If you’re looking to visit a place with hot weather, lots of sun, and beautifully clear water, skip over Florida completely and head to Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
Those who know me or have read some of my posts know that normally, despite living in Florida (where I stay inside in the air-conditioning the majority of the year), I avoid all things hot. (I have lived here for over a quarter of a century now and have only been to the beach a handful of times. I didn’t even own a swimsuit before this trip!) But I had always known that just once in my life, I wanted to see clear water and spend a few hours swimming in it. So when my fiance’s parents invited me out to the Paradise Island resort where they have a timeshare, I readily accepted!
The Paradise Island Beach Club
My future in-laws have been visiting the Paradise Island Beach Club for over 30 years now. The architecture of the PIBC reminded me of Santorini, and there were beautiful gardens and trees everywhere, with hummingbirds we could watch from our balcony. We had a great view of the ocean, as well, and could hear the peaceful sounds of doves all over the property. (I thought at first that I was hearing owls, but it turns out certain types of owls just sound a lot like doves.)
The PIBC provides you with beach towels, chairs, and umbrellas, and we had our own semi-private section of Cabbage Beach. If you don’t mind walking a ways out (and we are definitely walkers in this family!), it gets a lot more private before too long.
This little piece of Paradise is planning to close up shop in about eight years. Because of that, it’s a bit outdated, but it’s still lovely and very clean and spacious. If you’d like to experience this, now is the time to go!
This is the only picture I could find anywhere of the whole section where we were. The circle at the top is PIBC, and the one at the bottom right is the portion of beach where we did our swimming and snorkeling. There is more beach in the direction of the arrow where we swam and looked for shells, as well. To the far right, of course, is the famous Atlantis. Most people will choose to stay there because it’s a well-known destination. But you can easily walk there from PIBC and take in the tourist attractions without being a guest. If you’re looking for that private beach experience, though, you won’t get it from Atlantis. PIBC is the place to be to avoid the crowds coming in from seven cruise ships a day.
I took a hot dog bun to feed the sergeant major fish, and while we were out there, we spotted a barracuda! It was maybe five feet long and very close to shore. Since none of us could determine for sure whether barracudas are dangerous to humans, we kept our distance and waded back in for a while.
Junkanoo
Our first night was Bahamas Night at PIBC–a weekly party on their deck, overlooking the water. The sunset views were incredible. So were the fresh snapper (covered in tomatoes, peppers, and I think lemon juice), the pumpkin soup, lobster, and peas and rice. People were dancing and having a good time, and then we were treated to a private performance by the famed Junkanoo! We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first day than to be greeted with great food and “the spirit of the Bahamas”.
Transportation
If you are visiting Nassau and Paradise Island, you are going to want Monique Palmisano’s TNT taxi service in your pocket. Monique and her drivers are as pleasant as can be, full of knowledge about the area, and very punctual. If you’re used to driving on the right side of the road, that’s all the more reason not to bother with a rental and to just use Monique’s service (or walk) instead.
Graycliff
On the second night of our stay, my fiance’s parents treated all four of us (me, my fiance, and his sister and brother-in-law) to dinner at Graycliff. And what a treat it was! We really felt like royalty at Graycliff, a colonial mansion and former private residence built around 1740 by the pirate Captain John Howard Graysmith. There is so much amazing history there, you can feel it in the walls and every elegant detail around you. We were absolutely surrounded by finery.
I ordered some tasty lamb and wine that the waiter enthusiastically selected for me to complement my meal, and they brought us scallops presented creatively in a big scallop shell! I loved that bit!
Should you visit Graycliff, you won’t want to miss the tours of the garden and wine cellar, which contains the oldest bottle of wine in the world. Said bottle is from 1727 and carries a price tag of $200k. As our guide told us, they won’t guarantee the flavor.
As a fun aside, the arrangement was for Monique to pick us up after dinner. It was all taken care of ahead of time. I remember us asking my fiance’s parents how she knew what time to pick us up, what time dinner would be over, and the answer was just, “She knows.” We were tickled by this, and it turned out she did indeed know.
When we returned to the resort after dinner, we celebrated an excellent night with Tortuga rum cake (with more rum poured on top for maximum booziness).
Side note on the rum cake: I bought one in the airport and brought it home with me. I didn’t have any rum on hand, but I had some smoked pecan maple syrup from Vermont, so I heated up the cake, broke a banana on the plate, and poured the syrup over all of it to make a bananas foster kind of dish. Somehow that smoky syrup complemented it perfectly. (Would have been even better with some vanilla ice cream!)
The Ocean Club
Also within walking distance from us on this trip was the Ocean Club, a popular filming location for the James Bond franchise, having appeared in more than one film. To stay in the Ocean Club for a single night costs $3500. So if it’s absolutely a dream of yours such that you don’t mind dropping that much for one night’s visit, go for it! Just be sure to bring twice that amount because there is a minimum two-night stay.
Or you could just stay next door at PIBC and stop by for dinner or a drink. I particularly enjoyed my tropical old-fashioned (banana-infused Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 rum and pineapple Angostura bitters).
The Cloisters and Versailles Gardens
Apart from seeing the clear water, The Cloisters, located directly across the street from the Ocean Club (technically on its grounds), are what I was particularly looking forward to, and they did not disappoint! I got my fix of Gothic architecture surrounded by beautiful, brightly-colored flowers and really cool birds. It felt like something out of Alice in Wonderland, but tropical.
Other Sites
I loved my conch burger from the Cabbage Beach Bar & Grill near our resort. I live at the beach and somehow there are no conch burgers near me. This is a crime!
At Viola’s Bar and Grill, I discovered Kalik Guava. I sincerely regret not bringing some of this tasty and refreshing beverage home with me when I had the chance!
It was really nice on the water, but it quickly got too hot for me when we ventured away from it. Therefore, we did not spend a ton of time browsing the adorable Marina Village. (Although I made sure to grab some snacks that I couldn’t find at home!)
Near The Cloisters was a condominium called Carrington House. Nothing particularly fancy, but it had my name on it, so naturally, I had to get a picture by it.
Packing
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Since I didn’t own anything appropriate for wearing to the beach (including a swimsuit), I had to do some shopping beforehand. For a cheap and fast swimsuit, I loved this retro-patriotic look by COCOSHIP. (This other one I got from Ekouaer was comfortable but looked as cheap as it was.) I decided to base the rest of my wardrobe around these for the whole trip. For daily wear over the swimsuit, I brought a few of these long-sleeved cover-ups in colors to complement the red, white, and blue. And I took this hat to protect my face from the sun as much as possible.
My closet was already pretty well-stocked with anything non-beachy that was made for keeping cool and that just happened to go with my color scheme. I brought my white Caslon chino shorts, these denim espadrilles (which are actually so comfortable, even when walking!), my navy-and-white-striped Koifish Sperrys (not this exact pair, but very similar), a lightweight cotton navy top, and a couple of my smocked cotton mini dresses from Draper James in blue/white stripes and solid white. (I don’t like everything from Reese’s brand, but the ones I do, I just adore!)
If you happen to be staying for a few weeks, the PIBC does have a laundromat, so you really only need a few days’ worth of outfits.
If you liked this post, you may enjoy our trips to Montana or New Orleans!
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