Bahamas
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Bahamas GALLERY
2020 2020 Fodor’s Go List Destination
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Made up of 700 islands—some busy and bustling, some isolated and inhabited by no one but hermit crabs and seagulls—the Bahamas offers an alluring mix of land and sea activities. From Nassau to Eleuthera, you can play golf on a seaside fairway, dive dramatic wrecks and reefs, and sail in crystal clear water. Accommodations run the gamut from simple inns to sophisticated retreats, from practical fishing lodges to romantic honeymoon hideaways. And for those who look a little closer, there's a fascinating and diverse culture to be explored.

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20 Ultimate Things to Do In The Bahamas

Jessica Robertson

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New Providence and Paradise Islands

An incongruous mix of glitzy casinos and quiet shady lanes, splashy megaresorts and tiny settlements that recall a distant simpler age, land...

The Southern Out Islands

Wild and windswept, the southern Bahamian islands are idyllic Edens for those adventurers who want to battle a tarpon, dive a "wall" that drops...

Grand Bahama Island

Natural beauty conspires with resort vitality to make Grand Bahama Island one of the Bahamas' most well-rounded, diverse destinations. In its...

Eleuthera and Harbour Island

You haven't experienced a real escape until you've vacationed in Eleuthera. Simple luxury resorts are the norm, deserted expanses of white-...

Nassau

Nassau's sheltered harbor bustles with cruise-ship activity, while a block away Bay Street's sidewalks are crowded with shoppers who duck into...

Andros

The Bahamas' largest island (100 miles long and 40 miles wide) and one of the least explored, Andros's landmass is carved up by myriad channels...

Lucaya

On Grand Bahama's southern coast, Lucaya was developed after western neighbor Freeport as another resort center, this one on the beach and harbor...

Long Island

Long Island lives up to its name—80 gorgeous miles are available for you to explore. The Queen's Highway traverses its length, through the Tropic...

Great Abaco Island

If arriving by air, your trip will begin on Great Abaco, the main island. It's bordered on its eastern side by a chain of cays that extend from...

Harbour Island

Harbour Island has often been called the Nantucket of the Caribbean and the prettiest of the Out Islands because of its powdery pink-sand beaches...

Great Exuma

George Town is the capital and largest town on the mainland, a lovely seaside community with darling pink government buildings overlooking...

Bimini

Bimini has long been known as the Bahamas' big game-fishing capital. Bimini's strong tourist season falls from spring through summer, when calmer...

Cat Island

You'll be purring on Cat Island's exquisite pink-sand beaches and sparkling white-sand-ringed coves, as calm and clear as a spa pool. Largely...

Paradise Island

The graceful, arched Paradise Island bridges ($1 round-trip toll for cars and motorbikes; free for bicyclists and pedestrians) lead to and from...

Green Turtle Cay

This tiny 3-mile-by-½-mile island is steeped in Loyalist history; some residents can trace their heritage back more than 200 years. Dotted with...

Elbow Cay

Five-mile-long Elbow Cay's main attraction is the charming village of Hope Town . The saltbox cottages—painted in bright colors—with their...

Governor's Harbour

Governor's Harbour, the capital of Eleuthera and home to government offices, is the largest town on the island and one of the prettiest. Victorian...

San Salvador

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus disrupted the lives of the peaceful Lucayan Indians when he landed on the island of Guanahani, which...

Marsh Harbour

Most visitors to the Abacos make their first stop in Marsh Harbour, the Bahamas' third-largest city and the Abacos' commercial center. Besides...

South Long Island: Deadman's Cay to Gordon's

The most populated area on the island is Deadman's Cay . This umbrella central settlement covers all the communities stretching from Gray...

Freeport

Freeport, once an attractive, planned city of modern shopping centers, resorts, and other convenient tourist facilities, took a bad hit from...

North Long Island: Cape Santa Maria to Gray's

In the far north you will find two large resort communities: Cape Santa Maria and Stella Maris . Scattered between are the small settlements...

The Exuma Cays

A band of cays—with names like Rudder Cut , Big Farmer's , Great Guana , and Leaf —stretches northwest from Great Exuma. It will take you...

Inagua

Inagua does indeed feel like the southernmost island in the Bahamas' 700 mile-long chain. Just 50 miles from Cuba, it's not easy to get to—there...

The Berry Islands

Discovered by a lucky few and pristine in beauty, the Berry Islands consist of more than two-dozen small islands and almost a hundred tiny cays...

Gregory Town and North Eleuthera

Gregory Town is a sleepy community, except on Friday nights when people are looking for music, whether that is speakers blasting reggae or a...

Treasure Cay

Twenty miles north of Marsh Harbour is Treasure Cay, technically not an island but a large peninsula connected to Great Abaco by a narrow spit...

New Bight

Yachts large and small anchor off the coast of Regatta Beach, and boaters dingy in to the Custom House, located in a small collection of government...

Rock Sound and South Eleuthera

One of Eleuthera's largest settlements, the village of Rock Sound has a small airport serving the island's southern part. Front Street, the...

