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Bahamas travel guide
Secret cays and secluded pink-sand beaches. Transparent sparkling sea and impossibly blue sky. The Bahamas is the ultimate tropical island escape.
The main island destinations in the Bahamas include New Providence Island (Nassau/Paradise Island), Grand Bahama Island, The Exumas, The Abacos, Eleuthera and Harbor Island, Long Island, and San Salvador Island. No two islands are alike, each has its own vibe, its own wonders and its own stories. Find your dream holiday to The Bahamas with our go to guide.
Beaches in the Bahamas
Considering the hundreds of islands dotted about the shallow waters here, the Bahamas were always bound to have some pretty amazing beaches. White sands, crazily clear waters and palms are the order of the day, and while some shores come brimming with activities and attractions, others are deliciously deserted. There are some seriously special spots here, most famously the pink sands of Harbour Island and the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay.
Best Beaches in the Bahamas
Grand Bahama
The most developed beaches can be found on the Main Islands, where Grand Bahama’s Lucaya and Taino beaches have all manner of activities, bars, restaurants, market stalls and events as well as big hotels on the beachfront. That’s not to say these islands don’t have their fair share of secluded spots - Xanadu Beach feels far from the madding crowd.
Abacos
In the Out Islands, the order of the day is generally a lot simpler and calmer. The beaches of the Abaco Islands are perfect for beachcombing for shells and sand dollars as well as fly fishing. Favourites including Cherokee Sound Beach which is said to have the longest dock in the Bahamas. There are always a couple of exceptions to the rule, and if you prefer spots with more going on by way of activities, head to the Great Guana Cay and Treasure Cay beaches.
The Exumas
The Exumas have everything from tiny coves to long stretches like Little Exuma’s Tropic of Cancer. You’ve even got a beach dedicated to burgers on Stocking Island and of course Big Major Cay’s Pig Beach, home to the famous swimming pigs.
Bimini
You can walk for miles along Bimini’s shores, with the Alice Town stretch linking three smaller beaches. There are some absolute gems over here, like Gun Cay’s Honeymoon Harbour which you can reach by boat to paddle among friendly rays and starfish.
Eleuthera & Harbour Island
Surfers gravitate to the beaches around Gregory Town on Eleuthera, while Harbour Island’s a bucket list destination for its Pink Sand Beach – best seen as the suns sets.
San Salvador
Even more idyllic shores can be found on San Salvador, like Snow Bay named for the whiteness of its sand and historic Long Bay, where Columbus is thought to have reached land.
Bahamas geography
Bahamas history
Wildlife in the Bahamas
Activities in the Bahamas
Watersports
Diving in the Bahamas
More coral surrounds the Bahamas than the whole Great Barrier reef, which leaves some seriously spectacular dive sites - the Lucayan National Park off Grand Bahama being the longest underwater system of caves and caverns in the world. The waters here are clear as can be, often with more than 60m of visibility. Each of the islands has dive companies providing courses and tours and you can snorkel from most of the beaches.
Due to the shallow nature of the waters and presence of reefs, the area is no stranger to shipwrecks - something pirates made the most of in days gone by. A lot of the wrecks are shallow enough for snorkelers and beginner scuba divers to explore, like the Sugar Wreck and Hesperus off Grand Bahama Island and Sapona near Bimini. A little deeper beneath the surface, New Providence has the stars of James Bond flicks including the bomber in Thunderball and vessel in Never Say Never Again. Dive deeper still, and amazingly preserved sites include Grand Bahama’s Theo’s Wreck and the Shipyard off Paradise Island. If you fancy a change from ships, there are sunken steam locomotives in the Abacos, and the the Cessna plane in Jaws IV is easily reachable from Jaws Beach on New Providence.
Animal lovers have the chance to dive among wild dolphins and sharks from Grand Bahama. Other places worth visiting include the Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden off western New Providence – snorkeler friendly statues under the sea.
Surfing in the Bahamas
The main surfy islands here are Eleuthera and the Abacos. You’ll find some good spots on San Salvador’s west coast and Rum Cay, but the rest of the islands tend to have far flatter waters.
The best Atlantic swells appear between December and March, and water temperatures are a warm 23-29°C. Eleuthera’s Surfer’s Beach sees the best waves in the Bahamas, with south westerlies creating long left handers and the odd testing right.
James Point Beach just south of it sees some good quality left handers from its point break. You can also surf on Man Island and Harbour Island’s south end. In the Abacos, the best reef breaks are Indicas and the more consistent Garbanzos on Elbow Cay’s east coast for 3-4 footers and Williwaw on Great Guana which tends to have smaller 1-2 foot waves.
While there are only a handful of decent surf spots, Stand Up Paddleboarding is much more easily doable. The big hotels have their own fleet of boards and paddles, or you can join tours to watch sunsets, explore mangroves or paddle out to and around cays. Thanks to the wonderfully clear waters here, you can see fish and rays swim beneath you as you paddle along the coast - the Exumas are particularly good in this department.
Windsurfing & kitesurfing in the Bahamas
New Providence, the Exumas, San Salvador – Rum Cay and Bimini are the most established kiting spots, each home to kitesurfing centres (Cross-shore in NP, Exuma Kitesurfing and Kitehouse in Bimini) where you can book lessons, join tours and hire gear.
