Baha Mar Bahamas Family Guide (2026): Grand Hyatt Review + Itinerary
Baha Mar Baha Bay Beach Club lounge rental = the best view at the resort!
The Gist: What to Know About Baha Mar with Kids
If you are looking for a Carribean vacation that is easy, has activities for everyone in the family, but also lots of opportunities to relax, Baha Mar might just be it! For us it was the perfect blend of fun, play, adventure and R&R.
Easy nonstop flight (under 2 hours for us)
Stunning beaches and one of the best resort waterparks we’ve experienced
Plenty of food options (with ways to save if you’re strategic)
Great for families with kids of all ages
We made this trip happen using points and miles
This ended up being one of our favorite family vacations ever…the kind where no one wanted to leave.
Is Baha Mar good for families?
Yes! Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas is an excellent resort for families. With a large waterpark, multiple pools, kid-friendly dining, and easy beach access, it offers a balance of relaxation and activities for both kids and adults.
Why We Chose the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
We traveled to Nassau, Bahamas and stayed at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar for spring break, and it truly hit that sweet spot of easy travel, beautiful scenery, and built-in fun for our kids.
And the best part? We used points and miles to make a trip like this actually doable for our family. For us, the nightly rack rate for this resort felt out of reach.
Getting There: Flights, Airport Tips + Transportation
We booked nonstop flights from Charlotte using points earned from an American Airlines CitiBusiness card, one of our favorite strategies for making trips like this happen.
Since we had an early flight, we stayed at the Hyatt Place Charlotte Airport (Billy Graham Parkway) for 5,000 points.
A few quick notes:
Free breakfast included
Airport shuttle available, but fills up quickly (book ahead…we did not and missed out)
We ended up using Uber for flexibility instead of trying to catch an earlier shuttle that was still available.
Even with travel concerns at the time with government shut down, TSA PreCheck had us through security quickly.
The flight itself was just about 1 hour and 45 minutes in the air, making this an incredibly easy international trip.
Immigration in Nassau took about 45 minutes, but it wasn’t a bad experience. There was live Caribbean music playing, which helped set the tone for the trip right away.
Once through, our bags were waiting and customs was quick.
Pro tip: There is a liquor store right after baggage claim. We grabbed local beer for less than half the price we saw at the resort.
For transportation, we took a taxi to Baha Mar:
Cost: $57 for our family of four with luggage
Travel time: about 10 minutes
Always confirm the price before getting in and bring cash, include tip!
Day 1: Arrival, Beach Food Trucks + Baha Bay Waterpark
Baha Mar Baha Bay Waterpark
The dueling water coasters was definitely a family favorite and Jeff and I brought the pain on this one, the kids did not stand a chance!
Check-in at Baha Mar can be busy, but there are separate lines for World of Hyatt members and those with status, which helped us move through more quickly.
We fully expected to wait until 4 PM for our room, but were pleasantly surprised when one was available early.
A couple days prior to our trip, I had checked the Hyatt app for upgrades and we were offered a two queen bed ocean view room with balcony for $97 a night and I grabbed it. The view alone made it worth it, but for Jeff and I, having a balcony gives us almost another room to relax in when kids are watching tv at the end of the night.
After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the beach food trucks and ordered from Streetbird and El Jefe. Sitting in the sand with that turquoise water in front of us was the perfect way to kick off the trip.
From there, we went straight to the Baha Bay waterpark. We didn’t even look for chairs since we knew we wouldn’t be sitting much.
We spent the afternoon riding slides, floating the lazy river, and exploring. The lines were surprisingly manageable, even for spring break.
After the waterpark closed, we stopped by Dean’s Blue Hole before heading back to the room.
Dinner was takeout from Pizza Lab, which has become one of our favorite strategies on trips like this. It saves money, lets everyone relax, and we were able to enjoy dinner out on our balcony with a bottle of wine we had packed. With the ocean view upgrade, this was the best dining view on the property!
Day 2: Baha Bay Beach Club Review + Tips
Baha Mar Baha Bay Beach Club Infinity Pool (the smaller one)
We had reserved chairs at the Baha Bay Beach Club, which ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip.
We started the morning slow with some time in the ocean before heading over when the beach club opened.
The way the Beach Club works is that you reserve chairs in advance (up to 60 days prior to your stay), and the cost of those chairs can be applied toward food and drinks. Anyone age 11 and older needs their own chair.
It is definitely an investment, so we were intentional about using the full credit.
Pro Tip: The kitchen is open from 11:00-5:00 but last orders are around 4:00 ish. I think the best way to manage this is to order lunch right when the kitchen opens and place a second order in that last call for dinner. Both days we were at the water park until 11:30 or so and by the time we got our orders in and got our lunch, it was 12:30/1:00…which makes it harder to think about ordering dinner at 4:00!
The food from 25° North was good, some of it VERY good, and we took a bottle of wine back to our room to help use our credit up.
