Nassau is the best-known yachting port in the Bahamas, and it is where a good number of charter vacations begin and end. This high-energy port is a center for international traders, alive with bartering, excited shoppers and the occasional celebrity trying to blend into the hustle and bustle. The docks of many of the five-star marinas are an easy tender ride from the airport, meaning you can easily add on an extra few days to explore the land. Casinos, bars and gourmet restaurants offer plenty of choice to fill your evenings, and the days can be spent in amongst the action or visiting the museums. Make sure to have a delicious seafood meal at the Poop Deck restaurant.Make way to Allan’s Cay and Highbourne Cay, and halfway, enjoy a “blue hole” dive. Highbourne Cay, offers a beautiful view and is certainly worth taking a hike to the Spring. Allan’s Cay has a beach full of iguanas that feed from your hand.
These 365 cays are known for their laid-back way of life, and many of the rich and famous have homes here to escape to. The Exumas archipelago is a shallow cruising ground with depths that allow for private yachts but exclude cruise ships. The ambiance is therefore pristine and quiet, and many charter yachts have secluded white beaches all to themselves.
Located in the northern Bahamas and comprising the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, the Abaco Islands are a noted base for sailing activities in the Bahamas, as well as resort tourism and beautiful national parks. Peacefull water panoramic breathtaking views make this 120-mile–long chain of islands a boating and sailing paradise. But it’s not just the sea that attracts travelers from around the world. Those who prefer to explore by land will find championship golf courses on Treasure Cay, charming colonial towns on Green Turtle and Elbow Cays, and countless hotels, restaurants and bars throughout The Abacos.
One of the jewels in the Abacos crown is Marsh Harbour. Situated on Great Abaco Island, Marsh Harbour is particularly popular with yacht charterers thanks to the presence of several full-service marinas where you can dock your own boat or find a rental. North of Marsh Harbour is Treasure Cay, a hotel, golf, marina and real estate development wrapped around a beach with stunning white sand. To the south lies Little Harbour, a picturesque protected bay that is home to a small artist colony. Also close to Marsh Habrour, on the islet of Great Guana Cay, is Baker’s Bay Golf & Ocean Club, which attracts yachting visitors and luxury travellers in general thanks to its superb facilities and marina that can accommodate yachts of up to 75m.
The largest of the 26 inhabited Bahamian Islands, Andros consists of hundreds of small islets, all teeming with deserted beaches and freshwater lakes featuring countless species of wildlife, marine life, flora and fauna.Perhaps its most striking natural attraction is the earth’s third-largest barrier reef (after Australia’s Great Barrier and Central America’s Belize Barrier Reef), which lies adjacent to its shores. A mile-deep abyss, the so-called Tongue of the Ocean is walled with coral and filled with whales, dolphin, marlin and other reef animals.
Comprising three islands, North Bimini, South Bimini, and East Bimini, visitors flock here to enjoy fishing, diving, sailing and much more. Situated about 53 miles east of Miami, the area’s geographical location, which sees the Gulf Stream rushing past it on its way north, makes it a magnet for everything from marlin to mantas, dolphin to sea turtles, helping Bimini achieve a reputation as one of the prime spots in the Bahamas for ocean exploration. Indeed, with Bimini being so close to Miami, many Americans descend here by boat to fish or enjoy the local nightlife.
San Salvador has the distinction of being the first island in the New World that Christopher Columbus set foot on. He is recorded as saying, at the time of landing, “The beauty of these islands surpasses that of any other and as much as the day surpasses the night in splendour.”With glorious, unspoiled beaches of pearly sand that stretch for miles, it’s possible for San Salvador visitors not to see another person for hours at a time. The reefs off of the coast are rich in marine life and thick with incredible wrecks able to be explored by even the most novice diver. Though quiet compared to many of its sister islands, San Salvador embodies the true meaning of a luscious island escape.
Situated southeast of Bimini and comprising a cluster of 30 cays, the Berry Islands are often referred to as “The Fish Bowl of the Bahamas” owing to their popularity as a fishing destination. The jewel in the Berry Islands crown is Great Harbour Cay, once a major golf resort for the rich and famous, which boasts seven continuous miles of beautiful beaches and one of the best protected harbours in The Bahamas.
