This blog post is a trip report and travel guide to kiteboarding Bahamas –  the remote and wild Exuma Islands.

Our amazing Baja kite buddies, Wayne and Sharon, have been exploring the Bahamas for many years on their Nordic Tug, My Sharona. After following their entertaining blog and hearing their stories, we finally found a way to make a Bahamas Exuma Chain trip happen and loved it so much that in 2016 we went back for year two. This year our guides were Debi and Bruce from Different Drummer and Paul and Sue from Independence – follow their adventures on Instagram!

You may have flown over these islands – believe me, it’s as good as it looks from the plane!

How to do it

Rent your catamaran (with or without captain) from Navtours. Pick up in Nassau (NAS) or Georgetown (GGT) and do a one way trip or an out-and-back charter. One week is pretty short, ideally plan for a two week trip. If you are doing just one week it’s probably best to pick up the boat in Georgetown.

Provisioning
Nassau has great supermarkets, Georgetown is more limited and expensive, so consider bringing some items with you like paper towels, crackers, cheese – max out your allowable luggage weight with provisions from home. Once you leave the marina, there isn’t much shopping – plan to provision for the entire trip at the start. Beer is pricey and rum is cheap – be aware that liquor stores are closed on Sunday.

Where to kite
Sandbars everywhere. Also two spots we loved are Man of War Cay near Georgetown and Sandy Cay near Staniel.

Season
Winter – November through April.

Kite sizes
Big kites are key, but a full range is recommended. Advanced kiters might want to bring a skimboard to keep the flat water riding more interesting. Bring everything you need to ride and some spares/repair kits – you’ll be on your own out there for gear repairs.

Water conditions
The astronauts claim the Bahamas to be the most beautiful part of earth as seen from space – because of the amazing water color. Flat shallow sandbars with tons of wildlife: rays, nurse sharks, turtles, spotted manta rays. Bring a shorty or at least a 1mm neoprene top and tons of sun protection.

Photo below from Sharon Kirchner

Crew
Getting a good crew is key. We filled our boat with four female kiteboarding entrepreneurs who all have our businesses running while we play on the boat.

Time out for a commercial: As I’ve been newly promoted to run the non-profit organization, KB4girls, you can imagine how stoked I was to be surrounded by such AMAZING female athlete/entrepreneurs.

Captain Victoria Balentine nee Koos treats migraines and fertility with acupuncture and herbs in NYC at her Yin & Tonic clinic in Manhattan. Her delightful husband Jerry sadly suffers from seasickness and doesn’t join sailing trips.

Marisha Chillcot runs a northern Californian medical spa, Morpheus, making people beautiful for a living. She and her long time boyfriend, Jeff, met doing urban search and rescue – he’s a firefighter paramedic.

Check out these AMAZING ladies – those smiles are super contagious!

Peruvian Andrea Balta employs 80 people in her two Lima Peruvian-Fusion restaurants – La Folie Cafe – and recently married the delightful Joel who works for mining companies providing health care in rural areas. They first met while kiteboarding! He helped her in the water with retrieving her board – the most romantic kite couple story I’ve ever heard!

Here’s a video of us kiteboarding near Georgetown in 2015 – check it out!

Bahamas days are all about water, sunshine, and adventure – the Exuma chain of Bahamas is one of the most magical places I’ve ever seen. It’s well worth the effort if you love boating and are prepared to spend thousands of dollars for amazing snorkeling with a chance of kiting.

For more information about kiteboarding the Exuma chain of the Bahamas get in touch with me through the contact page on our website – I’m happy to consult with anyone interested in undertaking this AMAZING adventure! Also check out our shared Facebook Gallery highlighting the 2016 trip.

PS –  I would be doing a disservice to you all if I didn’t include in this blog post The Famous Swimming Pigs – these little critters have put Bahamas on the map and are well worth a morning visit when you’re in the Staniel Key area.