Out Island kayaking question
 

I am in the process of working on a 'to do' list before I get too old.

One of my fantasies is to kayak in crystal clear, calm, turqoise waters along an uncrowded, but not secluded beach. Maybe paddle over to a nearby sandbar. Only kayaked once before, and its not something I think I would do all the time, but I just need to fulfill this 'to do' fantasy.

I just want to paddle along for an hour or two in shallow waters and come back to my resort. I was thinking one of the Out Islands might be perfect for this, but I don't know which one. I was thinking maybe the Exumas?????? Any suggestions for a resort (under 250/night) to 'launch from' would be helpful. Thanks

We have done a lot of kayaking from a base at Fernandez Bay Village on Cat Island. (Guests have free access to their fleet of single and double kayaks.)

Not only is there a gorgeous half-moon beach with white sand and calm, clear waters, but you can kayak to two small offshore rocks/cays (can't land on them) for snorkeling (this is a tricky venture, however, so don't do this unless you gain some confidence in your skills).

But, more importantly -- and endlessly interesting to me -- is the mangrove creek that empties at the south end of Fernandez Bay. You can traverse the creek system, find the "boiling hole," explore the small beaches and sandbars inside the creek at low tide, and either go back the way you came, or keep going to the other entrance a small distance further south. If you keep going south, you'll end up in Exuma Sound and will pass a several deserted sound-side beaches as you head back to Fernandez Bay.

I've got photos of the creek in my Cat Island trip reports at www.islandtime.homestead.com.

Look at the Cape Santa Maria Resort (Long Island, Bahamas) website under the "activities" section then under "beach activities" or something like that for some great photos of kayaking off their beach.

A local group of kayakers went to the Exumas this past winter. This is a trip report on their travels:

http://www.seakayak.ws/kayak/kayak.n...8!OpenDocument

This is obviously more than an hour or two trip but will give you a feel for kayaking there.

Thanks all, I'm going to check your suggestions out. Take a peek at the photo at this link of the couple in the shallow water (2nd row, far right). This is the kind of clear, blue turqoise I'm looking for.

http://georgetownexumas.com/photos.php

I think most of the hotels on the west (i.e. calm) side of Cat Island have kayaks for guests (and for free). I know Sammy's does and I believe Fernandez Bay and Pigeon Cay do as well.

I have never kayaked before and on our last trip to Long Island - Cape Santa Maria resort we kayaked to a nearby offshore cay (quite close) in shallow very calm waters. It was very easy and a great experience. You can also paddle around the bend and reach another nearby beach that is across from the cay. We felt very safe (even though we were the only ones on this offshore sandbar) as you can see the resort at all times and the water is extremely calm.

Hello

We stayed at Palm Bay Beach Club in Exuma last December and did a half day kayaking trip with the company next to the hotel ("Starfish").

It was fantastic!! It was just me and my husband in a double kayak, plus the guide.

He took us to the south of the island where we went through mangrove forests, the clearest turquoise water / white sand beaches I've ever seen and we didn't see a soul, except for a baby shark :)

My husband had never kayaked before but the water was very calm so it was fine and I'd really recommend it.