we are vacationing in january and wanted to know what the weather is like. is it warm? can we swim? some people say its hot in daytime and cool at night other say its cool days and cooler nights

Daytime temps can be in the low 80s, but it can be in the 60s at night. For me, the water would be too cold to swim and this isn't particularly beach weather. And if there's rain or clouds, it can be very chilly even during the day. The weather is similar to Miami. The thing to remember about the Bahamas is that it's warm in the day, but not nearly as warm as in the Caribbean.

Is it any warmer in mid - late Feb? Does it make much of a difference if you go to the southernmost Outislands?

Doug must have had better experiences than we have had over the years in the Bahamas in Jan. We were fortunate if we had 1 day at 80 but saw 70-75 most days and 60 at night throughout 5 islands in the chain except T&C where we experiences 3-5 degrees warmer daily highs on 2 trips 3 yrs. and about 6-7 years ago.

I have been in Freeport in Feb. and it was chilly during the day too. We could sit out by the pool in bathing suits, but it was too cool to swim. It was quite windy on the beach.

Particularly if you want to snorkel, the waters will be a little chilly in Jan, Feb. Easy to reach places with guaranteed comfortable air and water are Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands.