Pick Your Paradise: 3 Ways to Explore the Bahamas
Depending on your mood and energy level, choose from these three itineraries to best navigate the country’s 700 islands.
Take one part translucent blue waters (so clear you can see up to 200 feet in the distance). Add an equal part warm island breeze (springtime highs are in the 80s). Mix in your besties, and you’ve got the ingredients for an Instagram-perfect friends weekend in the Bahamas.
Itinerary 1: Nassau/Paradise Island
With 70 percent of the Bahamian population on its 80 square miles, Nassau/Paradise Island is the prime spot to interact with both locals and fellow travelers.
Best for: Mixing and mingling
DAY ONE
SIP FINE WINE. Kick off your trip Friday afternoon at Graycliff Hotel’s five-star restaurant for its wine-and-cheese pairing, including a tour of its famed cellar with 250,000 bottles from around the globe.
SHOP HANDCRAFTED TREASURES. Stroll over to the Straw Market on Bay Street and have multigenerational artisans hand-plait your custom hat, bag, or doll.
TRY A FOOD CRAWL. Soak in the culture at Arawak Cay as you hop from food stands to bustling restaurants and bars, enjoying local Bahamian cuisine like conch fritters and drinks like Kalik beer.
DAY TWO
DO A LITTLE SOCIAL GOOD. Pay it forward at Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Centre’s volunteer days, every second and fourth Saturday, where you can help prepare the nesting area for the marching flamingos.
PARTY ON THE SAND. Flock to happening Junkanoo Beach to bask among fellow spring breakers, cruise day-trippers, and local families enjoying a delicious cookout.
BE A HIGH ROLLER. Get all dolled up for dinner at the Atlantis’s Café Martinique, an homage to the original that appeared in the 1965 James Bond film, Thunderball. Then test your luck at the seven-acre casino before ending the night on the glass dance floor at Aura Nightclub.
DAY THREE
HAVE A MORNING DETOX. Start with some waterfront zen at Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat’s 8 a.m. outdoor class, followed by a vegetarian buffet.
FIND YOUR SUN SPOT. Squeeze in maximum beach time at Cable Beach, just ten minutes from the airport, then quench your thirst with fresh fruit drinks at the locally run favorite Daiquiri Shack.
Itinerary 2: The Exumas
With 365 islands and not a single traffic light, the Exumas begin about 35 miles southeast of Nassau yet feel like an entirely different world with their empty beaches, unique wildlife, and exotic atmosphere.
Best for: Island hopping
DAY ONE
BEACHCOMB YOUR HEART OUT. From Elizabeth Harbour, take a five-minute boat ride to Stocking Island for an afternoon chilling on the powder white beaches, snorkeling in blue holes and coral gardens, and collecting shells.
SAMPLE ISLAND SPECIALTIES. Settle in at Chat ’N’ Chill, where you can watch the chef in action for the Make ’N’ Eat Conch Salad and feed scraps to stingrays that hover around the shorefront restaurant. Then raise a glass of the Bahamian cocktail Goombay Smash, made with owner Kenneth “KB” Bowe’s secret recipe, as you take in the idyllic view.
DAY TWO
SWIM WITH SWINE. Book an Ocean Safari tour with Exuma Water Sports. You’ll search for endangered Bahamian rock iguanas, starfish, and sand sharks — and then splash around with the swimming pigs at Pig Beach for about 40 minutes.
VISIT A SECLUDED BEACH. Drive south of George Town to the island’s longest stretch of sand, the Tropic of Cancer Beach — where you can stand your ground on the landmark latitude.
GO TO THE ULTIMATE SAND BAR. Continue down Queen’s Highway to the waterfront Santanna’s Bar & Grill for its famous cracked conch. Past guests are even more famous — Johnny Depp frequented the spot while filming the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
DAY THREE
DISCOVER THE LIFE AQUATIC. Explore the 13,440-acre Moriah Harbour Cay National Park through a tour like Off Island Boat Tours’ Sandbar Snorkel Safari, which follows turtles through mangroves that are home to baby crabs, crawfish, and groupers.
TASTE FRESH CATCH. Top off your visit at Shirley’s Seafood Restaurant in the Fish Fry cluster for coconut grouper and crab cakes, along with its top-selling drink, the Shirley Breeze.
Itinerary 3: Eleuthera
With its upscale New England vibe contrasted with endless pineapple fields, Eleuthera and adjacent Harbour Island paint a sophisticated background for a weekend packed with wild exploration.
Best for: Active adventures
DAY ONE
TROT IN THE SURF. Take a ten-minute water taxi from mainland Eleuthera to Harbour Island, home of Pink Sand Beach. Hop on a horse and prance through the soft blue waves as pastel colors envelop you from every direction.
POP BY LEGENDARY INSTITUTIONS. Swing by Ma Ruby’s, which claims to have inspired Jimmy Buffett’s 1978 hit “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” for an amazing burger. Wash it down with the “World’s Largest Coconut” at Vic-Hum Club before dancing on the sand dance floor at Gusty’s Night Club.
DAY TWO
GO OFF-ROADING. Head south for Eleuthera Adventure Tours’ Dune Buggy trip to Lighthouse Beach. Then hike the path to the lighthouse for a stunning shot.
HANG AT A BAT CAVE. Turn back north on Queen’s Highway and stop at Ten Bay Cave, home to two colonies of leaf-nosed bats.
ENJOY INFINITY DINING. At Pascal’s Ocean Front Seafood Restaurant Bar & Grill, you can eat in the dining room or jump into the infinity pool with a swim-up bar.
DAY THREE
SEE THE MAGICAL TROPICAL FIELDS. Visit the Eleuthera Pineapple Farm for its picturesque quarter-mile tour. Or, if you’re visiting from May 31 through June 3, celebrate the Pineapple Festival with cooking and eating contests and tons of other themed activities.
TAKE A ROYAL SOAK. Just south of the Glass Window Bridge sit the beautiful natural pools called the Queen’s Bath. Wade through the crashing waves, then kick back and relax in a tidal pool warmed naturally by the Bahamian sun.
About the author: Californian-turned-New Yorker (well, Hobokenite) Rachel Chang is a writer-editor who has worked at Us Weekly, CosmoGIRL!, J-14, and The WB and written for Travel + Leisure, Mic’s Out of Office, Mental Floss and Intrepid Travel. Follow her on Twitter at @RachelChang and Instagram at @RachelSChang.
