Bahamas tinygynie trip 2026 and WPW
- tinygynie
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Just got back from a week in the Bahamas and I’m still dreaming of the ocean air. Overall it was a delightful mix of lazy sea days, great bites, and local discoveries — with a few travel headaches and one or two letdowns thrown in for color.
Getting There: Delta Flight BS (Ugh)
Not going to sugarcoat it — the trip out included some genuine travel frustration. Delays and a flight staff that lacked any momentum or charm put a dampener on the first day. Once landed, though, the Bahamas quickly makes up for it.
We rented a sea-view villa called…sea view villa, that felt like a home-away-from-home — big windows, easy access to the water, and sunsets that were pure therapy. The property was spacious, private.
While the property was a bit outdated, it was still gorgeous. We were disappointed that the things we were told were fixed often were not however. Like the hot tub, a clothes washer dating to 1970. Overall though, no major complaints when you have your own beach and snorkeling hole
Insta Gopher
food delivery service that had gotten a lot of great reviews. Unfortunately our experience was a bit different. We ordered staples for the 7 of us and they were delivered 2 1/2 hours after the arranged time. The guy finally arrived, shockingly, although from the looks of him, we suspect he had too much party for the day and doesn’t remember. Lay off the Ganja Friend.
outings!
BOAT: We booked a boat tour to explore nearby cays and snorkeling spots. The boat company we chose was professional, punctual, and knowledgeable — nice crew, clean boat, and beautiful stops. The snorkeling and island views were some of the trip’s best moments.
COOKING...oh wait: our cook was unfortunately in a car accident so we had to pivot from cooking lesson to private van tour with rum and local food tastings, rum distillery tour, and a lovely bit of island history. To be honest, it was a great change of plans and we really enjoyed arthur and everyone he introduced us to. Highlights:
Guava Duff at The NEw Duff: what lovely staff and tasty treats
John Watlings distillery: We got to sample a fabulous pina colada and several rums and had conch fritters after our tour
twin brothers fish fry: Try the lentils and rice and grits, the grouper, the Hot sauce (amazing)
FOOD! We love some good eats. Of the places we explored, here's some good stuff
Manila grill — Filipino comfort, surprisingly excellent (4.5/5) Typical vibe: Homey, friendly service, bold flavors
- Adobo (chicken or pork) — savory, tangy, great with steamed rice.
- Pancit (stir‑fried noodles)
- Lechon kawali: the best roast pork in the world, not kidding
- Sisig or Bicol express (if you like heat)
- Lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls) — great starter.
- Halo‑halo or leche flan for dessert — sweet, refreshing finish.
-Kare kare: a divine oxtail stew
-sinigang: tamarind soup with all sorts of different meats
you will have leftovers!
Solemar: fresh fish and land fare, amazing ambiance, great cocktails
located on the west side of the island, this is a perfect sunset location and one of the nicest menus in the Bahamas. It was actually really difficult to decide here what you preferred.
Signature cocktails were inventive and well balanced. And we tried pretty much all of them
Food was very nicely prepared. The menu is quite enormous however, so be prepared to order too much and share.
Oku Sushi — Fresh sushi and modern rolls (4.5/5)
- Clean, modern, sushi-forward; trendy and where the fancy folk go.
- What to order:
- Nigiri or sashimi sampler, so many options
- Signature rolls (chef’s specialty) — creative flavor combos including spiny lobster and truffle tuna roll.
- entrees: range from rices to Katsu, we tried a variety of options. Literally nothing disappointing
- Omakase (if offered and you want to splurge) but you need to have several takers at the table
Vibe is island fish fry area, which is like a night market in Asia or a food festival in small shacks rather than trucks
- order the sky juice: trust us
- the fish fry items are typical fare but really nicely done and paired with plaintains or their amazing Mac and cheese casserole you cannot go wrong.
Curly is kind of a local celebrity and his energy is infectious. Make the trip.
- we mostly stuck to gin cocktails but all the choices were done flawlessly. It was a great place to take a break and figure out dinner at oku
Blue Sail — Scenic but underwhelming in our experience (2.5/5)
really pretty location but super odd staffing
- What to order (if you still want to give it a shot):
- Sunset cocktails at the bar or may want to stick to wine because they were trying to learn cocktail recipes from a phone
- the menu is lovely to look at but descriptions can be very confusing. My shrimp curry was fantastic but most people in the group didn’t have that experience
Baha Mar (resort) — Lots of choices; resort prices, luxury everything. Shopping here is going to require a large credit limit so be warned. The casino is the largest in the Caribbean and a great distraction for January windy and rainy days. It is like Vegas with a better view.
You can rent watersports equipment and boats, plan excursions, melt away at the spa, so a few days are needed just to explore and not get lost.
- Polished resort dining with many cuisines casual beach grills, sushi, steakhouses. Most you will want to get a reservation
For our conference, the center was away from the craziness and well equipped with all the usuals conference amenities. Really very comfortable accommodations.
The rooms are large and bright, some overlooking ocean, some overlooking the bellagio style light and water show in the pools in the front.
Dining
-swimming pig was great for sports games (of which there were many at the time of our visit). The adult tots and flatbreads serve as a great snack
- Katsuya: incredible sushi, apps, and get the duck fried rice
-Cleo: order 3-4 tapas plates and decide if you want more after you try these. Fabulous menu but you can get full really fast
My only real complaints about the resort were:
The pools close at 5 as do all the outdoor bars etc. all 11 pools…
When many pools are literally swarmed with screeching small humans without proper parental supervision, it would have been really amazing to kick them out for a nap and have adult swim and happy hour. All of the adult pools require lounge reservations so there isn’t an option to just avoid the spawn of overprivileged adults that aren’t paying attention to their brood.
Sorry, not sorry. Your rugrats really aren’t as cute as you think they are and the ear piercing cackles and splashing are not endearing.
And get to the pool at dawn I guess. My last day I went down to the pool quite early to do a beach walk and it was lovely without screaming.
It was the perfect morning without chaos.
Aside from all that, the resort literally has everything. Pools, boat rentals, watersports, waterslides/park, a flamingo habitat, Turtle discovery, a pool full of sharks and rays, any food you might want, a casino.
Check out the whole website for sure.
We were there for one of my favorite yearly events, the wpw conference. 150ish smart professional women doing a solid favor for themselves and taking a step back from the insanity of daily life. 10/10, highly recommend
next time, I do intend to enjoy more ocean activities, but for a week, we did pretty well.
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