cape santa maria
| GETTING THERE |
Cape Santa Maria is tucked away in the very north of Long Island:
From Deadman’s Cay Airport (LGI) you take Queen’s Highway north for about 45 minutes., then you’ll see a sign for Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort, take a left here. You’ll get to a dead end and you can turn right towards the resort or left towards the houses. This whole area is Cape Santa Maria Beach. Public access of this beach is tricky because of how private it is — you may have to sneak through some land or construction to make it on the beach, if you plan to day trip here. Once you’re on the beach you are golden because all beaches are public in the Bahamas.
| WHERE TO STAY |
We stayed at a residence in Galliot Cay - many vacation/rental homes are located here mainly by expats so it is very private - not a touristy feel at all which was our favorite thing about this island. Keep in mind most properties will be older & therefore a little dated but this is all part of the charm. Our Airbnb was a newer property with a main house & a guest house, we stayed in the guest house adjacent to the main house. Which was more than enough space for us - fully equipped kitchen, bedroom, living room, & still access to the backyard amenities that lead you straight out to the water. A beachfront property for $120 was insane value. We get nothing from you clicking the link or whatever but wanted to share our secret place with you anyways: Book it here
pictured is the guest house we stayed in
| WHERE TO EAT |
If you choose to forego the whole resort thing & get a home like this - stock up on some groceries! The Bahamas, like most countries in the middle of the ocean, can be pretty pricy — the simplest things like milk & butter are 2x as much.
It still is way friendlier on the budget than eating out, & on this island opening/closing times can be interpreted different… Everyone is on island time so always have a back up dinner or two & keep some food stocked up at your Airbnb.
The closest grocery store from us was MGS Food Store - about 15 minutes away.
BONUS TIP: They only have certain days where dairy is delivered so plan ahead to probably make a trip back to get essentials like milk, eggs, & cheese! Liquor however, is always readily available 😉
| OUR REVIEW |
Cape Santa Maria takes the crown for BEST beach on Long Island (I am the official beach crowner). The dusty unpaved road leading to this beach, is perfectly underwhelming for the paradise that awaits. It is surreal how many perfect shades of blue you are able to see at this beach…from the water or from the shore, as far as your vision allows, its all blue perfection.
perfect beach criteria:
baby-powder soft sand - doesn’t even get hot in the blazing sun
clearest & calmest water, heavenly blue & ankle-waist deep for stretches.
sun sets right over the water☀️ aka perfect sunsets
privacy in paradise - you might stumble on your neighbors maybe once? Twice? If you want to avoid human contact all together…this might be your spot
privacy = skinny dipping (😏)
refreshing water under the Bahamas heat
Alex & I kept saying to each other this is the perfect celebrity hide-out! Everything is very low-key, people are friendly (if you see any) but still stay very to themselves.
I honestly can’t imagine it getting any better than this - I picture the Maldives or Bora-Bora having this same kind of water! This was a very difficult place to leave… it had all of the necessities & more. Rarely do we spend more than 2 days at a single place when we vacation because we like to explore as much as we can BUT here… phew, we wished we booked the entire 9 days here… it’s THAT perfect. All the kitchen essentials, great WiFi, perfect beach amenities, seclusion, & all the comforts of coming home to a fully-furnished home after the sunsets to unwind…doesn’t get much better than that.
| only one con |
the only difficult thing is that this is not a central location on the island making it difficult to beach hop due to the long commute back & forth.
BUUUUUUT
If you are looking for a honeymoon-esque escape to a secluded, Caribbean paradise - look no further.
