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The best guide to the Bahamas, updated every yearSeaside golf courses, spectacular dive sites, and waters with tournament-class fishing
Straw markets and the top shops for duty-free perfume, jewelry, china, and more
Resort casinos, hot nightspots, and calypso dance clubs
Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budgetGreat dining, from conch chowder at beachfront cafés to Bahamian-French cuisine in elegant colonial mansions
Posh resorts, top hotels, secluded villas, and intimate inns
Fresh, thorough, practical--from writers you can trustCosts, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands
All reviews based on visits by our savvy writers
21 pages of maps--and dozens of unique featuresImportant Contacts A to Z
Smart Travel Tips
Fodor's Choice
What's Where in the Bahamas
Pleasures & Pastimes, the don't-miss activities
Complete index
And more!
BeachesYou're standing in water so clear you can see straight down to your toes; in the distance, the sea becomes the patchwork of emerald, aqua, and sapphire that you thought existed only in postcards. The torrid Bahamian sun beats inexorably down, and golden sands stretch toward infinity. As you look around, you realize there's only one thing you don't see: other people. And that -- sun, sea, sand -- is the appeal of the Bahamas in a nutshell. Best of all, the concept of private beaches doesn't apply here; all beaches in the Bahamas are public up to the high-water mark. Of course, land access can be restricted, so you may need to boat into that unspoiled Eden -- but if you can get there, it's yours -- for the afternoon, anyway.
In Nassau, the major Cable Beach and Paradise Island hotels sit right on the water, while hotels on the outskirts are always near beaches such as Love Beach and Saunders Beach on the north shore, and Adelaide Beach on the south. On Grand Bahama, only the Lucaya hotels are beachside, but if you're staying in Freeport you'll have access to public beaches like Xanadu Beach, Taino Beach, and the long strip at Williams Town, all local favorites. The Out Islands are similarly brimming with beautiful beaches. One of the most intriguing is the pink-sand beach at Harbour Island, off Eleuthera.
CasinosThere are four glitzy casinos in the Bahamas: two on New Providence Island -- the Crystal Palace Casino at the Nassau Marriott Resort on Cable Beach and the Paradise Island Casino on Paradise Island -- and one on Grand Bahama -- the Princess Casino in Freeport. All have the additional attractions of above-average restaurants, lounges, and colorfully costumed revues.
DiningMost Bahamian cuisine looks to the sea, which provides a cornucopia of fresh products; meat, on the other hand, is often imported and consequently expensive. The islands' signature seafood is the conch; this slow-moving creature abounds in the shallow waters of the Bahamas, and consequently finds its way onto many a menu; its widely touted aphrodisiacal qualities don't hurt its popularity either. Grouper is the headline fish, and you can feast on it and other fish from dawn to dusk if you so desire. For breakfast, you might try "boil fish," cooked with salt pork, onions, peppers, and spices, or "stew fish," in a rich brown gravy -- both are usually served with grits or mildly sweet johnnycake.
FishingThis country is an angler's dream. Light tackle, heavy tackle, fly-fishing, deep-sea fishing, reef fishing, fishing for blue marlin, bonefishing -- you name it. Fishing in the Bahamas starts in the waters of Bimini off the Florida coast and ends at the southernmost island, Inagua, on the northern edge of the Caribbean. Tournaments pop up all over the Out Islands during the year -- Bimini alone has a dozen.
GolfGolfers will find some enticing courses, most of them with refreshing sea views. The 18-hole, par-72 championship courses on New Providence and Paradise islands are all spectacularly beautiful and will put your swing to the test. Cable Beach Golf Club is on West Bay Street in Nassau, across the boulevard from Breezes. The course at South Ocean Beach & Golf Resort, an elegant spot on the island's south coast, is secluded and scenic. A third course, Paradise Island Golf Club, covers most of the east end of Paradise Island. All three courses are open to the public, and instruction is available.
JunkanooMuch of the Bahamians' music carries echoes of African rhythms, Caribbean calypso, English folk songs, and its own hearty beat. Nowhere is the Bahamians' zest for life more exuberantly expressed than in the Junkanoo celebrations held yearly on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and New Year's Day. Beginning at 2 am, the darkened streets come alive with raucous revelers dressed in costumes representing everything from kaleidoscopic dragons to eye-poppingly bright fish. Competing groups carry elaborately adorned floats fashioned from cardboard fastened to aluminum rods and decorated with glitter and crepe paper. The results of a year's worth of fiercely secret preparations, the most ornate of these floats can weigh up to 400 pounds. The music, too, is distinctly Bahamian and indisputably clamorous, filling the breezy night with the sounds of goatskin drums, clanging cowbells, and shrieking whistles. The celebration gets more imaginative, more colorful, and noisier every year.
People-to-People ProgrammeThe free People-to-People Programme, a popular social event in the islands, gives visitors a more intimate glimpse of Bahamian life. The most extensive programs are on New Providence and Grand Bahama islands, where coordinators match visitors with Bahamians who have similar interests. Your hosts may show you around their town, invite you to attend a church service or community event, or even ask you into their home for a meal.
Sailing and SeafaringCrystal seas tinted every color from deep sapphire to pale aqua are dotted with tiny, palm-fringed cays that beckon the weary sailor to step ashore for a brief respite; with more than 700 to visit, the best and only way to reach many of the isles is by ship. And with such pleasures as diving and snorkeling of prime quality here, it would be a shame not to get off the islands for some exploration. Boat rentals are scattered through the islands, making it easy to procure your own craft for a seafaring adventure (most also offer crews for the sailing-challenged).