Favourite beaches include South Beach and Goodman Bay on New Providence, Silver Beach and Runaway Beach on Great Exuma, Snow Bay on San S. and Bimini’s Alice Town Beach (often known as Kite Beach).
If you have your own equipment, the Abacos have some cracking spots - especially around Green Turtle Cay on Gilliam Bay, loved for their clear water and calm conditions. Nassau had its windsurfing heyday in the eighties, but the sport isn’t as easily found around the Bahamas these days. Some of the bigger hotels still offer lessons and gear though, and Exuma’s Moriah Harbour has good conditions for beginners.
Sailing in the Bahamas
Sailing is huge in this part of the world – it’s possible to sail here from Miami and some of the main invents on the Bahamian calendar include Nassau’s New Year’s Day regatta, the George Town cruising regatta in Exuma and the National Family Island Regatta in the Exumas. Bareboat (popular in the Abacos and Exumas) and crewed charters (available almost anywhere) let you get involved in the action as much or as little as you like, showing you the best parts of the islands from the water.
If you’re sailing for the first time, pick one of the resort hotels which often have a fleet of hobie cats and instructors on hand to teach the basics. Last time we checked, you could also join lessons on Lucaya Beach in Grand Bahama and through the ASA schools in March Harbour in the Abacos.
Fishing in the Bahamas
The Bahamas are the best islands for fishing in the Caribbean – hands down. Made famous by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Bimini’s known as the big game capital of the world – helped by the fact that the gulf stream is just a mile offshore.
Deep sea fishing charters set off from all of the main islands, for full or half day trips almost always ending in cooking your catch (mahi mahi, tuna, wahoo and sailfish are popular) on the beach. Flyfishing is huge here, with excellent flats for bonefish around the Abacos, North and South Bimini and the south coast of New Providence.
Reef fishing and spear fishing are also popular in these parts. As you’d expect, some of the biggest events on the Bahamian calendar are fishing related, including the Bimini Wahoo Smackdown, Bimini Bluefin Tournament, Bahamas Rotary Tuna Classic on Paradise island and the Deep Drop Fishing Championships in Nassau.
Canoeing & kayaking in the Bahamas
Kayaking’s certainly more prevalent than canoeing here, though if you go to New Providence, it’s possible to canoe among the flora and fauna on Lake Nancy, which is incredible.
A lot of the bigger hotels will have their own fleet of sea kayaks, and you’ll also find hire available on some beaches, where you can pootle about in familiar waters. If we had to pick our favourite areas for sea kayaking, it would probably be the Abacos and Exumas, where the waters are fabulously clear and shallow – you can see fish and rays swim underneath you (bring your snorkel) and explore tiddly cays and amazing parts of the coastline.
There are tour companies throughout the islands, with the routes around the Clifton Heritage National Park on New Providence among our favourites. It’s also possible to paddle between mangroves on Great Bahamas Gold Rock Creek, the Moriah Cay National Park in Exumas and the wetlands on Great Abaco.
Land activities
Golf in the Bahamas
The bulk of golfing takes place on the Main Islands. New Providence is home to the Albany course, which was designed by Ernie Else, is frequented by Tiger Woods and Adam Scott and hosts the Hero World Championship. There’s also the Jack Nicklaus’ TPC at Baha Mar, and the Ocean Club Golf Course by Tom Weiskopf over on Paradise Island. Meanwhile on Grand Bahama, you’ll find Trent Jones Jr.’s Reef Club championship course (often featured in the world’s top hundred) and the nine-hole Fortune Hills Golf and Country Club which has the longest par 5 in the Bahamas.
The Abacos and Exumas rule the golf scene in the Out Islands: on Great Abaco you’ll find the Treasure Cay Golf Club, a Dick Wilson course and the private Scot-style Abaco Club co-designed by Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie. Over in the Exumas, Sandals Emerald Bay was masterminded by Greg Norman and is one of the most beautiful courses in the Caribbean, with a third of its holes on a peninsular and others leading through mangroves.
Cycling & mountain biking in the Bahamas
The general nature of the Bahamas is flat – you’ll find yachts longer than the highest peaks here – and for proper mountain biking you’re probably better off somewhere like the St Lucia. But when it comes to cruisier bike rides, the Bahamas are spot on.
The bigger islands have everything from the off-road nature trails of New Providence to the road routes of the Tour de Grand Bahama. Bikes are a brilliant way to get around the smaller islands, stopping off at beaches and ice cream shacks and sometimes riding from one end of the island to another, or completely around a cay. Some of the larger hotels provide bikes for guests, and you’ll also find local companies offering rental and tours.
Walking & hiking in the Bahamas
Though high-altitude hikes are out of the question on these low-lying islands, there are oodles of wonderful walking paths to get stuck into.
Nature lovers should seek out the forested routes in the Clifton National Park on New Providence, where you can find hidden beaches and spot birds and wildlife. On Grand Bahama, there are some wonderful walks between the caves, mangroves and beaches of the Lucayan National Park as well as the Crabbing Bay and Rand Nature birding trails. Look out for the Bahamian Parrot in the Abaco National Park, or if you prefer landmarks and scenery, set off on paths to the beautiful Abaco lighthouses. In the Exumas, we love exploring Stocking Island’s quirky nature trails and viewpoints and the Exuma Sound Trail is well worth taking for sights of beaches and cliffs.
