Turquoise water so absurd it looks AI-generated. Swimming pigs that charge at you for snacks. Flamingos casually strolling past your cocktail. The Bahamas is ridiculous and we enjoyed every minute.
Nassau might be the most photographed island in the Caribbean, and after five days here we completely understand why. From a private boat to Rose Island where pigs literally swim up to you, to an evening spent hanging out with flamingos by the pool, this trip was equal parts luxury and absolute absurdity.
About Nassau
Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas, sitting on the island of New Providence – a tiny 21-by-7-mile strip of land that somehow manages to welcome over 10 million tourists a year. Most arrive via cruise ship, which means downtown Nassau can feel overwhelmingly busy during the day, but step outside the tourist corridor and the real Bahamas reveals itself – warm people, incredible food, and a culture built on Junkanoo, conch salad, and rum.
The Bahamas runs entirely on US dollars, which makes things easy but also means there’s no currency advantage for North American travellers. And to be direct, it’s expensive. Resort dining especially will test your budget. The weather is warm year-round, with brief afternoon rain showers that last ten minutes and disappear as quickly as they came. We visited in mid-May and found it perfect — hot but not unbearable, with fewer crowds than peak season.
Our Experience
Stay: SLS Baha Mar
SLS Baha Mar was our home for the entire trip (May 17–21) and it set the tone beautifully. The resort is part of the larger Baha Mar complex on Cable Beach, about a 15-minute drive from Nassau’s downtown and the airport. It has its own private beach with complimentary towels, a stunning pool area, and resident flamingos.
The rooms are sleek and modern, and the property has that boutique-luxury feel without being stuffy. There are several restaurants on-site (Cleo, Carna, Marcus), a full-service spa, and enough pool loungers that we never had to fight for a spot. The resort is large though; large enough for you to either keep yourself entertained or be overwhelmed.
Rose Island — Private Boat & Snorkelling
This was the day that made the trip. On May 18 travelled out to Rose Island — a small, uninhabited island about 30 minutes off the coast of Nassau.
We started with snorkelling, and the visibility was spectacular with colourful fish and a giant sea turtle. After the reef, the boat took us around to the famous pig beach.
Swimming with pigs is one of those things that sounds absurd until you’re actually standing in waist-deep Caribbean water while a 150-pound pig doggy-paddles toward you. We also spotted peacocks wandering the island, a colourful beach bar, and had cocktails on the sand before heading back. It was, without question, the BEST DAY of the trip.
Cleo Restaurant
Cleo is the main breakfast spot at SLS Baha Mar, and we ate here on both May 18 and May 19. It’s a Mediterranean-influenced buffet with a solid spread — fresh fruit, pastries, eggs, and custom-made omelettes cooked to order right in front of you. Nothing groundbreaking, but consistently good, and the omelette station alone made it worth waking up for. A solid way to fuel up before a full day.
Carna Restaurant
Dinner on May 18 after our Rose Island adventure. Carna is the Italian steakhouse within SLS Baha Mar, and after a day of sun, salt water, and swimming pigs, a proper sit-down dinner felt well-earned. It’s one of the more upscale dining options on the property.
Marcus Restaurant
Marcus is the seafood restaurant at SLS Baha Mar, and we went on May 19 for what we hoped would be a special dinner. We ordered the Seafood Tower — $210 USD. Two tiers of shellfish, a bottle of wine, and high expectations. The verdict? Very overpriced. The food was fine, not bad by any means, but for $210 you expect to be blown away, and we simply weren’t.
Tru Bahamian Food Tours
If we could recommend one thing to do in Nassau, it’s this. We booked the Tru Bahamian Food Tours morning tour on May 20, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip. The tour runs about three hours and takes you through downtown Nassau with six stops — two historic buildings and four eating stops.
We kicked things off with a traditional Bahamian Sunday meal — rice, meat, plantain, coleslaw — the kind of plate that locals eat every week and that you’d never find at a resort buffet. From there, we moved through chocolate tastings, rum samplings, and a sweet plantain dessert that had us scraping the bowl.
But the real showstoppers were the hotel visits. We stopped at Town Hotel for a freshly made fruit punch — the hotel itself was charming and beautifully kept, a proper hidden gem. And then came the Greycliff Hotel, which is in a league of its own. This place houses 270,000 bottles of wine — the third largest private wine collection in the world, valued at $45 million — and the oldest bottle of scotch. Walking through the spirits room with its ornate curtains and lit display cases felt more like visiting a museum than a hotel. Absolutely extraordinary.
Skip the touristy stuff and do a food tour instead. The people are wonderful, the food is the real deal, and you’ll learn more about Nassau in three hours than you would in three days at a resort.
Rip Ty’d Bahamian Craft Beer
After the food tour, we wandered over to Rip Ty’d for an afternoon session. It’s a local craft brewery, and after a morning of rum and plantain, a cold pilsner felt like exactly the right call. The beer was really good – crisp, clean, and refreshing in the heat. We spent a couple of hours here, chatting and winding down from the tour.
The Flamingos of Baha Mar
We saved the flamingos for the evening of May 20, and it was magical. The Baha Mar resort is home to a flock of Caribbean flamingos that live freely around the pool and garden areas. In the early evening light, with a pink cocktail in hand, we spent an hour just walking among them.
Gautam got his best photo of the trip here – standing between two flamingos holding a pink drink, looking far too pleased with himself. If you’re staying at Baha Mar, don’t miss the flamingo garden at golden hour.
Sunrise & Departure
Our last morning we woke up at 6:30am to catch the sunrise over Nassau harbour. A cruise ship sat silhouetted against the golden sky, the water was glass, and for a few quiet minutes it felt like we had the island to ourselves. A perfect farewell to this beautiful place.
The aerial view on the way out was equally stunning – turquoise water, scattered clouds, and the islands stretching out below us. The Bahamas from above looks like a painting.
Tips & Mistakes to Avoid
Yay or Nay
The Bahamas absolutely gets a YAY from us. Was it expensive? Yes. But between Rose Island and the swimming pigs, the flamingos at Baha Mar, a food tour, the trip was worth it. Just skip the $210 seafood tower.
