A Tour of Nassau With the “People to People” Experience

Juli Russ5.16.19On our latest Disney Cruise we decided to try something new when we stopped in Nassau for the day. In the past we have visited the Straw Market, shopped, and gotten a bite to eat at local restaurants. On this trip we chose to tour the island with an ambassador from People to People. People to People is a tour excursion provided by the Bahamas Board of Tourism.The first step was to visit the Bahamas website where we found the People to People link. We completed a guest registration informing the tourism board which island we would be visiting, when we would be visiting and what we were interested in seeing while we were in the Bahamas. What we were most interested in seeing were the non-touristy areas of the island and having lunch in a local restaurant. The tourism board then matched our family with an Ambassador who would be our guide for the day.Approximately one month prior to our arrival we received an email from our Ambassador, Ulease. She asked us how much time we had to spend with her, how we would like to spend our time and if there was anything specific we would like to see. We communicated through email several times getting to know each other and planning our time together. As our day in Nassau grew closer, Ulease let us know the color of her car, her license plate number, provided her cell phone number for us and let us know where to meet her. She also asked what we would be wearing so I sent her a picture of our family and what we planned to wear.Once we docked in Nassau we found our meeting spot, a fountain just outside the port, and waited for our Ambassador. The port area is very congested with taxis, tour busses and people but we had no problems finding Ulease, as she was right where she said she would be near the fountain.Ulease is a lovely lady who told us all about herself as we drove away from the port. She drove us past the beach where she swims each morning near the port. We drove through some poor areas of town to a beach on the far side of the island. It was a beautiful spot where I could have easily spent the entire day, but Ulease had more exciting plans for us. Ulease was very thorough in her tour, she even pointed out sea grapes growing in a tree right on the beach, my husband was the only one of us brave enough to try them.  We continued touring the island, asking questions for which Ulease was very sweet to answer. We discovered that many of the partially constructed, abandoned homes are left that way for not just lack of money but because the building took place on the wrong property! We also drove by some very nice homes, many owned by celebrities. Hearing from a local resident how life on the island truly is was very interesting.We drove in to a nice, moderate neighborhood as Ulease told us about her “special angel” grandson and her daughter who had graduated from a U.S. university on a full scholarship. As it turned out Ulease had driven us to her neighborhood so we could meet her family. Her daughter was a delight and gave our high school senior some great college advice. We also met her grandson who is disabled and bed bound, definitely a special angel. His face lit up when my daughter walked into his room, he laughed with us and in his way showed us his favorite tv show. For me, this was the highlight of our day.On our way back to the ship Ulease took us to Goldies Conch House for some local cuisine. We loved the conch balls and conch salad. Of course, while we were there we treated ourselves to a Pina Colada, virgins for the kids and Ulease. After lunch we were dropped back at the ship in plenty of time to enjoy some time at the pool deck.We all enjoyed our time with Ulease and would request her to be our Ambassador on our next visit to Nassau. There is no charge for the Ambassadors, we did offer to buy her lunch and left her a tip. I would absolutely recommend the People to People program to those looking for a real look at Bahamian life. If you would like to know more about our experience or would like to plan your own excursion with People to People, please email me at julir@wishesfamilytravel.com.Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.https://www.instagram.com/travel.with.juli/