Find places in The Bahamas

Must-Haves

• Queen's Staircase (Elizabeth Avenue)
  Sixty six limestone steps carved by enslaved labourers lead up to Fort Fincastle and the Water Tower.
• Fort Fincastle (Bennet's Hill)
  A small paddle steamer shaped fort from 1793 with sweeping views over the harbour.
• Fort Charlotte (West Bay Street)
  The largest fort on New Providence, with dungeons and tunnels to explore with a guide.
• Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation (Vendue House, Bay Street)
  A moving small museum telling the story of slavery and freedom in The Bahamas.
• National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (Villa Doyle, West Hill Street)
  The best introduction to Bahamian painting, sculpture and contemporary art.

Fun for Everyone

• Atlantis Aquaventure (Paradise Island)
  A huge waterpark with slides through shark tanks and a lazy river, ideal for families.
• Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Centre (Chippingham Road)
  Home of the famous marching flamingos, the national bird of The Bahamas.
• Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas (South West Road)
  A long running dive and snorkel operator known for shark dives and film set reefs.

Must-Haves

• Graycliff Chocolatier (West Hill Street)
  Make your own chocolate bar in a hands on class in an old Nassau mansion.

Off the Beaten Path

• Primeval Forest National Park (Gladstone Road)
  Boardwalks through native forest and deep limestone sinkholes, run by the Bahamas National Trust.

Must-Haves

• Cabbage Beach (Paradise Island)
  A long sweep of soft sand on the north shore of Paradise Island.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Jaws Beach (Clifton, western New Providence)
  A quiet local beach with calm water and shade, far from the cruise crowds.

Off the Beaten Path

• Love Beach (West Bay Street, western New Providence)
  Easy snorkelling over a reef close to shore on the quieter west coast.
• The Retreat Garden (Village Road)
  The Bahamas National Trust headquarters, a hidden garden of rare palms in the middle of town.

Fun for Everyone

• Junkanoo Beach (West Bay Street)
  The closest beach to downtown, with bars, music and a busy local feel.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Arawak Cay Fish Fry (West Bay Street)
  A row of painted shacks serving conch salad, fried snapper and Sky Juice late into the night.
• Twin Brothers (Arawak Cay)
  A Fish Fry favourite for cracked conch, grouper fingers and big plates of peas and rice.
• Goldie's Conch House (Arawak Cay)
  Watch fresh conch salad being chopped to order at one of the best loved Fish Fry stands.
• Potter's Cay Dock (Under the Paradise Island bridge)
  Stalls beside the mailboat dock where locals buy conch salad and fresh fish.

Great for Date Night

• Graycliff Restaurant (West Hill Street)
  Fine dining in an eighteenth century mansion with one of the largest wine cellars in the region.

Fun for Everyone

• Señor Frog's (Woodes Rogers Walk)
  Loud, cheerful party bar right by the cruise port.

Great for Date Night

• Bahamas Rum Cake Factory (Bay Street)
  Taste rum cakes made on site, a sweet and easy souvenir stop.

Must-Haves

• Nassau Straw Market (Bay Street)
  Woven baskets, hats and crafts, best for genuine Bahamian straw work if you look carefully.

Must-Haves

• Junkanoo Parade (Bay Street)
  Thousands of drummers and dancers in crepe paper costumes on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Must-Haves

• The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort (Paradise Island)
  A classic luxury resort with Versailles Gardens and a famous beach.
• Baha Mar (Cable Beach)
  A large resort complex on Cable Beach with several hotels, a casino and art collection.

Fun for Everyone

• Atlantis Paradise Island (Paradise Island)
  The landmark mega resort with an aquarium, waterpark and many restaurants.

Great for Date Night

• Graycliff Hotel (West Hill Street)
  A historic boutique hotel in an old mansion steps from downtown.

Must-Haves

• Big Major Cay (Northern Exuma Cays)
  The famous Pig Beach where pigs swim out to meet visiting boats.
• Thunderball Grotto (Staniel Cay)
  Snorkel into a sunlit limestone cave filled with fish, best at slack low tide.
• Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (Warderick Wells Cay)
  The first land and sea park in the region, with protected reefs and walking trails.

Fun for Everyone

• Compass Cay Marina (Compass Cay)
  Swim beside docile nurse sharks in a calm marina.

Off the Beaten Path

• Allan's Cay (Northern Exumas)
  A small cay home to rare rock iguanas that come down to the beach.

Fun for Everyone

• Chat 'N' Chill (Stocking Island)
  A beach bar and grill famous for its Sunday pig roast and fresh conch salad.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Santana's Grill Pit (Williams Town, Little Exuma)
  A roadside seafood stand loved for lobster and cracked conch.
• Exuma Fish Fry (Queen's Highway, north of George Town)
  A cluster of local shacks for fried fish, conch and a friendly Friday night crowd.

Must-Haves

• Staniel Cay Yacht Club (Staniel Cay)
  The social hub of the central cays, with a restaurant, bar and marina.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Exuma Straw Market (Under the fig tree, George Town)
  Local women sell straw bags and crafts under the shade of a big tree.

Off the Beaten Path

• Exuma Markets (George Town)
  The main grocery store, where boaters and villa guests stock up.

Fun for Everyone

• National Family Island Regatta (George Town)
  A spring regatta of traditional Bahamian sloops, with music and food ashore.

