What you get in Exuma is something rarer: water so improbably turquoise it looks altered, a string of largely undeveloped cays stretching toward the horizon, and a pace of life that makes it easy to forget the rest of the world exists. For honeymooners, that’s exactly the point.
Getting There & Getting Around
Grand Isle sits just 15 minutes from Exuma International Airport — a mercifully short ride that gets couples to their villa before the travel day has a chance to wear on them. The resort itself is equally manageable; golf carts are available to rent, though even the most distant villa is only a five-minute walk from the heart of the property. It’s that kind of place — unhurried, unsprawling, and easy to settle into.
The Villas
Forget “hotel room.” Grand Isle’s two-bedroom villas feel more like a private home at the edge of the Caribbean. Spread across two levels with well over 1,000 square feet, each features two-and-a-half bathrooms, a full kitchen, spacious dining and living areas, and balconies overlooking the water. Nicer than home, frankly — and that’s the idea.
Dining
Food here punches well above the typical resort standard. Mornings start at Palapa, where the seafood omelette is worth building your schedule around. Lunch splits between Palapa — standouts include mahi-mahi fish and chips and a chicken, shrimp, or fish gyro — and Sandy Toes Jerk Hut, a lively open-air grill right on the sand with barbecue ribs, chicken, pork, and shrimp off the fire. Evenings offer a choice between the relaxed Palapa setting and Twenty-Three North, the resort’s upscale dining room, where lobster tails and a more celebratory atmosphere await.
Activities
Exuma’s most famous attraction needs little introduction — a short boat excursion brings you to Big Major Cay, where a colony of swimming pigs has become one of the Caribbean’s most talked-about and photographed experiences. It’s playful, unexpected, and the kind of memory that stays with you long after the tan fades. Closer to home, Grand Isle’s beach is a destination in its own right — a sweep of soft sand and calm, impossibly clear water that invites nothing more ambitious than a long afternoon of doing very little. For newlyweds, that’s not a shortcoming. That’s the whole point.
The Verdict
For honeymooners who want more than a beach chair and a swim-up bar, Grand Isle Resort & Villas is worth serious consideration. The villas offer real space and privacy, the dining consistently impresses, and Exuma itself remains one of the Caribbean’s most unspoiled destinations. It earns its place on any serious honeymoon shortlist.
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