8 places where you can embrace the best of the Bahamas

If you’re looking for beach-vacation bliss, few destinations beat the Bahamas.

Strewn like emeralds between Florida and the Caribbean, more than 3000 islands and cays – most uninhabited – compose this Atlantic archipelago. Lushly subtropical and fringed with teeming coral reefs and glorious beaches, these stunning islands offer as much to divers and hikers as they do to sunseekers in search of banging beachside bars.

Here’s our roundup of the best places to visit in the Bahamas.

1. The Biminis

Best for game fishing

One of Ernest Hemingway’s favorite fishing grounds, the tiny Biminis are only 80km (50 miles) from Florida. Sitting on the edge of the Gulf Stream, they’re magnets for game fishers seeking the marlin, sailfish and swordfish that swarm the waters off their coasts.

Head for Alice Town, North Bimini, basing yourself among the best selection of hotels and restaurants. Stay at the Bimini Big Game Club for a taste of 1950s luxury and guided game fishing jaunts, and make sure to visit the gloriously eccentric Dolphin House, part museum and part loving tribute to the nation’s wild dolphins . When hunger strikes, head to Stuart’s Conch Stand in Bailey Town, which serves up some of the best conch and lobster salads in the islands.

Planning tip: The waters are famed for their billfish, which are most plentiful in the summer months – which makes this the best time to visit for aspiring fishers.

2. Nassau

Best for nightlife

Nassau is the unchallenged nightlife capital of the Bahamas. Historically a haven for pirates and smugglers, the city now attracts travelers looking for a fun night out.

Ground zero for any evening in Nassau is the Fish Fry on Arawak Cay, just west of the center of town. Shacks slinging fried fish, freshly cut conch salad and sky juice (a local favorite drink of gin, green coconut water and condensed milk) mingle with bars booming out reggae and rake-and-scrape (the local sound) from 7pm onward every evening.

Once your night has started, head back downtown for rum punch and sandy toes at the clapboard bars of Junkanoo Beach, a Black Beer’d Stout at Pirate Republic microbrewery or even a dress-up-nice cocktail at Sky Bar.

Planning tip: If you want to get an early start, John Watling’s Distillery – a working rum factory in a gorgeous 18th-century estate – opens at 10am.

3. Blue Holes National Park

Best for swimming in karst sinkholes

Andros, also called the “Big Yard,” is the largest island in the Bahamas – and one of the wildest. Its 5960 sq km (2301 sq miles) of mangrove, pine forest and reef are dotted with “blue holes,” deep karst sinkholes that sustain unique ecosystems and provide perhaps the island’s greatest spectacle.

More abundant here than anywhere else on earth, they’re the focus of the 16,1870-hectare (40,000-acre) Blue Holes National Park. Information boards and hiking trails lead travelers to the park’s more accessible sites, such as Captain Bill’s Hole, where you’ll find both a swimming deck and bathrooms.

Others, including Cousteau’s Hole (named for the famous undersea explorer), are less accessible but equally inviting to hikers and swimmers. Small Hope Bay Lodge, set against the mangroves in nearby Andros Town, offers 21 luxurious units and activities, including blue-hole dives and snorkeling “safaris.”

Planning tip: There’s no public transport on the Bahamas’ biggest island; rent a car at Andros Town Airport.

4. Lucayan National Park

Best for underwater caves

Mangroves meet underwater caves at one of the Bahamas’ greatest natural attractions: Lucayan National Park on Grand Bahama. Named for the original inhabitants of the Bahamas and today populated by raccoons and such native birds as the Bahama wood-star hummingbird, this 16-hectare (40-acre) swath of protected wilderness encompasses all six naturally occurring Bahamian vegetation zones. Its underwater cave system is one of the world’s longest; the easiest access underground is via Ben’s Cave and Burial Mound Cave.

Planning tip: You can fly directly into Grand Bahama International Airport from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and several other North American cities. Grand Bahama Nature Tours leads fantastic kayaking expeditions around the park’s mangrove-fringed coast.

5. Conception Island

Best for getting away from it all

Conception Island is a secluded pocket of paradise that seems almost entirely untouched by humans. It’s the centerpiece of Conception Island National Park, an oasis of thriving mangroves, vivid coral gardens and abundant wildlife. Conception Island Wall, a gorgeous playground of coral heads, sponges and colorful critters, starts at 14m (46ft) in waters of exceptional clarity.

These waters and the beaches they wash are home to abundant green turtles, fish nurseries, conch and crawfish. Conception’s unpeopled forests are also an important sanctuary for migratory birds.

6. Elbow Cay

Best for historic architecture

The British history of the Bahamas is perhaps most evident in Elbow Cay. The prettiest of the gorgeous Abacos islands, the island’s epicenter is Hope Town, founded by British Loyalists in 1785 and today distinguished by bougainvillea, brightly painted cottages and the unmissable red-and-white-striped Elbow Reef Lighthouse.

Its sheltered bay bristling with masts, Hope Town is also a yachting haven. Happily, its car-free streets are blessed with winsome hotels like the Abaco Inn, an exemplar of the pastel clapboard architecture that’s strictly maintained here. Knowledgeable local operators, as Sundried T’s, rent surfboards and guide diving and snorkeling expeditions on surrounding reefs and beaches.

7. Harbour Island

Best for a celebrity spotting

Known as “Briland” to locals and regular visitors, lovely little Harbour Island is a favorite haunt of such celebrities as George Clooney and Jessica Alba. A short water-taxi ride from parent island Eleuthera, it’s famous for colonial architecture and stunning sandscapes such as Pink Sands Beach, composed of crushed coral that’s gloriously rose-tinted.

Briland is blessed with boutique accommodations like Pink Sands Resort and Runaway Hill, the latter once a grand private seafront estate that was built in the 1940s. You’re always just a serene stroll away from fine restaurants like Malcolm 51 and Rock House Restaurant, or the sandy floors and sunsets at Gusty’s Bar.

Planning tip: Bahamas Ferries’ fast boats get you from Nassau to Harbour Island in 2 hours and in greater comfort than a flight to Eleuthera.

8. The Exumas

Best for diving and seeing swimming pigs

The central-Bahamian archipelago of the Exumas is known for secluded resort luxury and incredible diving. At its heart lies the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the Bahamas’ richest reef ecosystem. The 283-sq-km (109-sq-mile) expanse encompasses more than 300 islands and cays, pristine fringing reefs and idyllic sailing waters.

Dive Exuma, the only PADI-certified dive shop in Great Exuma’s capital George Town, is the experienced, professional outfit we recommend to explore this undersea fantasia.

Planning tip: Exuma’s famous swimming pigs live on Pig Beach on uninhabited Big Major Cay; you’ll need to book a day trip to visit them there. (Do it.) Staniel Cay Yacht Club, a beachside haven of bungalows, kayaking and stress-free comfort is as close as you can get otherwise.