE.

Suit : c/o Luli Fama (top and bottom)

We also really liked the South Beaches. We accidentally stumbled upon this long stretch of beach in the south of the island and it was simply amazing!

Dress : c/o Poupette St Barth

And of course the beach at Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the town village was also really pretty. We enjoyed having an afternoon picnic here.

4) Thunderball Grotto : This is an underwater cave known for its fantastic snorkeling . It gets its name from the fact that two James Bond movies based on the thunderball novel were shot here. When we were there the tide was high, so we decided to give it a skip. But I highly recommend it to anyone planning a trip to the island!

Suit : Luli Fama (top and bottom)

5) Club Thunderball : This used to be a bar and restaurant back in the day, We explored the ruins and imagined what a cool space this would have been to hang out! The location is phenomenal, overlooking a gorgeous cliff.

6) Staniel Cay Yacht Club : This was definitely one of our fave places to hang out on the island. Great food and drinks and bumping into the same set of folks ( locals and tourists ) over and over again made it so much more fun and memorable. I have to mention, that the locals here are so so friendly and helpful! The club also has a sit down restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. We tried all three meals here and they were all very good.

Dress : c/o Indah (similar here), Sandals : Sam Edelman

7) Other restaurants/eats in Staniel Cay : Taste and Sea restaurant and big dogs were other great cafes on the island. We absolutely loved the seafood (the coconut shrimp was the best I have ever had!) in Taste and Sea; and the chicken curry and rice at Big Dogs was delicious. The island also has 3 convenience stores for snacks and other groceries.

Tee : c/o Bikini.com, Sunnies : Sunday somewhere (similar here)

Check out this carousel for a round up of most of my outfits worn in these photos :

Thanks to Embrace resort for a fab stay; Anush and I can’t wait to get back to Staniel Cay soon enough!

Here’s a short recap video of our trip!

Thanks for stopping by! xoxo

Jyo