Man-O-War Cay

Fewer than 300 people live on skinny, 2½-mile-long Man-O-War Cay, many of them descendants of early Loyalist settlers who started the tradition...

Great Guana Cay

The essence of Great Guana Cay can be summed up by its unofficial motto, painted on a hand-lettered sign: "It's better in the Bahamas, but it...

Crooked and Acklins Islands

Crooked Island is 30 miles long and surrounded by 45 miles of barrier reefs that are ideal for diving and fishing. They slope from 4 feet to...

Arthur's Town and Bennett's Harbour

Arthur's Town's claim to fame is that it was the boyhood home of actor Sidney Poitier, who wrote about growing up here in his autobiography...

Hatchet Bay

Hatchet Bay, which has one of mid-Eleuthera's few marinas, is a good place to find a fishing guide and friendly locals. Take note of the town...

Little Exuma

Scenes from two Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed on the southern end of Little Exuma—only 12 square miles—and on one of the little...

Devil's Point

The small village of Devil's Point, with its bright-walled, thatch-roof houses, lies at the southern tip of the Queen's Highway 9 miles southwest...

Port Howe

At the conch shell–lined traffic roundabout at the southernmost end of the Queen's Highway, you must turn either east or west; head east out...

Spanish Wells

Off Eleuthera's northern tip lies St. George's Cay, the site of Spanish Wells. The Spaniards used this as a safe harbor during the 17th century...

Spanish Cay

Only 3 miles long, this privately owned island was once the exclusive retreat of millionaires, and many visitors still arrive by yacht or private...

Nassau

Nassau's sheltered harbor bustles with cruise-ship activity, while a block away Bay Street's sidewalks are crowded with shoppers who duck into...

Lucaya

On Grand Bahama's southern coast, Lucaya was developed after western neighbor Freeport as another resort center, this one on the beach and harbor...

Governor's Harbour

Governor's Harbour, the capital of Eleuthera and home to government offices, is the largest town on the island and one of the prettiest. Victorian...

Marsh Harbour

Most visitors to the Abacos make their first stop in Marsh Harbour, the Bahamas' third-largest city and the Abacos' commercial center. Besides...

Freeport

Freeport, once an attractive, planned city of modern shopping centers, resorts, and other convenient tourist facilities, took a bad hit from...

Gregory Town and North Eleuthera

Gregory Town is a sleepy community, except on Friday nights when people are looking for music, whether that is speakers blasting reggae or a...

New Bight

Yachts large and small anchor off the coast of Regatta Beach, and boaters dingy in to the Custom House, located in a small collection of government...

Rock Sound and South Eleuthera

One of Eleuthera's largest settlements, the village of Rock Sound has a small airport serving the island's southern part. Front Street, the...

Arthur's Town and Bennett's Harbour

Arthur's Town's claim to fame is that it was the boyhood home of actor Sidney Poitier, who wrote about growing up here in his autobiography...

Hatchet Bay

Hatchet Bay, which has one of mid-Eleuthera's few marinas, is a good place to find a fishing guide and friendly locals. Take note of the town...

Devil's Point

The small village of Devil's Point, with its bright-walled, thatch-roof houses, lies at the southern tip of the Queen's Highway 9 miles southwest...

Port Howe

At the conch shell–lined traffic roundabout at the southernmost end of the Queen's Highway, you must turn either east or west; head east out...

Spanish Wells

Off Eleuthera's northern tip lies St. George's Cay, the site of Spanish Wells. The Spaniards used this as a safe harbor during the 17th century...

The Abacos

The attitude of the Abacos might best be expressed by the sign posted in the window of Vernon's Grocery in Hope Town: "If you're looking for...

Andros, Bimini, and the Berry Islands

Legends loom large (and small) on these northwestern Bahamas islands. On Bimini, you'll hear about the lost underwater city of Atlantis, Ernest...

The Exumas

The Exumas are known for their gorgeous 365 cays—most uninhabited, some owned by celebrities. Get the wind and sea salt in your hair as you...

North Bimini

Bimini's capital, Alice Town , is at North Bimini's southern end. It's colorful, painted in happy Caribbean pastels, and by night and day is...

Central Andros

Those arriving in Central Andros by Bahamas Ferries from Nassau will arrive in the village of Fresh Creek ; those arriving by plane will...

Fernandez Bay to Riding Rock Point

In 1492 the inspiring sight that greeted Christopher Columbus by moonlight at 2 am was a terrain of gleaming beaches and far-reaching forest...

South of Marsh Harbour

Thirty minutes south of Marsh Harbour, the small, eclectic artists' colony of Little Harbour was settled by the Johnston family more than...

North Andros

The northern part of Andros spreads from the settlements of Morgan's Bluff , Nicholl's Town , and Red Bays and ends at Stafford Creek ...

Greater Grand Bahama

Farther out on either side of the Freeport–Lucaya development, the island reverts to natural pine forest, fishing settlements, and quiet secluded...

