January 2026 in the Bahamas on New Providence Island
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
We wanted a relaxing trip, so I started by looking into all-inclusive deals, and we strongly considered going with an option on Paradise Island. However, we changed our minds because the island looked like we'd be trapped on it and we wanted to explore more of New Providence island and see what Nassau had to offer.
This trip was unique because we ended up staying for 10 nights at a resort called SandyPort Beach Resort. We rented a car for a large proportion of our trip and were able to get around on the island and see more w
Downtown Nassau and the Queen's Staircase
We started our first day by renting a car. The evening prior we had walked to a nearby grocery store and gotten some groceries and then returned to the resort by cab, which was expensive and so the cost of renting a car became entirely justified.
That first morning with the car, we went to downtown Nassau, finding a side street to park on before walking down to the main streets lined with tourist shops. We explored the downtown for a short time before heading up to the Queen's Staircase, one of the more impressive legacy attractions of downtown Nassau.
It was fun to explore this port city, and see everything a cruiser would get to see knowing we still had plenty more time to explore and soak in the sun. Weather was slightly overcast these first few days, so we were eager to get some of that hot Bahamian sun as the week went on.
Sunrise at the Resort over the Pier
The next morning we decided to start the day early and see what experiencing the sunrise would be like. We woke up at 5:30am and trekked down underneath an overpass to get to the beach front area of the resort. We then found our gazebo and walked to it, setting up camp for the next hour or so while the sun rose.
It was gorgeous to see the sun come up over the ocean and there were hues of orange and yellow, promising a slightly sunnier day than the one previous had been. We planned our day and where we could go next on the island. We decided upon heading to the eastern side of the island, which was only a drive of about 45 minutes to take us to the Primeval Forest.
A visit to the Primeval Forest
The Primeval forest is an old-growth woodland area located on the eastern side of New Providence island. The park is complete with nature paths and bridges over sunken trees and fossilized limestone that used to be part of the ocean. Walking through the whole park took about 45 minutes. It was a lovely escape from the sun to get to be in the shade for this time and a unique experience of different vegetation making up nature in the Bahamas.
That afternoon, after we'd thoroughly explored the primeval forest, we went for lunch at a restaurant called Island Brothers. We shared some champagne and had a meal complete with pasta and steak. The atmosphere was relaxing outside and it felt nice to have an upscale dining experience after making that trek to see nature. By the time we returned to the resort, we were ready for some more relaxation in our suite. We watched YouTube and browsed for movies on Netflix or some other streaming platform. Somehow, when we were returning we didn't see this as a relaxing vacation, but I can't think of anything else we did.
A trip to Atlantis
Ever since I heard about the Atlantis resort and waterpark, it was something I'd wanted to experience from the age of about 17. So we had to take a trip one day to experience Atlantis. It was a sunny day, so we got a cab to make getting there easier, despite having the rental car.
We started with a backpack and changed into our suits when we got to the park. We then proceeded to climb the pyramid waterslide and do a slide called the Drop. It was very steep and I lost my glasses from my head at the bottom. I quickly retrieved them from the pool.
That day we did almost everything you can in the waterpark. We intertubed down the lazy river that took us all over the park. We walked on the beach to investigate the jetskis. We never ended up taking any jetski, but it was readily available as an option.
We then returned to the pyramid to do another waterslide twice, this one goes underneath the pool and you can see a hammerhead shark. It almost felt surreal, actually, like it was fake, but I was assured that those were real stingrays and that the shark was real.
We skipped having cocktails at Atlantis, and we finished our day there with a trip through the aquarium. In the aquarium we saw more sharks and more stingrays, a variety of different schools of fish, and even jellyfish. The sunken city theme really was something to experience.
That day when we were leaving the park, we went by boat to the otherside of downtown Nassau, where we walked up the island a little to get another cab back to the resort. While waiting for the boat, we got a round of cocktails to go on the boat ride back into the port.
Having definitely conquered the waterpark at Atlantis was a great feeling. We weren't done yet either, because I'd discovered several activities for us to take part of off GetYourGuide.
Rum and Reggae Tour
The first activity I found for us to take part in was a Rum and Reggae tour offered by bus. We drove our rental car to the main parking garage in downtown Nassau, and then set out to find the meeting point, which was to be downtown at the pier and we got there on time, but they changed the meeting point to where there was a statue of Queen Elizabeth, so we had to walk to this new meeting location which was behind some bleachers.
When we got to these bleachers, we met this older gentlemen and his son, who happened to be on a cruise. They were also joining the Rum & Reggae tour. There were also 8 other ladies joining, but they joined later. We embarked on the bus and were given our first taste of Bahamian punch in solo cups.
Our guide first took us to a rum cake factory, where we sampled the rum cake. We then bought several of these sweet treats to take home and it felt cultural to try something from the island. Then we were taken by bus to a mall area, and let inside a building with couches, while the rest of the group finally joined us trickling in for some rum sampling. All in all, we tried 7 different varieties of Ricardo rum, in little half shots.
Dean kept drinking his shot before the guide said go, and he was encouraging other people on the tour to imbibe similarly. She gave quite a few samples of the banana rum out before getting stern about us waiting for her to give the go ahead. I really liked the banana flavoured one, which is surprising because I don't like the fruit itself.
