Other than some outings here and there, and our weekly support of local restaurants it had been a long time since I had fun with some new pieces. So lets just say packing my suitcase for our recent trip to the Bahamas was a wee bit exciting! You can find my full trip recap here as well as all the safety precautions we took in addition to the current regulations in the Bahamas as they are in Phase 1 of re-opening.
My absolute favorite piece of the trip was this floral OTS maxi dressthat I was waiting ever so patiently to break out for our vacation. Needless to say it made it's debut on the first night when we went to dinner at the Italian restaurant at the resort. It was so effortlessly pretty, and had plenty of room for me to eat alllll the pasta and meatballs. Oh and of course bread soaked in olive oil and garlic. Yes please!
As promised, I rocked this stretchy jumpsuitfor our first travel day. It was super comfy for the airport and on the plane, even though we only had an hour long flight. I'll definitely be breaking it back out when I begin traveling on long overnight flights for work again in the fall.
Jumpsuit {only $31} - can be worn as short sleeves or off the shoulder | Bow Sandals
These striped bathing suit bottomswere a new favorite that I made sure to pack for the trip. They were comfy, and also stayed in place during water slide fun which as we all know is super important! Oh and they're only $17.99!
I pressed this dress before we left, and again in the hotel room, but a certain someone received a drink without a lid at dinner and knocked it over before we even ordered our food. Needless to say it went all over my white dress. Thankfully, it was just water. We were all smiles!
Can someone pinch me please? I had been to Nassau a few times on cruise stops and even visited the Atlantis Resort on a day pass while in port, but I had never flown into Nassau and stayed overnight at the resort. Total game changer! We were able to fully experience the resort, the restaurants, the entertainment, etc... The resort itself reminded me a lot of a cruise ship with lots to do - shops, restaurants, pool side bars, water slides, a casino, and just the overall vibe. However, we went in the times of the virus that shall not be named and the Bahamas have only recently re-opened and are currently in Phase 1. So even though things have been very lax here in Florida, being in the Bahamas meant being mindful and respectful of their restrictions.
As promised, I am going to lay out what we needed to do to enter the country and also to return home.
All visitors entering the Bahamas need to apply for a health visa - this applies to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals. It's $40 per person, and you have to present it at the gate when boarding the plane, at customs when you arrive in the Bahamas, and again when checking in at the resort. When we arrived at the gate of the resort, we also had to present our health visa to the guards at the front too.
There were no temperature checks in the Orlando airport (and no social distancing as far as the eye could see - just a mass of people clumped together in Disney World gear heading home). As soon as we de-planed in Nassau we all had to have our temperatures taken. We had our temperatures taken again when we walked into the main entrance to the resort.
Masks must be worn in all public places, and there is a steep fine if you are not. We wore masks through the airports, on the plane, and while walking around anywhere. Lil' Miss as always was a champ with her masks, and never once complained. We did not need to wear a mask when sitting down to eat or in the beach and pool area.
To re-enter the United States, you must take a rapid antigen test. These were provided at our resort, and we booked a reservation for one morning. They cover the cost of the first 2 per room, so we had to pay for only 1 test. The results were ready within a few hours, and were emailed to us to present to the airline to fly home.
The only other item was we received a survey each morning from the Bahamas government in our email. We filled it out before breakfast each morning on our phones (took less than 20 seconds), and were ready to enjoy our day.
It sounds like A LOT, but it honestly wasn't that bad and definitely worth it to travel again and to feel safe knowing everyone else on the plane and at our resort had to do the same. Just make sure you do your research (or refer to this post - ha!), print up all your documents, and wear a mask while walking in public places. Oh and don't forget your passport!
We also decided in addition to the above to self isolate at home prior to our trip. I even turned down a girls brunch the weekend before on National Mimosa Day. Who am I?! I didn't want anything to mess with our much anticipated trip. We ordered in pizza that weekend, went on walks around the neighborhood, and splashed in the pool for some outdoor fun and fresh air. Again - all worth it!
We stayed in the Royal Tower which is the iconic structure above to be in the middle of it all. It was a quick walk to the shops and dining, and also the best part - the pools, beaches, and aquaventure water park.
We had a quick non-stop flight from Orlando on JetBlue, and from take off to touch down it was less than an hour. My new OTS jumpsuit was the perfect cozy piece for our travel morning. Our flight took off at 9:35 a.m., and we were checking in at the resort by 11:30 a.m. We also opted for a private transfer instead of a bus full of people like we usually do, so it was just the 3 of us and our driver from the airport to the hotel.
We took a walk to explore the resort, and had some lunch at the deli. We then changed into our suits and hit the pool and beach area. My first umbrella drink of the trip was a Yellow Bird which hit the spot as I could feel the stress of the past year melting away.
Lil' Miss makes friends where ever we go, and had lots of fun on the kids water slides and having snow cones with this little girl. I was just relieved that she didn't spill any of her cherry snow cone on her brand new white bathing suit - ha!
For dinner on the first night, we made a reservation at Carmines for some family style Italian food. It was AH-MAZING, and I'm glad I wore my new flowy floral print maxi dressbecause we definitely indulged ourselves! When on vacation...
After some pool and beach fun, we took Lil' Miss to The Dig which is where you walk through and see all the iconic fish tanks and explore tunnels of the lost city of Atlantis.
For dinner the second night, we had a reservation at Olives. We stopped for a photo opp on what Lil' Miss dubbed her "princess throne" before heading to the restaurant. I broke out one of my favorite resort style maxi dresses (I've worn it to Boca Raton on my birthday, in the Keys, and Marco Island as well). Before our bread basket even arrived, Lil' Miss knocked her water over all over me and I was soaked throughout dinner. At least it was just water!
The next day we decided to set up shop over at the Cove pool since it was so big and we wanted to try out all the pools. It was also pretty close to the power tower so we could finish conquering all the water slides.
When we checked in, we were given 2 re-usable water bottles that we could re-fill around the resort. The water was usually somewhat warm, so we would just ask for a cup of ice to add to it and our water would stay nice and cold all day out in the sun. And you better believe we packed these bottles in our suitcases to bring home - you can never have too many of these bottles!
Lil' Miss said her favorite part of the whole vacation were the waterslides, and I'd have to agree with her. She conquered every single child slide, and we conquered all of the adult slides even The Abyss which is inside the power tower and in the dark. You go down "the abyss", and are dunked into a cave with lots of fish tanks around. Super cool setting! You can check out their different slides here- are you brave enough to conquer them all? They have everything from the peaceful jungle slide to water coasters, and then the thrilling drop slides. I'm always scared of those at first, but once I finally try it out want to immediately climb back up and go again. So I always encourage people to go for it!
The hardest part of any trip is saying goodbye. We woke up on our last morning, and began packing while Lil' Miss was still blissfully asleep (girlfriend was tuckered out). H grabbed some coffee and breakfast for us as we finished packing, and then it was time to check out.
Still can't get over how adorable her unicorn suitcase is - best $35 ever spent! She was very proud to wheel her own suitcase through the airport and arriving and leaving the resort. Plus, it helps us out a lot that it's one less thing for us to carry.
Do you have any travel planned this year? I hope this post was helpful in feeling comfortable to travel internationally again. Please let me know if you have any questions, and start planning that next getaway! After last year we all need it!
