Highlights
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The Bahamas is a country of extraordinary geography. More than 700 islands spread across 100,000 square miles of ocean, and the water connecting them shifts from pale turquoise to deep cobalt across distances you could swim. Nassau sits at the center of everything, a city with real history and enough resort infrastructure to accommodate nearly any kind of trip, while the Out Islands offer something rarer: genuine solitude, on beaches where the only footprints are yours.
Cable Beach and Paradise Island are where the major resorts concentrate. Baha Mar anchors the western end of Nassau with three hotels, a casino, a ESPA spa, and a mile of private beach. Atlantis has defined a generation of Caribbean vacations with its water park, aquarium, and sprawling resort complex. The One&Only Ocean Club, set in formal Versailles gardens above Paradise Island's northern shore, provides a counterpoint to all of it: quiet, immaculate, and built around a different kind of luxury entirely.
The Out Islands reward travelers who plan around them. The Exumas are an archipelago of 365 cays, the pig beach at Big Major Cay is exactly as advertised, and the Thunderball Grotto offers snorkeling in a setting that James Bond made famous. Harbour Island, reached by water taxi from North Eleuthera, has pink sand beaches that genuinely turn pink in the afternoon light and a village of pastel colonial architecture that functions as one of the Atlantic's great small towns. Eleuthera itself is 110 miles long and rarely more than two miles wide.
Nassau's Junkanoo Festival, held on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, is one of the Caribbean's most vivid cultural events. The costumes, the goatskin drums, and the crowds that fill Bay Street in the early morning hours before dawn reflect a Bahamian identity that has nothing to do with resort packages. It is the kind of thing you plan a trip around once you know it exists.
For couples planning a honeymoon or destination wedding, the Bahamas offers more variety than any comparable Caribbean destination. Grand Bahama provides a quieter, more local experience. Nassau handles the large group with ease. The Out Islands are for those who want the island experience at its most private. We have planned all of them, and each one delivers.
The Straw Market in Nassau carries handwoven baskets, hats, and jewelry, though the more interesting pieces come from the artisan vendors along the Prince George Wharf. Androsia batik fabric from Andros is the most distinctive Bahamian textile. Cigars, hot sauces, and local rum are worth carrying home.
Cracked conch, conch fritters, and conch salad are the defining flavors of Bahamian cooking. Fish fry at Arawak Cay in Nassau is the essential local meal: a strip of open-air restaurants serving fried snapper, macaroni and cheese, johnnycake, and the freshest conch on the island. Grouper fingers and peas-and-rice are on every menu worth ordering from.
Kalik is the Bahamian beer, brewed locally and best cold on the beach. Sky Juice is a local cocktail of coconut water, gin, and sweet milk that tastes deceptively light in the heat. Sip Sip rum punch, made at the café of the same name on Harbour Island, is worth the trip to the pink sand alone.
Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in Nassau receives direct service from most major US and Canadian cities. Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO) in Freeport handles select US routes. Out Island properties often arrange charter flights or seaplane transfers directly from Nassau.
Bahamas Air and SkyBahamas connect Nassau to the main Out Islands. Charter operators serve smaller cays. Ferry services connect Nassau to Harbour Island, Cat Island, and the Exumas. Many resorts include transfers in their packages and coordinate everything on arrival.
Nassau has metered taxis and regulated fares from the airport. Rideshare apps do not operate here. On Out Islands and cays, golf carts are standard transport. Boat rentals and private captains are available for inter-island exploration. Your resort can arrange most of this before you arrive.
Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5), with daylight saving time observed from March to November (EDT, UTC-4). The Bahamas aligns directly with the US East Coast year-round.
No major rideshare apps operate in the Bahamas. Licensed taxis are available at airports, cruise terminals, and major hotels. Fares from the airport are fixed by zone. Pre-arrange transfers through your resort for the most reliable option.
120V, 60Hz. Type A and B plugs, identical to the United States and Canada. North American visitors need no adapter. Most modern hotels include USB charging ports in rooms.
Tropical, warm year-round. The dry season runs December through April. Hurricane season is June through November, with peak risk in August and September. Water temperatures stay above 75°F in all seasons.
The Bahamas served as the location for multiple James Bond films including Thunderball and Casino Royale, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean. The country produced Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. Artist Janelle Commissiong was the first Black woman to win Miss Universe. The Junkanoo tradition is one of the Caribbean's most recognizable cultural exports.
Emergency: 911
Police: 919
Medical Emergency: 911
Nassau Tourist Help: 1-242-302-2000
Country Code: +1-242