Bahamas Babymoon

This November we embarked on a new kind of travel adventure for us: a babymoon!  We knew we wanted to go somewhere warm and relaxing so we could unwind before baby arrives.  However, finding a warm, zika-free babymoon destination in the winter was a bit of a challenge!

We decided on a Bahamas babymoon.  If you are looking for a zika free babymoon destination and asking yourself “is Zika in Bahamas?” – the answer is No!  The CDC removed the zika virus alert from the Bahamas as of February 2018 – hooray!

8 Reasons why The Bahamas is the Perfect Babymoon Destination

1. The Bahamas is Zika-free!
2. It is not too far of a flight from North America, especially from the East Coast (only 3 hours from New York or 30 minutes from Florida!)
3. It is hot (well, around 30 degrees Celcius) even in the winter!
4. Lots of comfortable resorts to choose from where you can relax and soak up the sun
5. There are many, many islands to choose from – you can choose busy Nassau or Paradise Island, or get away from it all at one of the Outer Islands
6. There is something for everyone – casinos if you like gambling, high-end shops if you like shopping, celebrity chef restaurants or local dining if you are a foodie, beautiful beaches if you like to lay out, golf courses if you like to golf, scuba-diving and snorkeling if you love the water, etc!
7. You can find affordable flights from North America (we flew $500 RT from Victoria, BC, Canada)
8. It is safe and the locals are friendly and welcoming

Babymoon Planning Tips

1) Check zika virus alerts

To keep up to date on the latest zika virus information, check the CDC website before booking anything and search your destination on their Zika World Map.

2) Inform your maternity doctor or midwife

We told our maternity doctor that we were planning on going on a babymoon and the first thing she asked was “Is there Zika there?”.  Once we confirmed there wasn’t, she said it was perfectly fine and let us know that the second trimester is the best time to travel!

3) Check travel restrictions

Most doctors agree that it is safe to fly up to 36 weeks if you have a low-risk pregnancy with no complications.  However, certain airlines and cruise lines may have their own restrictions and cutoffs so make sure to check with them before booking.  You don’t want to show up for your flight or cruise and be denied boarding!!

4) Choose flights wisely

Sitting on a cramped plane for a long-haul flight is not super ideal or comfortable while pregnant.  Therefore you may not want to travel somewhere super far from home.  If you do, you can break up your travel time with fun layovers like we chose to do.

You will also want to pick your seat wisely.  If you need frequent pee-breaks, then you will likely want to pick an aisle seat.  When flying while pregnant, risk of blood clots is higher, circulation is limited in your lower limbs, and swelling increases so sitting in an aisle seat and being able get up often to walk around will help keep your blood pumping.

5) Check your travel insurance!

Make sure you have travel insurance to cover any complications that may arise while you are traveling or if you have to cancel your trip.  However, make sure to read the fine print of your plan!!  Not all policies will cover pregnancy-related complications or cancellations if they consider it to be a pre-existing condition.

Most plans will not cover pregnancy complications or child-birth within 9 weeks of your due date so keep this in mind!  For Canadians looking for travel insurance, you can check here for a list of plans and restrictions.  Also important to note is that while you as the parents may have travel insurance, this does not mean the care for your baby would be covered should you give birth.  Check this article about a million dollar baby – yikes!  All the more reason to travel earlier rather than later during your pregnancy.

 

Where to Stay in the Bahamas

The Bahamas has a wide range of accommodation options to choose from.  You can have your choice of fancy resorts, boutique hotels, and Airbnbs.  As for the location, you can stay on a secluded island, a quiet beach town, in the city, or at a massive resort.

For our Bahamas babymoon we chose to stay at 3 different places:

• A hotel in the city: Courtyard by Marriott Nassau Downtown/Junkanoo Beach
• An Airbnb: Island Escape
• A resort: The Atlantis

We wanted a little bit of both worlds: a local, relaxing experience and the fun resort vibe.  With only 5 days, we chose to spend it all on New Providence and Paradise Island.

What to Do on your Bahamas Babymoon

Day 1

Explore downtown Nassau

Downtown Nassau is bustling with cruise ship tourists during the day, which isn’t everyone’s scene.  It is super touristy but once we got away from the main tourist streets, we enjoyed walking all over the city to see the sites such as Parliament Square, the Forts, the Queen’s Staircase, and just all the historic and pretty pastel buildings scattered throughout town.

