Seven hundred islands and cays across 100,000 square miles of the Atlantic. Most have no permanent population, no hotels, no infrastructure beyond a dock. The Bahamas most visitors see — Nassau's cruise pier, the Atlantis casino, Cable Beach — is a small slice of what's actually out there. I've been here multiple times and each trip deeper into the Out Islands turns up something I didn't expect. These are the five things I'd build any Bahamas trip around.
The Exuma Cays by private boat — the most beautiful water in the Atlantic
The Exuma Cays are a chain of small islands 35 miles southeast of Nassau, with water that goes from deep blue to shallow turquoise to what looks like pure light. Thunderball Grotto — where James Bond was filmed — is a snorkeling cave that glows from inside as sunlight refracts through underwater openings. Staniel Cay has a small marina and airstrip. The Exuma Land and Sea Park has no commercial fishing, so the marine life there is in a different category. Rent a powerboat from Nassau or fly direct to Staniel Cay. Either way, get on the water.
Pig Beach on Big Major Cay — swimming pigs, yes, it's worth it
Big Major Cay, a small uninhabited island in the Exumas, is home to a colony of feral pigs that swim out to boats for handouts. It sounds like a gimmick. It is a gimmick. It's also completely surreal — large pink pigs in clear blue water, surrounded by small deserted islands, in the middle of the Bahamas. The pigs have lived on the island for decades; no one agrees on how they got there. Get there early morning before the day-charter boats from Nassau flood the beach. Bring bread. They're friendly and photogenic and entirely bizarre.
Dean's Blue Hole on Long Island — the deepest blue hole in the world
Dean's Blue Hole is on the east coast of Long Island, 45 minutes by plane from Nassau — a marine sinkhole 202 meters deep, the deepest known blue hole in the world, right there accessible from a small beach. At the entrance it's 25 meters wide, expands to 100 meters below the surface. Freediving competitions are held here every year. The water is freakishly clear and the depth is vertiginous even looking down from the surface. You don't need to dive: snorkeling at the rim and staring into the dark blue disappearing below you is unsettling in a way that's hard to describe.
Nassau's historic downtown — beyond the cruise ship pier
Nassau gets dismissed as a cruise ship stopover, which is mostly fair — right around the pier it's tourists and straw market vendors. Walk ten minutes and the colonial architecture shows up. The Queen's Staircase, hand-carved from solid limestone by enslaved people in the late 18th century, is worth a look. So is the Nassau Public Library — a former octagonal prison from 1797. Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant, in a colonial mansion behind the Governor General's residence, has one of the better wine cellars in the Caribbean and a cigar factory on site. Nassau has more going on than the pier suggests.
Compass Cay Marina — snorkeling with nurse sharks
Compass Cay is a tiny private marina operation in the Exumas where nurse sharks have congregated around the docks for generations. You can wade in and handle them — they're docile, interested in handouts, and completely unfazed by humans. Snorkeling in the waters around the cay, you'll find them resting on the sandy bottom in numbers. It's one of the most accessible wild animal interactions I've had anywhere. The marina also has a pool, a small bar, and cottages if you want to stay — waking up on the dock with the Exumas around you is not a bad morning.
The Bahamas is best seen by water. Move between islands — powerboat, ferry, small plane — and the trip opens up in a way that staying in Nassau never will. The Out Islands are where the country actually is. Nassau is a base, not a destination.
Written by
Eric
Co-founder of Memorable Travel & Adventures. Eric has personally traveled to over 50 countries across six continents. He plans trips to all of them.
