World Country Guide

The Main Islands

The main towns are Freeport/Lucaya, which has an airport, and West End. The island offers wide white sandy beaches, two casinos and good shopping facilities, entertainment and restaurants at the International Bazaar and Port Lucaya. The Rand Memorial Nature Centre offers an excellent nature walk and the Garden of the Groves has exotic flowers, waterfalls and colourful birds.
These stretch across a huge area of clear ocean and are fringed with hundreds of kilometres of white sandy beaches. The islands have resort facilities for groups of up to 200 people and are ideal for a relaxing, secluded holiday. Though secluded, the islands are not isolated. They are served by the national flag carrier, Bahamasair, from Nassau and Freeport. The main Out Islands are described below.
The largest but probably the least known of the bigger islands. Laced with creeks and densely forested inland, the interior is still largely untouched and natural. Off the eastern shore is the 224km- (140 mile-) long coral barrier reef – the world’s third longest. Beyond the reef, the ocean floor drops away steeply to a depth of more than 1.5km (1 mile); called the Tongue of the Ocean, deep-water fishing is a major attraction here.
A crescent-shaped chain of islands to the north of New Providence. Many of the towns here have the atmosphere of New England fishing villages. The islands are particularly noted for their tradition of shipbuilding, the original 200-year-old practice that can still be observed in Man-O-War Cay. Treasure Cay has an excellent golf course and here, as in the other major islands, there are excellent leisure facilities. Other attractions include Alton Lowe’s Museum in New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, Elbow Cay and Marsh Harbour, the bare-boat charter centre of the northern Bahamas. Scuba-divers are drawn to Pelican Cay National Park, an underwater preserve where night dives can be arranged.
A narrow island 177km (110 miles) long but seldom more than 3km (2 miles) wide. Attractions include the Ocean Hole, Glass Window Bridge, Harbour Island (with Dunmore Town, one of the oldest settlements in The Bahamas), Spanish Wells, off the northern tip of the island, Preacher’s Cave and the underwater caves at Hatchet Bay. The scuba-diving from Eleuthera is particularly superb.
The waters surrounding this 160km- (100 mile-) long chain of islands have been described by yachtsmen as being the finest cruising region in the world. There are also spectacular reefs protected by the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Inland, several once-great plantation houses now stand ruined and deserted, although the names of their owners still live on in many local family surnames. In April, Elizabeth Harbour is the setting for the Family Island Regatta.
One of the eastern bulwarks of The Bahamas, Cat Island has 60m (200ft) cliffs (a rare height for The Bahamas), dense natural forest and pre-Columbian Arawak Indian caves. On Mount Alvernia is the Hermitage built by Father Jerome. The Cat Island Regatta takes place here during the August bank holiday.
Lying between Andros and Florida, Bimini is widely regarded as one of the best fishing centres in the world. Hemingway used to live in Alice Town in Blue Marlin Cottage, and mementos of his life can be seen in the local museum.
Popular with fishing enthusiasts and also noted for its serene landscapes and white sand beaches. Great Harbour Cay has a championship golf course and a marina. Scuba-divers can admire the underwater rock formations and 5m (15ft) staghorn coral reefs off Mamma Rhoda Rock.
An exotic lagoon where visitors can enjoy close encounters with friendly bottle-nosed dolphins. Regular 45-minute sessions include an educational talk and about 30 minutes of swimming in the water with the dolphins.
This island certainly lives up to its name, being almost 100km (60 miles) long but rarely more than 5km (3 miles) wide. The landscape consists of rugged headlands dropping sharply down to the sea, fertile pastureland, rolling hills and sandy beaches washed by surf. At Conception Island, divers can explore over 30 shipwrecks and tours are arranged from the Stella Maris Resort Club at the north end of the island. The Long Island Regatta at Salt Pond takes place here in May.
This was Columbus’ first landing place in the New World. Cockburn Town is the main settlement, which is not far from the spot where Columbus is said to have landed, although other sites also claim this distinction. Game fishing and diving are the most popular pastimes.