The Caribbean Island vacation people dream of typically has the same allures and creates the same portrait, with perhaps a few minor differences.

The brushstrokes are often similar for all who consider going to The Bahamas – clear oceanic waters, white sugary sand shores and the sprawling resort. The picture basically paints itself. Add a five-day or week-long respite from the demands of work life, and you’ve got the outline of a perfect Bahamian vacation.

But what if one dreamed bigger? What if the getaway wasn’t for the standard five to seven days, but instead for as long as one’s schedule allowed?

What if the teeming masses of multi-generational crowds, from retirees to recent graduates to bustling vacationers, were an entire ocean away? What if, instead of a beach that’s only private during the wee hours before dawn, the entire beach was almost completely yours?

Dreaming further and painting in finer brushstrokes, what if the Bahamian getaway was in a secluded and safe community that provided activities and amenities for every member of the family, from toddlers to retirees, replete with pickleball and tennis courts, an entire PGA-approved golf course with views of the Atlantic and the Caribbean, and beach toys from sandcastle pails to paddle bikes to kayaks that are all free for use, any time you like, complete with coordinators and guides for each activity? 

What if the vision that landlocked-places like Kalihari and Great Wolf Lodge both cast was realized and lasted forever?

What starts as a mere outline becomes that masterpiece on the island of Grand Abaco, hidden away in a place called Winding Bay. The Edenic scenario painted by so many resort websites and brochures takes shape at a place called The Abaco Club.

And rather than simply leasing the dream of an island life for the few days a resort can provide, this dream is one you can own.

The Abaco Club is an exclusive residential community, located on the Atlantic side of Grand Abaco. The club, which sprawls along Winding Bay, a crescent shaped inlet with a few cay islands that are safely accessible by kayak from the shore, is a breathtaking sight to behold, full of the promise that Caribbean vacations offer, but without a swarm of vacationing others to cloud the view.

In fact, the only beachgoers one is likely to encounter are other similarly minded families who share the same unfettered dreams of living with their toes in the sand and their eyes on the cerulean horizon.

The club offers the aforementioned beach entertainments; two restaurants, full pickleball, basketball and tennis courts; a golf course that is the show stopping jewel of the PGA Korn Ferry tour’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club; as well as the Abaco Yacht Club, from where you can set sail for deep sea fishing, lobster hunting, a trip to nearby Firefly Bar and Grill, or to Elbow Cay, where the bar and grill are available by water or sandbar walkup.

All the while that one is at The Abaco Club, both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean’s waters provide an unparalleled backdrop for all activities. Nearly every hole on the golf course keeps the coast in view, and the two-and-a-half-mile beach on Winding Bay’s Caribbean crescent curve is visible from almost every residence and from both restaurants.

The deeper blue of the Atlantic surges against the other side of the club, creating the idyllic calming rhythm, which is an ideal complement to a newly finished sunrise yoga deck. There, too, the ocean has carved out a private cove beach that is beyond compare, mere steps from both the 18th hole and the yoga deck.

Because the club is a residential community, access to The Abaco Club has been limited by word of mouth and realty availability.

But, since the club is nearing the final touches of construction on The Cays at Abaco, a collection of residential villas that will soon be complete, it is now possible for more people to be let in on the dream of a part-time life in paradise.

Outfitted with open-air design and all the apportionments that life on the mainland demands, The Cays at Abaco, as well as The Abaco Club itself, overdeliver on the promise of a perfect getaway and paint the perfect portrait of what life could be like.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cover photo courtesy The Abaco Club

Daniel Ramirez is a native Texan who has written about the life, leisure and legends of the Lone Star State. From music to food to film, he is always looking to remind the world that the cultural epicenter of the U.S. is just as rooted in Texas as it is on either coast. With his own roots firmly established in Houston, Austin and Central Texas, his nomadic pursuits are always grounded in a familiar mantra – Texas Forever.