Tip: Remember to carry water with you to keep hydrated while walking around the city!  Extra important while pregnant 😉

 

Chill at Junkanoo Beach

Junkanoo Beach has a number of beach huts where we enjoyed eating some local food. It is a fun beach to lay out while listening to 2000s hip hop.  If you are looking for a more relaxing beach day, stay tuned for Day 2.

Where to Stay: Courtyard by Marriott Nassau Downtown/Junkanoo Beach

We spent our first night of our Bahamas babymoon at the Courtyard by Marriott Nassau Downtown/Junkanoo Beach.  The hotel is conveniently located right across Junkanoo Beach and a short walk to the city centre.  It is clean, modern and comfortable and has 2 nice pools.

 

Day 2

Relax at Love Beach

Take the local jitney bus to quiet Love Beach.  A ride on the bus is only $1.25 and you can catch it anywhere along Bay Street.  This beach is what I envisioned for a perfect relaxing Bahamas babymoon.  There were hardly any people there so it really felt like we were getting away from it all.

The sand is white and the water is perfectly turquoise with palm trees and coconut trees swaying in the background.

Grab a coffee or brunch at Louis & Steen’s

This colorful seaside cafe is a lovely spot to dine outdoors on some good coffee and delicious New Orleans-inspired food.

We stopped in for breakfast and I had an amazing sweet potato yogurt bowl (sounds weird, but was so good!) and Ryan had spicy and sweet chicken and waffles with collard greens.

Lunch at Dino’s Tropical Conch Shack

Bahamas is known for conch (pronounced “konk”) and Dino’s has the best conch salad we tried on the island!  They put pineapple and other fruit in it and it is such a tasty combination!  You won’t be disappointed at this local spot.

Try some conch fritters

Across from Dino’s is a little shack where you can get 6 conch fritters for $3.  They are served with dipping sauce and are delicious.  We also couldn’t resist the mac and cheese – another local (and personal) favorite.

Head to the Fish Fry aka Arawak Cay

If you are staying on New Providence you will hear from everyone that you gotta check out the local Fish Fry at Arawak Cay.  It is a popular spot among both tourists and locals and they are known for what else but their fried fish and conch dishes.

Our tip is to eat on the right side of the strip, rather than to the super touristy left side.  It was a much more local vibe on the right (and cheaper) and we didn’t get hassled as much there.

We spent 2 nights eating dinner at the Fish Fry where we had the most delicious BBQ chicken and ribs ever!  (I know, I know, it’s a fish fry but the smell of that delicious BBQ wafting in the air got my pregnancy cravings going!)

Where to Stay: Airbnb

We spent 2 nights of our Bahamas babymoon at a lovely Airbnb just outside of the city centre.  This allowed us to get a much more local feel and explore further off the tourist trail.  The Airbnb we chose was Island Escape and the hosts, Kendra and Edgardo, were super welcoming!  Their home is conveniently located to the local Fish Fry and beach.

New to Airbnb?  Use our link to get $45 toward your first trip!

 

Day 3 & 4

Live up the resort life at Atlantis Resort

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the famous Atlantis Resort.  Sure, it is super-touristy and massive, but it really is a great place to stay for a couple of days.  While on a babymoon you probably want to just stay in one place to relax and the Atlantis is the perfect place to do just that.  It seriously has everything so you don’t need to leave the resort at all.  This isn’t our typical style of traveling, but for a Bahamas babymoon, it was just what we needed.

Discover all the magical aquariums and marine life

The amazing thing about the Atlantis is the outdoor aquarium which is the largest in the world!  You can see all kinds of marine life such as manta rays, sharks, dolphins, sea lions, etc.  You can walk through underwater tunnels and become surrounded by the fantastic sea creatures.  It is soooo cool!  My favorite part was the Predator Lagoon tunnel.

 

Indulge your pregnancy cravings and enjoy alllll the food

Another reason we loved staying at The Atlantis Resort for our Bahamas babymoon was for all the food!  Honestly there are enough restaurants here to satisfy any of your pregnancy cravings.  Unfortunately they are not the cheapest restaurants…but hey, it’s your babymoon – you can splurge a little bit, right?

Want to know how to do the Bahamas on a Budget?  Check out our post here!

