Exuma, The Bahamas: Let's talk where to stay!
Just like Goldilocks, looking for the place to stay that's just right!
I am lucky to say I have just completed my 30th visit to Exuma, The Bahamas. THIRTY TIMES, I hear you say, what could you possibly have not seen that makes you want to go back? The answer; everything! Every time I visit, the experience is different to the last. Each trip, unique. With people, places, finds, food and of course wildlife! I am so lucky to have experienced so much of the world. But my heart will always belong to Exuma. Over the next few posts in this series, I want to break down the why’s and help others understand what the draw is to this magical island. There are several places we could start, but I have decided to start with; where could you stay?
During the times I have visited I have stayed in; Air B n B’s, Family and friends homes, hotels and a few places that sit between hotel and home! I have worked hard to cultivate a life that enables me the freedom of choice when booking where to make my base for a week or two when I go away.
Over the past few years the options of where to stay in Exuma have exploded! From gigantic beach houses, to unique hillside houses, harbour views, or the incredible shallows of the south side. Step from wooden deck, to beach, or jetty to dive straight into the ocean. Sit on a veranda on a hill in awe of the luminescent turquoise that surrounds this island, or toast with a Goombay Smash on your balcony in town.
The picture to the right gives you an idea of the places which I have stayed in the past few years of visiting. (don’t get me wrong my arrows aren’t on the ‘exact’ co-ordinates of these properties, but you get the general idea.)
Before we dive in to why I picked these properties its important to establish a few things before you get looking:
What do I want out of this stay?
Like anywhere you go these days there are so many places to choose to stay but it is important to ask yourself questions like this:
- Do I want to be on the water?
- Do I want to be up on a hill?
- Do I need A/C?
- Do I want a pool?
- Do I like nightlife, and want to be close to things happening in the evening?
- Do I want to be able to walk to town, a beach?
- Am I happy to drive 30-40 mins to get groceries, fuel?
- Do I want to be on a beach? Or just near the ocean (so a jetty or dock or just the views would do?)
- Do I want to be in a hotel, or self catering (do I want somewhere that offers a bit of both?)
It is really important to understand that the hub of Exuma is Georgetown (as per the map) this is not to say that other parts of the island are not as good! But it is to help you recognise that whilst each settlement has its own unique features, main amenities such fuel, grocery stores, boat rentals, water taxis to Stocking Island, gift shops and the straw market are centralised around the pond (Victoria Harbour) in Georgetown. I want make it clear this isn’t some cruise line strip of tourist shops to by tat. This is the main town for Exumians, with grocery stores, Barbers, a great ice cream parlour, liquor stores, a beautiful gift shop (Sandpiper) relaxed dining, a hotel and more! But in my experience over the past 26 years if you need something it is very likely you will be heading to Georgetown (for your gifts and big foodshop.) It is important to bare this in mind if you intend to be in self catering. And yes, I would highly recommend renting a car!
So where have I been staying over my last few trips?
Hideaways:
Hideaways is located about a 6 minute drive out of Georgetown and 20-25 mins from the Airport. For me I think this is one of the best located places to stay. Hideaways sits at the end of three properties, Augusta Bay Hotel (a small boutique style hotel) and currently closed hotel (albeit I hear rumours it has been sold and is soon to be renovated) and then Hideaways itself. The property is comprised of individually owned properties ranging from one bedroom up to larger townhouse-styled properties. There is beach front, poolside, hill side properties to choose from. What I like about Hideaways is you get your own front door and space, nice neighbours, a beach with access to non-motorised water sports, an onsite bar and restaurant, a Pool it offers the best of both hotel amenities whilst also your own home away from home. I stayed in the newly renovated (Aug 2025) 2 bedroom villa, Villa 45. 15 paces from the ocean, two bed, two bath, sitting room, full dining room and kitchen Villa! She was perfect! Air-con, TV, theee most comfortable bed I have ever slept in! Costal décor that was both charming and calming, and felt like a home away from home. I loved being able to sit on the deck chairs for all to use by the Ocean, and loved being able to stroll and grab a 5’oclock Goombay Smash from the bar. In my opinion Hideaways has something for everyone, adults, couples, kids and teenagers. They have worked hard as homeowners to build a thoughtful and caring community.