Off the Beaten Path

• Williams Town Salt Marker (Little Exuma)
  A historic stone marker and ruins of the old salt industry above the sea.

Must-Haves

• Grand Isle Resort (Emerald Bay)
  Spacious villas with sea views and a marina nearby.

Fun for Everyone

• Staniel Cay Yacht Club Cottages (Staniel Cay)
  Colourful cottages in the middle of the cays, close to the pigs and Thunderball Grotto.

Must-Haves

• Pink Sands Beach (Harbour Island)
  Three miles of soft pink tinted sand and calm water.
• Glass Window Bridge (Near Gregory Town)
  A narrow strip where the deep blue Atlantic meets the green Bight of Eleuthera.

Off the Beaten Path

• Preacher's Cave (North Eleuthera)
  The cave where the Eleutheran Adventurers sheltered after shipwreck in 1648.
• Ocean Hole (Rock Sound)
  A deep inland blue hole linked to the sea, with fish crowding the edges.
• Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve (Governor's Harbour)
  Trails through native forest and bush medicine plants, run by the Bahamas National Trust.

Must-Haves

• Dunmore Town (Harbour Island)
  Pastel clapboard cottages, picket fences and old churches in one of the oldest settlements in the country.

Off the Beaten Path

• Spanish Wells (Off North Eleuthera)
  A tidy fishing village known for lobster and quiet streets.

Great for Date Night

• Rock House (Harbour Island)
  Stylish dining on a terrace above the harbour.
• The Landing (Harbour Island)
  Refined island cooking in a historic harbourfront house.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Queen Conch (Harbour Island)
  Fresh conch salad made to order at a small stand by the water.
• Governor's Harbour Fish Fry (Governor's Harbour)
  A Friday night gathering for fried fish, music and local chat.

Fun for Everyone

• Eleuthera Pineapple Festival (Gregory Town)
  An early summer celebration of the island's sweet pineapples with food and music.

Great for Date Night

• Pink Sands Resort (Harbour Island)
  Secluded cottages right on the famous pink beach.

Must-Haves

• The Cove Eleuthera (Gregory Town)
  Cottages on a headland between two coves, close to the Glass Window Bridge.
• Coral Sands (Harbour Island)
  A classic beach hotel on the pink sand with an easy island style.

Off the Beaten Path

• French Leave Resort (Governor's Harbour)
  Modern villas above the bay in the heart of the island.

Must-Haves

• Lucayan National Park (East of Freeport)
  Boardwalks to underwater caves and through mangroves to Gold Rock Beach.
• Gold Rock Beach (Lucayan National Park)
  A vast beach that becomes a sweeping sand flat at low tide.

Fun for Everyone

• Rand Nature Centre (Freeport)
  Pine forest trails and some of the best birdwatching on the island.

Off the Beaten Path

• Peterson Cay National Park (South coast)
  A tiny protected cay for snorkelling and picnics, reached by boat or kayak.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Taino Beach (Lucaya)
  A broad, easy beach with local seafood spots nearby.

Fun for Everyone

• UNEXSO (Port Lucaya)
  A long running dive centre known for reef dives and dolphin encounters.

Off the Beaten Path

• Garden of the Groves (Freeport)
  Gardens, waterfalls and a small chapel, a peaceful place for an afternoon walk.

Must-Haves

• Port Lucaya Marketplace (Lucaya)
  Shops, bars and live music around Count Basie Square by the marina.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Smith's Point Fish Fry (Smith's Point)
  A Wednesday night fish fry gathering with seafood and music.

Fun for Everyone

• Count Basie Square (Port Lucaya Marketplace)
  Free live music and dancing on many evenings.

Must-Haves

• Elbow Reef Lighthouse (Hope Town, Elbow Cay)
  Climb one of the last hand wound kerosene lighthouses in the world.
• Hope Town (Elbow Cay)
  Car free lanes and pastel cottages in a Loyalist village.

Off the Beaten Path

• Wyannie Malone Historical Museum (Hope Town)
  Small museum telling the story of the Loyalist settlers of Abaco.
• Albert Lowe Museum (New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay)
  Model ships, paintings and the history of a small island settlement.
• Man-O-War Cay (Abaco cays)
  A quiet boatbuilding village with a long tradition of wooden boats and canvas bags.

Must-Haves

• Treasure Cay Beach (Treasure Cay)
  A long crescent of fine white sand and gentle shallow water.

Off the Beaten Path

• Abaco National Park (South Abaco)
  Pine forest home of the endangered Abaco parrot.

Fun for Everyone

• Tahiti Beach (Elbow Cay)
  A sandbar at low tide, perfect for paddling and shell hunting.

Fun for Everyone

• Albury's Ferry (Marsh Harbour)
  Hop between Elbow Cay, Man-O-War Cay and Guana Cay on the local ferry.

Fun for Everyone

• Nipper's Beach Bar and Grill (Great Guana Cay)
  Bright beach bar with reef snorkelling just offshore and lively Sundays.

Great for Date Night

• Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar (New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay)
  Home of the Goombay Smash cocktail, a classic island stop.

Fun for Everyone

• Pete's Pub (Little Harbour)
  A sand floored pub beside a bronze foundry and gallery in a remote harbour.