Nassau and Paradise Island cover the colonial streets, casino nights and resort water park that most Bahamas trips are built around, but a single long day trip out to the Exuma Cays adds the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay and a snorkel through a sea cave used in two James Bond films. This 5-day itinerary splits the difference: New Providence Island as a base, with one full day flown or boated out to Exuma and back.
Day 1Nassau — Colonial Streets & the Queen’s Staircase
Land at Lynden Pindling International and settle into downtown Nassau, a compact colonial port town built around Bay Street and a limestone staircase cut by hand in the 1790s.
🚕 Transfer: Airport to Downtown Nassau
~20 minutes · $36 USD flat taxi fare for 2 people
Licensed taxis outside the arrivals hall run on published flat fares rather than meters; downtown Nassau is a short, direct run along JFK Drive and West Bay Street.
🪜 Queen’s Staircase & Fort Fincastle
~1 hour · small admission fee
A 65-step limestone stairway cut by hand between 1793 and 1794 to link Fort Fincastle to town, later named for Queen Victoria; the fort above it is shaped like a ship’s bow and gives a wide view back over the harbor.
🍽️ Dinner on Your Own on Bay Street
~1.5 hours · dinner ~$25–$45 USD / person
Nassau’s main downtown strip and the streets just off it hold most of the town’s restaurants and bars, an easy walk from the colonial-era hotels — pick on the spot depending on the wait.
🏨 Check-In: British Colonial Nassau
From $270 USD / night, for 2 people
A 1920s harbor-front landmark at the foot of Bay Street, rebuilt behind its original pink-and-white facade, with a private beach a block from downtown and views across Nassau Harbour to Paradise Island.
British Colonial Nassau · 242-605-9900 · britishcolonial.com
Day 2Paradise Island — Atlantis & Cabbage Beach
Cross the bridge to Paradise Island for a day inside Atlantis’s water park and marine habitat, then an afternoon on one of Nassau’s best public beaches.
🚕 Transfer: Downtown Nassau to Paradise Island
~15 minutes · $47 USD flat taxi fare for 2 people (includes $2 bridge toll)
A short crossing over the Paradise Island bridge, with the Atlantis towers visible for most of the ride.
🌊 Atlantis Aquaventure & Marine Habitat Day Pass
~5 hours · roughly $200–$260 USD / adult (rate varies by date)
A day pass to Atlantis’s 141-acre water park — slides through a Mayan-temple structure, a mile-long lazy river and open-air pools — plus The Dig, a walk-through marine habitat with sharks, rays and a re-created shipwreck holding more than 65,000 animals.
Atlantis Paradise Island · atlantisbahamas.com
🏖️ Cabbage Beach Afternoon
~2 hours · free, public beach access
A mile of white sand along Paradise Island’s north shore, calmer and less crowded than the resort’s private beach, with a handful of casual beach bars for a drink at sunset.
🏨 Check-In: Comfort Suites Paradise Island
From $200 USD / night, for 2 people
A mid-range all-suite hotel a short walk from Atlantis and Cabbage Beach, with a free hot breakfast and access to a private stretch of beach without resort-wide day-pass prices.
Comfort Suites Paradise Island · 242-363-3680 · comfortsuitespi.com
Day 3Exuma — Swimming Pigs & Thunderball Grotto
A full day away from New Providence Island: an early boat run out to the Exuma Cays to swim with the wild pigs of Big Major Cay and snorkel a sea cave made famous by two James Bond films.
🐖 Full-Day Tour: Staniel Cay Adventures Swimming Pigs Excursion
8:00am–5:00pm · $597 USD / person from Nassau (plus 10% VAT)
A full-day boat excursion from Nassau out to the Exuma Cays, built around Big Major Cay’s wild swimming pigs — feed them from the boat or wade in for photos — with stops at other cays along the way; small groups, capped at 12 people on the largest boat.
Staniel Cay Adventures · 242-524-8062 · stanielcayadventures.com
🤿 Thunderball Grotto Snorkel Stop
~45 minutes · included in the day tour
A hollow limestone cay reachable only by swimming in at low tide, lit by shafts of sunlight through holes in the ceiling; it stood in for the villain’s lair in Thunderball and Never Say Never Again, and is thick with sergeant majors and yellowtail snapper.
🍽️ Dinner: Goldie’s Conch House
~1.5 hours · dinner ~$20–$35 USD / person
A Bahamian conch shack on Arawak Cay’s ‘Fish Fry’ strip, open until midnight, for cracked conch, conch salad made to order and a cold Kalik after a long day on the water.
Goldie’s Conch House · 242-325-4300
Day 4Blue Lagoon Island — Dolphins & a Beach Day
A short ferry out to a private island for a dolphin encounter and a slower beach day before the last night in Nassau.
⛴️ Ferry: Paradise Island to Blue Lagoon Island
~25 minutes each way · included in the day package
A short crossing of Nassau Harbour from the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal to Blue Lagoon Island (officially Salt Cay), bundled into the beach-day and dolphin packages rather than sold separately.
🐬 Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon Island
~2 hours · $165 USD / person (plus 10% VAT)
A shallow-water program with the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins based in Blue Lagoon Island’s protected coves, run by Dolphin Encounters — wading and interacting with the dolphins rather than a full open-water swim.
Dolphin Encounters · 242-363-1003 · dolphinencounters.com
🏖️ Island Beach Day Package
~3 hours · from $109 USD / person (plus 10% VAT)
The ferry, a buffet lunch, beach loungers and access to the island’s Aqua Park floating obstacle course, on a private island separate from the dolphin lagoons.
🍽️ Dinner on Your Own on Paradise Island
~1.5 hours · dinner ~$30–$50 USD / person
A last dinner back on Paradise Island, with options ranging from casual marina-side spots to the restaurants inside Atlantis’s Marina Village.
Day 5Bay Street & the Flight Home
A free morning for last-minute shopping on Bay Street before the transfer back to the airport.
🛍️ Free Morning: Straw Market & Bay Street
~2 hours · free to browse
Nassau’s Straw Market, rebuilt after a 2001 fire, is the place for woven baskets, hats and souvenirs; Bay Street’s duty-free jewelry and liquor shops run the length of downtown alongside it.
🚕 Transfer: Nassau to the Airport
~20 minutes · $36–$47 USD flat taxi fare for 2 people, depending on hotel
The same flat-fare taxi system as the arrival transfer, in reverse, back to Lynden Pindling International for the flight home.
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