More info on the property can be found here: Hideaways
Casa Nomad:
My husband and I booked Casa Nomad for Nov 2025. Casa Nomad is based in Bahama Sound 18 (these are the way the Exuma lots of land and as I call them ‘micro-settlements’ are identified.) 18 is far less established than the likes of the ‘hotel zone.’ 18 is home to residents and Airbnb’s alike. Casa Nomad gave nods to Spanish architecture and was built in a more traditional floor plan, of the kitchen/dining area in one building, and the bedrooms in another, joined together by beautiful archways. A perfectly sized pool for a cocktail and an afternoon putting the world to rights, topped off with the fact it gets the sun all day! For us Nomad offered the perfect tranquil escape, not a sound to be heard. And no light pollution! Which meant stargazing took up a lot of our evenings, due to the fact there were no lights, you could see more layers of stars than I even knew existed!
For me, Casa Nomad had basic kitchen amenities, and being honest whilst aesthetically pleasing it lived up to its name offering a Nomadic experience during our stay, I found the comfortability of the place lower than I would have liked, but that is not to say this outweighed the views and peace it offered. The only real downside (which if you exploring you will soon understand!) is some of the roads can be very very bad in Exuma, as often the dirt roads are not maintained by the government, the road albeit only a mile long would often take 10-15 minutes to go down to the ravine-esque road, I would highly recommend a Jeep for this stay! It did mean when we left for our daily activities we usually would stay out all day and come home when we were done with the day/night as we didn’t enjoy the road. But that’s not Nomad’s fault its just something to be mindful of!
The property is comprised of a well sized master bedroom, and also has a second bedroom with two double beds. The Bedroom building has one bathroom, I think personally four sharing this would be enough, six you would feel very on top of each other! The poolside area was perfect with loungers, plenty of seating, and a bench in the shade for an afternoon nap too! The Kitchen/dining area was lovely to look at albeit due to having family in Exuma we didn’t cook once!
Okay I will be honest from the start, I am a little bias because my dad does own Da Sugar House!
But let me lay it out for you: set on Bahama Sound 18, 3 min drive for groceries ,6-7 mins into Georgetown and 5 minute drive to the Beach. Da Sugar house sit on one of the highest elevated roads, and most sought after land in 18, Periwinkle road. When arriving and parking in the bay you will walk down the freshly swept steps through the gently swaying trees of the bush. To your 2 bedroom apartment, walk around veranda, hot tub and sunbathing deck. You may also be created by four doggies all of which at some point and for their own reasons found their way to my dads house! My dad lives above in his own apartment, and is always on hand to help.
What I love about my dads rental (which differs to all other air b n bs I have stayed in on Exuma.) is he actually greets you (we did not have this experience elsewhere which when you have never been to a house can make it as bit stressful!) My dad will answer as many questions as you like, give introductions to reputable Captains and restaurants, and help with anything you might need! On top of this (something no other property I have stayed in does in Exuma which is surprising given the cost of several of them) when you arrive, after what has likely been a long journey you will find; bread, eggs, beer, milk, coffee, soft drinks, water, bacon and butter, and probably some other bits too already available in your apartment. This is honestly such value add, because if you arrive Sunday everything is shut, if you don’t have a car yet, how are you getting food? I cannot explain how I wish more hosts did this. It makes a world of different. Da Sugar House sits in the $$ price bracket as opposed to the $$$-$$$$ bracket. A more local feel, peaceful, rustic, garden views, lazy mornings on the deck, Da Sugar House makes the perfect base for those longer stays.
The house is charming and doesn’t masquerade as some up market, pretentious abode. It's about climatising to island life, remembering how simple things, like reading a book, having a lie in, drinking your morning coffee in the sun, can bring such joy if you let it.
