We recently used credit card points to take a quick, but much needed 3 day vacation in the Bahamas. Read through to the end to see how we booked and enjoyed our stay. Hint: we used less than $1,500 all in and it was incredible! But I'm getting ahead of myself :) Let's start at the beginning.
Why Bahamas?
I don't have to tell you about the picturesque beaches, or beautiful weather that's common throughout the Caribbean Islands. On top of that, the Bahamas offers a Kosher hotel and is only a short flight away from NY. All things considered, it's a pretty simple vacation to book without having to plan too much in advance. AKA perfect for someone who's busy and needs to get away ASAP.
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How We Got There
We used JetBlue points earned form the JetBlue card sign up bonus to fly direct from LGA to NAS. You can also transfer Chase points at a one to one ratio using a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Although the points are super cheap, the taxes and fees do add up. We used 8,800 points round trip per person plus $119.20 in taxes and fees. You can search the JetBlue Best Fare Finder to find cheap award dates. See this post for more detailed information.
You do not need to fill anything out prior to arriving at NAS airport. We filled out the online customs form, as recommended by JetBlue and they didn't even look at it. You will have to fill out an arrivals form before going through the security checkpoint. JetBlue flight attendants distributed it on our flight prior to landing. It's advisable to bring along a pen so you don't wait for one.
Where We Stayed
We stayed 3 nights at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. You can definitely stay longer and not get bored but less than 3 days would not be enough time. We booked the hotel using Chase points transferred to Hyatt. Standard nights are 25,000 points each, while off peak is only 21,000 points a night and peak nights are 29,000 points each. Our stay included 2 standard nights and one off peak night, for a total of 71,000 points. The current sign up bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is more than enough to cover that. You can apply for that here.
You can check out my room tour on Instagram by clicking here.
We used the local taxi service to get to and from the airport. We gathered based on their conversation that the rate is decided based on the amount of passengers and luggage. We had two suitcases with us and paid $35 one way and $37 on the return.
What We Ate
The Grand Hyatt has 3 major Kosher options. All of them have quality food and are priced comparably to their NY counterparts.
Cinko. Great upscale food. Prices are comparable to the average NYC steakhouse. We ate there 2/3 nights and our bill was $230 the first and $280 the second. This includes tips and tax. Cinko is located a couple steps from the West Tower Elevators. Luckily our room was in the West Tower so it was a quick five minute walk to the restaurant. However, it took us 30 minutes the first night to figure out where it is. The resort is HUGE and it can easily be confusing to figure out where to go. You can check out the full Cinko menu here.
For lunch we ate at Knosh all days. Food is good. Plan to spend around $100 for a couple. They’re located right near the beach which is super convenient. We had the Gyro, fries, mozzarella sticks and mac n cheese. Highly recommend all except for the mac n cheese. It was very clumpy. The fries were thin, crispy and a huge serving that can easily feed 2 people. The mozzarella sticks were also great. They had a good cheese pull, crispy coating, delicious dipping sauce and also a generous portion; around 7-8 sticks for $13. Gyro is an Israeli style open falafel, stuffed with tahina, falafel balls, fries and vegetables. It was incredibly fresh and very filling. We also tried both cocktails on the menu but would only recommend the Passion Fruit Margarita. It was delicious! You can find the full Knosh menu here.
The third option available is Cafe Madeline. They offer Kosher packaged food like pastrami sandwiches and chicken salad. Great for on the go or room service. We picked up pastrami sandwiches here on our last night and it was both delicious and a large portion.
Of course on top of that there's a multitude of non-kosher dining options available from food trucks, restaurants, bars and breakfast cafes. You truly do not have to bring any food along, whether you're a kosher traveler or not. (We do always travel with snacks for the room but even that was available for purchase all over the resort.)
What We Did
The Bahamas offers a huge variety of options for relaxation and entertainment. We focused on the two biggest ones, the beach and the Baha Bay Water Park.
The beaches at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar are gorgeous, soft and so clean, especially compared to more popular beaches like South Florida. The colors in particular are so picturesque and crisp, it is so so dreamy. The areas near the food truck were more crowded, though we were able to find chairs every time we tried. Beaches closer to the water park and further from the food trucks are less crowded. We enjoyed both areas. The staff is super nice and helpful as well. There are water sports available for rent on the beach near the food trucks, but we didn't do any of them.
The Baha Bay Water Park is free for all guests of the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. We were able to enter the park using our wristbands that served as our room keys. Out of the 6 slides, we really enjoyed the Pirates Plunge and the Dueling Riptide Coasters. Both of those are low key and don't have major drops. My husband also checked the straight drop slide off his bucket list by riding the Devil's Backbone. We also tried the Surf Simulator (so fun and easier than it looks!) as well as hang out for hours in the Lazy River. And finally, we checked out Kid's Island, for research purposes of course. Definitely need to go back with my daughter :)
That's a wrap on my vacation to the Bahamas! I hope to go back soon with my daughter as I feel like she would really enjoy the water park and it's an easy vacation, as a Kosher traveler. Other things that made my trip stress free and pleasant are our bathing suits (his and hers), waterproof phone pouch (I've tried a few and this is the only one that works!), clean sun tan lotion, and an absolute must (!) my waterproof beach bag!
How Much Did It Cost?
Here's how much our 3 night/4 day vacation to the Bahamas cost us in points and dollars. We like to pay for airport parking, considering the price of ride share to and from our home airport. Additionally, we had to pay for travel insurance, since we used travel bank funds to pay for taxes and fees. Had I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve, I would've had full travel insurance for free. We also paid $15 each day for a locker in the water park (totally extra and unnecessary) and $33 for arcades.
Expense | Points | Cash |
Flight | 17,600 | $238.40 |
Hotel | 71,000 | $0 |
Food | 0 | $817.50 |
Travel Insurance | 0 | $49 |
Transportation | 0 | $72 |
Attractions | 0 | $63 |
Airport Parking | 0 | $154 |
Total | 88,600 | $1393.90 |
Happy Travels!
Chavy
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