When we were on the bus, we kept drinking the punch, it was enough to feel a buzz start going. We then went to a place called the Fish Fry, which is a spot on the beach with many restaurants. We got some jerk chicken and pork with rice to go, and continued to drink our Bahamian punch whilst listening to the reggae playlist the tour guide had picked out.
There was one more stop on the agenda, we went back downtown to a cigar factory. This was the point at which it became apparent that Dean had encouraged some of our fellow tourists to drink too much. The older gentlemen in our group became very stumbly; he was now needing his son's help to get back to their ship. Things really turned at the end from a fun time to a precarious one.
We ended up leaving our food behind, instead of carrying it with us we left it at one of the entrances, which we didn't go back to. After the Rum and Reggae tour was over, we went to find our rental car and after a quick jaunt along Junkanoo beach we drove back to Sandy Port Beach Resort.
Catamaran Snorkeling and Pig Swimming Experience
Another activity we found on GetYourGuide was a catamaran boat ride with snorkeling and then pig feeding/swimming experience. This activity took us to snorkel in two locations before having a lovely Cuban lunch at sea and the day ended up on a pig beach where we could feed the pigs and swim with them.
That morning our meeting time was around 9am. We found the beach and directions to it early that morning and set out in our rental car to a western cove area just outside of Nassau. It was slightly breezy, but the skies were absolutely clear. We applied sunscreen before meeting our boat guides and hopping on the catamaran. We sat on the front of the boat and settled in for a short hour ride to our first snorkeling location where we could swim with turtles.
Dean prepped my snorkel for me and I wore it feeling quite secured. I did opt to wear a lifevest that afternoon because my swimming is a lot like sinking and I just wanted to relax. I put my head in the water and relaxed into breathing naturally with the snorkeling gear. Soon, I had seen the turtle and I was a little chilly in the ocean, so decided to get out and wait back on the catamaran.
We were then in transport to the next snorkeling location, seeing brightly colored coral reefs and fish. Dean and I had a few drinks on the ship, like Bahama Mama and rum & cokes. At the second location, I just stayed on board the boat, but Dean went snorkeling again and then he convinced me to toss him his phone, which sunk to the bottom of the ocean, where he was able to retrieve it, but we never got it working again.
Finally, we were having an amazing lunch on board the catamaran. It was a Cuban chicken and rice dish, which I managed to eat a fair amount of despite battling nausea and low appetite as part of my side effects to medication. At this point in time, I was still on the original two drug therapeutic combination. Anyway, the food was quite hearty and filling and was a nice meal for the day which was strenous.
That afternoon, we forgot to reapply sunscreen, but the boat was finally taking us to the optional pig feeding experience. We paid for the experience, knowing that that time would be best spent doing this activity. The tour guides gave us apples and sticks to feed apples to the pigs with and had us walk to a beach t
The pigs were quite aggressive, they really liked to get their share of apples and all together, I fed probably 15 different animals slices of the apple. Then the tour guide had bottles of milk, which I squeezed into the babies' mouths. Finally, the guides were passing out bottles in the ocean. Dean went into the ocean to feed the piglets who were swimming up to get their share.
On the ride back into harbour, sun stroke got to me and I ended up vomiting my lunch in the catamaran's bathroom. It was a simple half hour journey back to where our boat had launched from. So we went straight back to the resort after our snorkeling excursion. Despite getting sick, it had been a gorgeous day and I really enjoyed spending time in the sun like a true Bahamian. It was a special day.
Scuba Diving and Getting Re-certified
The next day, I ended up being too tired to go with. I was going to ride on the boat with Dean, but it turned out to be the perfect opportunity for him to get re-certified to do scuba diving.
He went out for the day in the pool to practice, then got a little bit of time under water with a company that specializes in scuba diving in the Bahamas.
We just have to make sure that we use scuba diving on our next travels to France. It was great to have the opportunity to re-certify his scuba diving credentials in the Bahamas.
A day at the Resort just Relaxing
Our final day at the resort was just a day spent by the pool relaxing. We went to a little bar on the beach called Da Conch Shack and got several cocktails. We got margaritas, palomas, sky juice & more. All together, we ordered about $300 worth of cocktails that day.
We just relaxed in the sun underneath palm trees. We moved around the resort a little, like into hammocks. We finished a load of laundry in the meantime to get ready for travel back home, and just talked to other travelers. One couple was from Great Britain and they had enjoyed a direct flight out of London.
For us, travel is a little more complicated than a direct flight. Our flights had been direct from Toronto, but out of Kelowna.
That day at the beach, we talked to quite a few people with direct flights and many were waiting out their last few hours at the resort before going to the airport.
Benefits of DIY Travel
Our trip to the Bahamas was truly a do it yourself travel plan. We booked the resort and flights via Expedia. When we got to the island, virtually everything we did we had to plan ourselves. Getting a rental car was great because we would have ended up spending the same amount in taxis.
There were some benefits to traveling this way. It was nice to not have a rigid plan. I believe we slept in every day of our trip, except the day we got up to watch the sunrise.
Ultimately, we saw and did everything that you can possibly do in Nassau and probably on New Providence in general. The trip was complete with on resort restaurants and we shared several meals and cocktails all contributing to a relaxing 10 days, somewhere special compared to a Mexico vacation.
Comments