South Bimini

Bigger, with nicer beaches and higher elevation than low-lying North Bimini, South Bimini is nonetheless the quieter of the two islands. Home...

Mangrove Cay

Remote Mangrove Cay is sandwiched between two sea-green bights that separate it from Central and South Andros, creating an island of shorelines...

South Andros

South Andros's road stretches 25 miles from Drigg's Hill —a small settlement of pastel houses, a tiny church, a grocery store, the government...

Elsewhere on San Salvador

Sometimes you just don't want to stay put at the resort. San Salvador's off-the-beaten-path places require some work, but make interesting...

Eastern New Providence

...

New Providence and Paradise Islands

An incongruous mix of glitzy casinos and quiet shady lanes, splashy megaresorts and tiny settlements that recall a distant simpler age, land...

The Southern Out Islands

Wild and windswept, the southern Bahamian islands are idyllic Edens for those adventurers who want to battle a tarpon, dive a "wall" that drops...

Grand Bahama Island

Natural beauty conspires with resort vitality to make Grand Bahama Island one of the Bahamas' most well-rounded, diverse destinations. In its...

Eleuthera and Harbour Island

You haven't experienced a real escape until you've vacationed in Eleuthera. Simple luxury resorts are the norm, deserted expanses of white-...

Andros

The Bahamas' largest island (100 miles long and 40 miles wide) and one of the least explored, Andros's landmass is carved up by myriad channels...

Long Island

Long Island lives up to its name—80 gorgeous miles are available for you to explore. The Queen's Highway traverses its length, through the Tropic...

Great Abaco Island

If arriving by air, your trip will begin on Great Abaco, the main island. It's bordered on its eastern side by a chain of cays that extend from...

Harbour Island

Harbour Island has often been called the Nantucket of the Caribbean and the prettiest of the Out Islands because of its powdery pink-sand beaches...

Great Exuma

George Town is the capital and largest town on the mainland, a lovely seaside community with darling pink government buildings overlooking...

Bimini

Bimini has long been known as the Bahamas' big game-fishing capital. Bimini's strong tourist season falls from spring through summer, when calmer...

Cat Island

You'll be purring on Cat Island's exquisite pink-sand beaches and sparkling white-sand-ringed coves, as calm and clear as a spa pool. Largely...

Paradise Island

The graceful, arched Paradise Island bridges ($1 round-trip toll for cars and motorbikes; free for bicyclists and pedestrians) lead to and from...

Green Turtle Cay

This tiny 3-mile-by-½-mile island is steeped in Loyalist history; some residents can trace their heritage back more than 200 years. Dotted with...

Elbow Cay

Five-mile-long Elbow Cay's main attraction is the charming village of Hope Town . The saltbox cottages—painted in bright colors—with their...

San Salvador

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus disrupted the lives of the peaceful Lucayan Indians when he landed on the island of Guanahani, which...

South Long Island: Deadman's Cay to Gordon's

The most populated area on the island is Deadman's Cay . This umbrella central settlement covers all the communities stretching from Gray...

North Long Island: Cape Santa Maria to Gray's

In the far north you will find two large resort communities: Cape Santa Maria and Stella Maris . Scattered between are the small settlements...

Inagua

Inagua does indeed feel like the southernmost island in the Bahamas' 700 mile-long chain. Just 50 miles from Cuba, it's not easy to get to—there...

The Exuma Cays

A band of cays—with names like Rudder Cut , Big Farmer's , Great Guana , and Leaf —stretches northwest from Great Exuma. It will take you...

The Berry Islands

Discovered by a lucky few and pristine in beauty, the Berry Islands consist of more than two-dozen small islands and almost a hundred tiny cays...

Treasure Cay

Twenty miles north of Marsh Harbour is Treasure Cay, technically not an island but a large peninsula connected to Great Abaco by a narrow spit...

Great Guana Cay

The essence of Great Guana Cay can be summed up by its unofficial motto, painted on a hand-lettered sign: "It's better in the Bahamas, but it...

Man-O-War Cay

Fewer than 300 people live on skinny, 2½-mile-long Man-O-War Cay, many of them descendants of early Loyalist settlers who started the tradition...

Crooked and Acklins Islands

Crooked Island is 30 miles long and surrounded by 45 miles of barrier reefs that are ideal for diving and fishing. They slope from 4 feet to...

Little Exuma

Scenes from two Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed on the southern end of Little Exuma—only 12 square miles—and on one of the little...

Spanish Cay

Only 3 miles long, this privately owned island was once the exclusive retreat of millionaires, and many visitors still arrive by yacht or private...

All Destinations
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Andros, Bimini, and the Berry Islands

Eleuthera and Harbour Island

Grand Bahama Island

New Providence and Paradise Islands

The Abacos

The Exumas

The Southern Out Islands

Andros, Bimini, and the Berry Islands

New Providence and Paradise Islands

The Southern Out Islands

Eleuthera and Harbour Island

The Abacos

Grand Bahama Island

The Exumas

SEE ALL

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