There are a number of celebrity chef restaurants available at Atlantis – from Fish by José Andrés, to Nobu by Nobu Matsuhisa, Cafe Martinique by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Olives by Todd English.  We chose Olives for dinner and it was delicious!

Pregnancy cravings?  No problem.  You can satisfy that ice cream craving at Ben and Jerry’s or Sun and Ice.  Pizza?  Get a delicious slice at Marina Pizzeria.  Burger craving?  Head to the Village Burger Shack.  Pasta?  Try out Carmine’s.  BBQ?  You’ve got Virgil’s.  Haven’t kicked that Starbucks habit?  No problem – there are a number of Starbucks around the resort.  Cake craving?  You’ve gotta try the decadent chocolate torte at Plato’s or any of their other amazing desserts!

Can’t see yourself at a resort without a daquiri in hand?  No problem, you can still enjoy them on your Bahamas babymoon by getting them without alcohol 🙂 Try McKenzie’s in the Village.

Play at the casino

We are not much of gamblers but we spent half an hour on the slots while waiting for our dinner reservation.  It was fun and we actually won $30, haha 🙂

If you are a gambler, though, the casino at Atlantis reminded me of a mini-Vegas casino and was quite busy with slots and table games.

Grab a late night dessert at Plato’s

My sweet tooth led us to Plato’s one night and we indulged in a chocolate mousse cake.  It was sooo decadent and chocolatey – it definitely hit the spot!  If you are looking for a sweet treat with coffee or tea, this is the place.

Be a kid again at Aquaventure

The waterpark at Atlantis is so much fun!  As you are on a babymoon you unfortunately won’t get to take full advantage of all the fun rides, but fear not – there is still enough to do to enjoy your time at Aquaventure!

I avoided the waterslides, but I did go on all the tube rides.  After observing the rides, I felt that baby and I would be safe riding on the tubes and that I was not likely to fall off or hit anything that would put us in harm’s way.  But of course, do whatever feels right to you!

Float down the lazy rivers

Ryan and I enjoyed floating on the lazy rivers on the two-person tubes.  Does it get more relaxing than floating along a lazy river, underneath the palm trees on your Bahamas babymoon?  I think not.

There are two different river rides: the Lazy River and the Rapids River.  The Lazy River is super slow, so we preferred the Rapids River.  There are signs saying that it is not recommended for pregnant women, but I personally felt totally comfortable riding it and it was not too fast, dangerous or bumpy.  Again, make sure you only do what is comfortable for you.

Lay out at the beaches

The Atlantis Resort has 11 fantastic pools, but if you crave some real beach time, there are 3 lovely beaches as well.

Get a massage at Mandara Spa

What better way to relax on your Bahamas babymoon that treating yourself at the award-winning Mandara Spa?

Catch a movie

Included with your stay is access to the Atlantis Theatre.  Each night they have different newly released movies playing.

 

Where to Stay: The Beach at Atlantis

The Atlantis Resort is massive, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, and has a number of different towers you can book yourself into.  Each tower has its own draws and varies in price.

We chose to book ourselves into The Beach tower, which is the furthest tower from all the action and the oldest tower.  This made it the most affordable option and even though it was older and further, we didn’t mind.  I mean, how much time are you really going to spend inside the room when there is so much to do outside of it?!

Our room was extremely spacious and had the most fantastic view over the stingrays and overlooking the palm trees and ocean!  It was so spectacular to be able to sit out on the balcony and watch the stingrays, manta rays, and turtles swim down below.

Since the tower is the furthest from the main hub, the pool here is a lot more quiet and relaxing.  You also have the Atlantis Beach right there if you prefer the ocean over the pool.  And if you happen to have some kids in tow already, the children’s pool area is right there as well 🙂  The Beach tower is also conveniently located right by the entrance to the Lazy River.

If you prefer to be in the midst of all the action, not to worry.  You can easily stroll to the other areas of Atlantis and Aquaventure.  Along the way you can walk through the awesome Predator Lagoon tunnel as well 🙂

If we had more time we would have loved to explore some of the more distant and beautiful Outer Islands, but we’ll save that for another non-babymoon trip 😉  Getting to the Outer Islands requires more flying or a long boat-ride, neither of which I felt up to while being pregnant.

Comment below if you have any questions about our Bahamas Babymoon!  We hope we’ve convinced you to book that trip 😉

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