My dad goes the extra mile for his guests and his visitor book proves it! With each review better than the last, and with more and more returning customers counting down the days until they return to Da Sugar House.
During my most recent trip (April 2026) I decided to book a villa in FP. FP has been around for over 20 years now. The team had major plans when first breaking ground, two marinas, shops, villas, apartments, over water condos and more.
Like much in the Bahamas building takes time and money (lots and lots of money) so you will find there are still several lots of land undeveloped. But what it does offer: hillside, beachside, ocean side houses to rent. Two beaches (no they aren’t the most stunning the Island has to offer) but they absolutely work if you want a chilled day near your house. A restaurant (The Rusty Anchor) open for lunch and dinner Wednesday - Sunday. Spa treatments, two pools and a hot tub. Gym and for those extra active humans a tennis court. I found a villa via VRBO as I had a voucher to use, and ticked all of my boxes:
- I want to be able to see the sea from my bedroom
- I want to be on the water
- I want to be near a beach
- 24 hour gated security (the nicest team ever!) this was important to me as I was originally going for 9 days on my own
- 5 minutes from Georgetown
- Peaceful
I booked ‘Turtle Villa’ which online looked nice, a little tired but hit all of my must haves. It was beyond a pleasant surprise on arrival to find that the pictures were out of date! The house had been newly renovated, with beautiful furniture and décor that just complimented its exceptional location to a t!
For once, I was speechless, running around like a kid to pick my bedroom! (I stayed on the top floor) each bedroom is en-suite and each floor has a balcony, oh and you have a sunbathing deck, and a jetty where you can watch the local residents (all of the turtles!) morning, noon and night! Hands down the best ‘oh wow! I get to stay here!!’ moments I have had in a long time.
The house was fully equipped; AC, TV, several seating areas, a full working kitchen with all the right bits and pieces to host people and the gorgeous dining table overlooking the ocean! Parking, en-suites, balconies, beach towels, and beach games and for those of us that like to go home with clean clothes! A washer and tumble dyer! It also had a water cooler and spare bottles, which was great as you can’t drink water from the taps in several places on the island. We had a few issues (a sunlounger broke due to corrosion of screws, a broken light switch and a clothes rail that broke!) I dropped the FP team a message and within a couple of hours one of the team (Angelo! He was awesome) came to sort it out. It did not impact our stay and more so made me think I would stay again knowing the team look after you!
Turtle Villa offered me more of the tranquillity I desired than other places it was peaceful, elegant yet also had ample opportunity to be at one with nature (turtles and rays!) I would say that FP was by far more expensive than other locations I have stayed on the Island, but it did not disappoint, and I am already looking to go back in November!
Check out February Point Renewals Direct or via VRBO
As mentioned earlier there are several other places to look into depending on what you want, I know for example Tropic of Cancer has exploded with AirBnBs to pick from large, larger and some normal sized homes. Depending on who you are coming with and what you want out of a trip I would definitely take a look. For me I like to be near what’s happening and would rather do a day trip up the island to Tropic of Cancer instead. For me the places I have stayed albeit still on the boujee scale offer and ode to the traditional design, colours and energy Exuma offers.
What I have worked out is that for me, if it can be afforded, my preference is always to be on the water, I don’t actually need to be on a beach (sandflies like me too much) and actually beaches are public so anyone can be there! But I love a private jetty/dock where I can sit with a beer and watch the biggest aquarium in the world (the ocean) in all its glory, it soothes my soul in a way nothing else can. I stop looking at my phone, stop worry about what if and what could be and I just am there, in that moment. I hope you find your ‘calm’ and a place that soothes and sings to your soul like Turtle Villa did to me.
Have you been to Exuma? Where did you stay? I am always looking for the next place to explore and rent, drop me a message!
And remember just because you have been somewhere once, twice or thirty times you haven’t seen it all, go with open eyes and an open heart, and see what the world offers you!
NOAM X