Best Beaches in the Bahamas

On the southernmost shores of Elbow cay, Tahiti brings together the Caribbean dream: white sand, coconut palms and clear, calm waters that reveal a spectacular sandbar at low tide. Unreachable by car, you have to either walk, cycle or hop on a boat to get here – but it’s so worth the extra travel. This quiet beach has stunning scenery and you can easily spend the day here; either swimming in the warm sea, or soaking up the sun.

Three and a half miles of drop-dead-gorgeous coastline, north of Marsh Harbour. The softest, whitest sand your toes have ever sunk into, paired with the glimmering turquoise of the Sea of Abaco. Spend the day kayaking, sailing, swimming or snoozing and taking breaks to refuel on conch fritters at the Coco Beach Bar and Grill.

Big Major is an uninhabited island, except for a population of twenty-something pigs enjoying the good life on the white sands, clear waters and lush almond trees… These oddly charming creatures can be seen basking on the beach and dashing out of the greenery when boats come into the bay. Excellent swimmers and friendly as can be, visitors can join them splashing about in the shallows or rolling around on the beach. Several operators run trips to the beach, supplying food for the pigs who’ll happily eat out of your hands. Bring some extra bread and you’ll have a keen following. No one really knows where the pigs came from – maybe they swam to safety from a shipwreck – but there’s something special about this beach like no other.

A little outside of Williams Town, this crescent shaped beach has beautifully white sand and blue-as-can-be water. It’s the longest beach on Little Exuma, and the prettiest for miles around - sometimes with only a handful of other people to share it with, if any. The beach is commonly known of as the Tropic of Cancer beach, because the line runs straight through it. There’s brilliant snorkelling in the shallows. You won’t find oodles of facilities and getting here can take a while – but boy it’s worth it.

This is the famous ‘Bahamian Riviera’, and there isn’t much that Cable Beach doesn’t have along its two and a half miles of perfectly pale sand and shallow, blue waters. More beach and water activities than you can shake a snorkel at? Tick. The biggest and best nightlife on the island? Tick. High-end resorts with all the trimmings? Yes indeed – check out Sandals Royal Bahamian. Three miles west of Nassau on the north coast of New Providence, it’s easy enough to reach even if you’re not based in one of the beachfront hotels.

Minutes from Bay Street and overlooking the harbour, the pale sands of Junkanoo beach (AKA Western Esplanade) are a popular tourist spot, with a volleyball net, stalls selling knick-knacks and beach restaurants (don’t miss the Tiki Bikini Hut which does awesome food and drink deals). All manner of beach activities is available, including snorkelling, paddle boarding and kayaking.

Admittedly a rather bizarre name, but we’ve never seen cabbage look so good - now this is what we call Caribbean seaside. Fine, white sands stretch for a couple of miles on Paradise Island’s longest beach, which is dotted with palms, sea grapes, with clear blue waters lapping against it. The eastern end tends to be quieter for a proper desert island feel.

Three miles of yellowy-pink sand (watch it glow as the sun sets), contrasting the bright turquoise sea make this one of the most spectacular beaches in the Bahamas. Protective reefs make snorkelling and swimming a dream. If ever there was a bucket list of beaches, this is most definitely one of them.

There’s oodles to do on Taino beach – home to the Junkanoo Beach Club and a whole host of water and land activities. Shop the market stalls for souvenirs or get involved with the cook-outs on public holidays. We like the bit over by the Fish Fry – the beach tends to be a bit quieter in the day, then everything comes to life in the restaurants and bars later on. Smith’s Point hosts its famous fish fry on Wednesday evenings where you can taste local dishes, drink cocktails and dance ‘til gone midnight. The Taino Beach Park behind has a wonderful nature trail as well as a playground and benches.

Near the Port Lucaya Marketplace on the southwestern edge of the island, Lucaya’s the most popular tourist beach on the island. You’d struggle to find a beach activity not offered here – snorkelling, parasailing, paddleboarding, volleyball, hair braiding…. This stretch of sand is good for beach walks, or just sitting to watch the world go by. Don’t miss the Bahamian grub at Billy Joe’s, where “The Conch Man” has been serving seafood and cocktails for a good 30 years or so. The beach is split into a public area (behind police station) and resort beaches which you can get day passes to.