Bahamas Travel Guide

Diving

The Bahamas offer some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in the world. Every island is rimmed by coral reefs and crystal clear water. Among the impressive array of coral formations you will experience a dazzling display of colorful sea life including moray eels, barracudas, stingrays, turtles, sand tigers, queen triggerfish, parrotfish and angelfish. Warm temperatures make wetsuits unnecessary. There are popular dive sites off Andros Island, which is bordered by the world's third largest reef, the Biminis. Here you can dive with dolphins and islanders claim that it provides a vantage point of the lost city of Atlantis. Elbow Cay, just off Great Abaco, is a great spot from which to view an amazing array of coral. There is also plenty to offer around New Providence Island including Balmoral Island off the north coast, Clifton Wall and Razorback to the southwest. Many companies rent equipment and offer courses and trips for both novice and experienced divers.

Fishing

There is some excellent fishing in the Bahamas and people come from all over the world to test their skills out on the wide variety of fish. The archipelago is most famous for the deep-sea sport fishing - with the right guide you will find schools of dolphin fish, wahoo, tuna and above all, blue and white marlin. However many fishermen prefer the challenge of fly and spin casting for bonefish on the sandbanks which surround many of the islands. They can be caught year-round, though April and May is spawning time and hence, the most productive months.

Sailing

There's plenty of excellent sailing to be done in the Bahamas; the islands offer gorgeous gin-clear waters and a seemingly endless array of uninhabited cayes inaccessible by any other means. Even around the most popular islands you can drop anchor at some remote spot and enjoy sunny, silent swimming and snorkeling far from the shore. The sheltered waters of the Sea of Abaco and Exuma Sound are good for beginners. For the more competitive, or social, each island holds its own regatta, usually in late summer; the best are to be found on Exuma, Long Island, Nassau/Paradise Island, and Freeport/Lucaya. Non-sailors can charter a crewed boat for a few days of quiet and carefree escape.

Bird-watching

For those who prefer to keep their feet on the ground the Bahamas offer some wonderful bird-watching. Most islands shelter a fairly wild interior where you can find hundreds of different species of birds among the palm savannas and primeval forest. There are dozens of reserves: Great Inagua is best for bird watching, and at Inagua National Park you may see the world's largest flock of West Indian flamingo. Others include Abaco National Park; Man-O-War Cay, off the Abaco Islands; the area around Love Hill on the north-eastern coast of North Andros; and Armbrister Creek, just north of New Bight on Cat Island.

Watersports

The main islands have excellent facilities for just about every kind of beach and water activity, including parasailing, water-skiing and windsurfing. The larger resort hotels generally include watersports in their rates.

Caribbean Cruise

Cruising in the Bahamas is a popular vacation because there are plenty of facilities for travelers to benefit from on-board the boat as it travels casually between some of the most popular spots in the island group. There are various Eastern Caribbean cruises that feature the Bahamas as a destination, most often docking in Nassau's Prince George Wharf and in Freeport, on Grand Bahamas Island. While in the Bahamas, passengers will find pristine beaches to laze on, as well as dozens of things to see and do. The island towns also offer great dining and shopping options for visitors.

The islands offer many attractions and activities, featuring everything from Christopher Columbus' first stop in the New World to Loyalist settlement ruins and the Glass Window Bridge, as well as the largest underwater cave system known today. The mysterious stone blocks in the waters off the Bimini Islands are thought to be part of the 'lost city' of Atlantis, an alluring site for scuba divers, and Long Island boasts the world's deepest 'blue hole'.

A visit to the Pirates of Nassau Museum is a must, while horse-drawn cabs provide guided tours of colonial Nassau. The Festival Place shopping mall is an outlet for local crafts and food, and there are various other local markets throughout the Bahamas selling an array of goods. Beautiful Caribbean weather makes this a year-round destination and, with so much to see and do, cruise passengers must be careful not to miss the boat...