A traveler's guide to Bahamas
Do not judge the Bahamas by Nassau's cruise dock. The beaches that earn the ranking are a puddle jumper or a fast boat farther out.
Harbour Island's Pink Sands is the photograph. The Exumas are the boat-and-pigs day. Nassau is the gateway and the cruise ship. The ranking is for the Out Islands more than Bay Street.
Which island
Harbour Island for pink sand and golf carts. Exuma for water that looks fake. Eleuthera for length and quiet. Grand Bahama for space. Nassau/Paradise Island for convenience and Atlantis.
Water
The shallows are the show. Rent a boat with a local captain rather than improvising sandbars. Current and boat traffic are real around the popular pig beaches.
If you only remember this
- Hurricane season is June–November. Travel insurance is not dramatic here.
- Golf carts on Harbour Island are the local transit.
- U.S. dollars work. ATMs on small islands do not always.
- The pigs are a tourist product. Go with someone who cares about the animals.