Winter Getaway to the Bahamas

Cable beach at Melia

Looking to escape the cold in North Carolina, Jon and I spent a week in the Carribean. Although still winter in the Bahamas, their "snow" is a rain shower. We spent our time in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas which lies on the island of New Providence. Neighboring Paradise Island (where Atlantis is) is accessible via Nassau Harbor bridges or the ferry. The biggest draw for us to visit the Bahamas was the swimming pigs, which can be found in The Exumas, an island chain about 80 miles away via boat. 


We booked our package through BookIt.com on Cyber Monday when they were offering an additional 20% off special. There weren't as many all-inclusive resort options in the Bahamas, and we ultimately decided to stay at the all-inclusive Melia on Nassau, which was more affordable than the other all-inclusive resorts. I'm not sure if that's standard or if Melia was running a winter special. When we flew into the airport, it was the quintessential sunny and 75. We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel for about $25. Bahamians use US dollars and Bahamian dollars interchangeably so there was no need to exchange our cash. The hotel also had free wifi. 🎉

During our stay at Melia, we did a lot of eating, drinking, sunbathing, dancing, and made some really great friends. I think we're going to need a mini-vacation after that vacation! Here are our top moments from our trip.

Balmoral Island
Balmoral Island is a private island for guests staying at a handful of resorts, including Baha Mar, Sandals and Melia. We went over to Balmoral in the mornings as it was usually empty and warmer than the beach at Melia. While it would be windy and cloudy at Melia, after a 15-minute boat trip over to Balmoral, it was calmer and warmer. We caught the boat at the Baha Mar dock. Side note: we also had a chance to walk through the Baha Mar resort, which was stunning and had flamingos, water fountains and a jumping rock over a pool. While the boat and island were included in our resort package, the food and drinks on the island were not. We would bring towels and a bag with beer, water, and snacks and lay back and enjoy the island lifestyle. Guests can also pay for a dolphin or sting ray experience on the Island.

Balmoral Island beach

Queen's Staircase
The Queen's Staircase is a historic landmark in downtown Nassau. We took the jitney from outside of our hotel to the Straw Market, about a 20-minute ride, for $1.25 each way. Getting to see more of the island was a fantastic opportunity. Although seeing the Straw Market was neat, the shop owners are very vocal and we only stayed for about 5 minutes and could probably be considered a tourist trap. Walking a few blocks towards the hospital will spit you out at the entrance to the Queen's staircase. It's surrounded by rock covered with tropical greenery on either side. It's a 102-foot staircase that was carved out of stone by hand in the 1880s. As you walk down the long corridor towards the staircase, it feels like you're walking back into the past. You can also walk around Fort Fincastle overlooking the harbor at the top of the 65 stairs.

Waterfall next to the Queen's Staircase

Meeting New Friends
We met six couples throughout our stay who we spent the day and evenings with. It was great having friends to chat with and dine with. On our last night, we all got a private room for a hibachi dinner which was such a fun experience. There was a live DJ each night which we were able to dance to. 💃🕺 We all connected on Facebook and were able to chat via Messenger to meet up by the pool or meet after dinner. It made it so much easier to plan activities with friends. We also learned a new game, Bunnies, which quickly became the running joke of the trip!

Conch are native to the Bahamas

Now, lets talk about these swimming pigs. 🐷 We booked our trip online through an excursion company only to find out the day before that it was going to be canceled due to mechanical issues. We tried to rebook but then the weather became an issue. Even though it was sunny, the wind was the problem. The boats can't go out when the seas are really rough so there was no chance for us to see the pigs unless we dropped a few grand to fly to the Exumas. While it was a serious bummer, we hope one day we can make it back to see the pigs! It also gave us an extra day to spend time with friends and enjoy Balmoral island.

Afternoon storm coming in

A few notes about Melia: The rooms and bathrooms were not as updated as the ones we stayed at in Cancun. Obviously, we know we get what we pay for and our goal was mostly to be out of the room for most of the trip anyway! The drinks were also incredibly strong on our resort and a few other places we bought drinks. If you ask for a "small" pour, you'll get a normal drink. I know they are probably thinking that guests want drinks strong but sometimes they were hard to drink. 💀 I really enjoyed the food. There was a nice mix of different types of food and the buffet always had options I enjoyed. Jon's favorite was broccoli tempura and my favorite was probably the chicken hibachi or the breakfast potatoes. Okay, there was also a great mac-and-cheese burger. 😁 We enjoyed the poolside trivia and games the events team put on.

Balmoral Island palms

Jon at Queen's Staircase

Questions? Comments? Let me know below ⬇️⬇️