Travel Itinerary: Christmas in the Bahamas

Greetings everyone! 😀

It sure has been a while since I’ve written last, and gosh have I missed it so! As you may have read from my last post, I moved back to the United States over the summer where I began to teach mathematics at a local school. What a joy it has been, after traveling and living overseas for over four years, to have some stability again, reconnect with old friends, spend quality time with family, and fully reflect on my incredible journeys abroad. That being said, my feet are starting to itch again, and I’m planning for an exciting year of travels in 2019! 😉

To start things off, I’ll be heading on a tropical vacation to The Bahamas during Christmas. 🎅

Talk about a change from last year, where I spent Christmas ‘freezin’ for a reason’ in Finland and Arctic Norway to view the Northern Lights! 😍

Facts about The Bahamas:

Did you know The Bahamas are an archipelago of over 700 islands in the Caribbean?! The name comes from the Spanish ‘baja mar’, meaning ‘shallow waters’. This seems fitting considering its expanse of low tides flowing with sparkling turquoise seas. Now it was a hard to decide on which island to visit, but based on flight prices and the availability of budget accommodation, I decided to book a week-long stay in Nassau on New Providence Island. 🏝️

Why Visit Nassau in The Bahamas?

My main motive for visiting The Bahamas was to scuba dive. I have decided to book quite a few dives with Stuart Cove’s, a highly reputable diving outfit that focus specifically on shark encounters and showcases dive sites used in numerous James Bond films. 🦈 📽️

Aside from diving, Nassau is located right next to Paradise Island, a luxurious resort-style atmosphere with gorgeous white-sand beaches, umbrella drinks, and even some unlikely beach residents! 🐷 🍹

Why is Christmas a good time to visit The Bahamas?

Now, much to my delight, I’ll be visiting Nassau during one of their annual festivals, Junkanoo. This traditional celebration occurs on December 26th each year, and entails a large street parade with music and dancing in traditional Akan costumes (i.e. the immigrants of Bahamas whom originally came from Ghana in Africa). 🇬🇭🎵

Now this trip might be a bit more of splurge than my other travels, with the intention to indulge in pricey diving trips and tropical cocktails, but I’ll still be looking for ways to travel on a budget and connect with locals at this popular tourist destination. Stay tuned to hear all about it! Until then, take care and happy holidays everyone! ❄️🎄