What we loved most was having guaranteed seating and incredible ocean views without the stress of finding chairs.
Throughout the day, we alternated between relaxing at our chairs and heading over to the waterpark.
One of our favorite rhythms was going back to the waterpark for the last hour before closing. Lines were shorter, temperatures were cooler, and it was such a fun way to end the day.
Day 3: Another Beach Club Day (Is Premium Seating Worth It?)
We spent another day at the Beach Club, this time in the front row premium loungers.
The view was absolutely beautiful, but honestly, we would be just as happy in the second row again and save the extra money.
The flow of the day was very similar…relaxing, reading, waterpark breaks, and an early night.
Baha Bay Beach Club Lounge Rental: This is the view from the second row loungers that cost less than the first row.
Day 4: Exploring Nassau, Bahamas on a Budget
Nassau Bahamas Walking Tour
Parliament Square and Queen Victoria Statue
We decided to venture off property and took the jitney instead of a taxi.
The jitney costs $1.50 per adult and $1 per child, so just $5 total for our family.
To catch it, you walk out of Baha Mar and head to the left toward Bay Street. Take bus #10 or #12 (not 10A).
We hopped off near the cruise port and did a self-guided walking tour, we used this one we found online. It was excellent, but another option I had researched that I would have loved to do (but not offered on Sundays when we went) was this guided walking tour, the tour guide sounds incredible.
Highlights included the Queen’s Staircase, the colorful streets near Graycliff, and a stop at John Watling’s Distillery, where we did a quick free tour and sampled rum.
Bahamas Nassau
Self Guided Walking Tour
Greycliff area was so cute!
For lunch, we went to Twin Brothers at the Fish Fry, mostly because we were low on cash and needed a fish fry that would take credit card. The fish and chips were fresh, the rice and peas were a hit, and the Goombay Smash was our favorite of the trip.
We headed back to the resort in the afternoon to rest before dinner.
We had good food at Marcus, and we actually went to Marcus Up Top for a drink before hand before our reservation and were offered a table there and were told the full menu would be available.
Was this meal expensive? Yes.
Is it overpriced? Yes.
Is that what I expect at a fancy resort? Yes.
We still had a nice meal in a beauitful place with great service. The only thing that we felt like was Highway robbery was that they charged eight dollars for our daughter’s Shirley temples and they each had had two of them and they charge you the same amount for each Shirley Temple. Their two Shirley Temple’s cost more than their salmon kids meal!
After dinner, we walked along the beach and soaked in the views before heading back to the room.
Beautiful Bahamas Water
The pictures do not do it justice!
Day 5: No Chair Strategy + Final Day at Baha Mar
On our last full day, we did not pay to reserve chairs and we also did not go early to save ourselves a spot…something I’m still debating if it was the right move or not.
We made it to the flamingo parade at 9:30 AM, which was quick, free, and fun.
After were able to find chairs in the sand area between the Drift pool and Dean’s Blue Hole, but they filled in quickly after that.
This was also the day we brought our own lunch from things I had packed in our checked luggage: peanut butter sandwiches, apples, and chips, which honeslty was a nice break from eating out and we didn’t have to use time to go find food.
We spent the day enjoying different pools, revisiting the waterpark, and soaking in the last bits of the trip. Fortune pool was the warmest, maybe even too warm if it’s hot out!
One highlight was getting a virgin daiquiri served in a coconut from Daq’s, which was a must-do for our youngest. We all also loved the swim up bar and had a snack and a drink (our youngest brought her big ‘ole coconut drink with her).
We took a short afternoon break back in the room, then headed back out for one final hour at the waterpark before grabbing takeout Pizza Lab again for dinner in the room.
Things We Didn’t Get to Do (But Would Next Time)
We didn’t get to everything, which just gives us a reason to come back.
Kayaking and paddleboarding in the ocean (too windy most days)
The Daq Shak (not on property but walkable from the resort)
The evening fountain show
Fort Fincastle, we have heard the views are awesome
Tips for Visiting Baha Mar with Kids
If you're planning a family trip to Baha Mar, these tips made a big difference for us:
Arrive early if you plan to grab chairs without a reservation
Use the last hour of the waterpark for shorter lines
Bring snacks or simple meals to save money, we requested a microwave to the room using the app
Stop at the airport store for drinks before heading to the resort
Consider the Beach Club for guaranteed seating and exceptional views
Take the jitney into Nassau for a budget-friendly local experience
Is Baha Mar Worth It for Families?
For our family, the answer is yes…at least under the current points redemption of 35,000 points per night at peak season.
This trip gave us the perfect mix of relaxation, fun, and quality time together. Our kids were fully engaged, we were able to truly unwind, and ocean water is just so beautiful.
Using points and miles made a trip like this feel accessible in a way it otherwise wouldn’t have.
If you’re looking for a family-friendly Caribbean resort that balances ease, beauty, and activities, Baha Mar is absolutely worth considering.