Vacation questions Exuma

Hello everyone, my family (kids 16,14 and 11) and another family's (kids 17 and 15) are renting a house on the beach between Moss Town and George Town in two weeks.

Have a few all over the place questions.

what grocery to hit for basic items? Best place for beer/alcohol/wine?

We are doing a swim with the pigs excursion one day and planning on taxi'ing over to chat and chill on another day. Should we look into renting a boat from Minns another day? How much do charter captains cost for a half day? Keep going back and forth if i should captain a boat or just hire someone.

We have a rental van, planning on driving down to the tropic of cancer beach one day, any recs for down there (things to do places to eat)?

What restaurants/places to eat should we try?

We will be there 5 nights

Any other recommendations on things to do?

Thanks!!!

in bahamasby NOLATIGER

100%

2mo

Huckleberry364

2mo

My wife and I did 5 nights in October 2022. Best vacation ever. Renting a boat was the highlight. We just island hopped all the way down to man-of-war cay. Find out what time of day low tide is expected during your boat rental day and be at man-of-war at that time. It is absolutely beautiful. We never did stop at chat n chill, to many people, we enjoyed having beaches and islands all to ourselves. Tropic of cancer beach was just ok at the time, waves were big. Forbes Hill beach was our favorite. Food is not plentiful but can be found. Alcohol can be found easily. Hoopers beach is a must also, down to the first or second pier you will find turtles. Coco plum beach is also gorgeous. Honestly the worst beach there is better than 90% of most beaches in the Caribbean.

NOLATIGER

2mo

great info, thank you. did you hire a captain on your boat day or captain yourself? I've taken boating safety classes, but, not driven boats very much at all. I'm being told its not hard, but, still am a little apprehensive.

Huckleberry364

2mo

We rented a 17' from minns. No experience needed. After 30 minutes I let my wife drive. The look on her face while she drove was pure happiness, so she drove the rest of the day.

Krishna1945

2mo

Same. Rented a 17ft back in 2022 with little to no experience and had a blast. A little sketchy going under the little bridge when tide coming/going. Heading back in June, can’t wait!

Huckleberry364

2mo

Lol....going out of the harbour I might have hit the wall a few times, I don't think I was going fast enough and let the waves control me. Coming back into harbour my wife made it look like it was nothing.

George_GeorgeGlass

2mo

We went in January. You’re doing the basics. It was our favorite place ever. Enjoy. You’ll get to know the island quickly. We stayed in Hoopers Bay. If you’re closer to Georgetown hit the liquor store and grocery store right there in town.

femme_mystique

2mo

Hit Smitty’s first, then Prime Island for meats. The rest you’ll get in Exuma Markets. Don’t expect much and plan around what isn’t in stock. These are tiny, tiny stores.

IMO, the only decent restaurant is 23 North. Sandpiper Cafe for a quick bite. I hate “bar food” and 90% of the restaurants serve the exact same stuff.

We rented a boat from Minn’s but had an experienced captain in the family. We still almost got stuck on a sand bar. You have to be REALLY careful and pay attention to the tides. If you anchor, do it on the tide coming in. There’s a lot, a LOT, of sandbars.

Go to Moriah Harbor. Rent kayaks or hydrobikes. Go to Exuma Point.

I did do the touristy tour but rented a private charter. The pigs are stupid. So we spent more time with iguanas. Had lunch all alone on a sand bar in the middle of no where.

grr2ggt

2mo

Grocery: prime island first then Exuma market for the rest of your needs.

Alcohol: Smitty's

Restaurants: 9 people showing up will create difficulties so you will need to be patient. -Santanas is our first day stop -Blu on the Water is quite good -Exuma yacht club is hit or miss -Rusty Anchor is consistent but m'eh -Cocoplum is quite good

Standing2Close

2mo

Skip chat and wait

nikmac76

2mo

No! Don’t skip it, get the conch salad and pet the sweet stingrays.

The_Travel_Trio

2mo

we did a private boat charter through tripadvisor/viator. they take you wherever you want and had such a blast, provided lunch, drinks, etc. highly recommend.

legumelady26

2mo

Hi OP, do you have recommendations on where to rent a car from? Going in May and thinking it'd be best to get one. Thanks!

Solid-Complaint-8192

2mo

We did not enjoy Tropic of Cancer beach at all. We loved Forbes Hill and Pretty Molly, and visited each twice.

mserr2

2mo

Can I ask why you didn’t enjoy the Tropic of Cancer beach? I hear so many good things about it, and that it’s people’s favorite.

Solid-Complaint-8192

2mo

It was just busy compared to every other beach. There are much prettier beaches close to there. It does have a stand that serves drinks, so it may depend on what you are looking for.