15 Most Beautiful Places in the Bahamas in 2027 (With Free Map)

606

If you’ve only seen the Bahamas from a cruise ship, you’ve missed some of the best parts. My favorite spots are the islands few visitors reach, like Inagua, where flamingos outnumber people. I’ve pulled together the 15 most beautiful places in the Bahamas, with how to get to each one and where I’d stay.

I’ve updated every listing for 2027, and a few things have changed since last year. Some hotels have closed or been renovated, and Eleuthera’s Glass Window Bridge is being rebuilt over the next two years. If you’re around for the holidays, Junkanoo fills Nassau’s Bay Street with music and costumes from 2 AM on December 26 and January 1.

Beautiful Places to Visit in The Bahamas At a Glance

If you only have a week in the Bahamas, I recommend choosing one or two of the five spots below and planning your trip around them. These are the places I suggest to friends first, from the pink sand beach on Harbour Island to the swimming pigs in the Exumas. Click any name to jump to its full section, including how to get there and where I’d stay.

1. Harbour Island: Pink sand beach and fresh conch salad chopped to order at Queen Conch
2. Pig Beach (Big Major Cay): Swimming pigs that paddle out to your boat, with Thunderball Grotto next door
3. Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park: The world’s first land-and-sea park, with a whale skeleton and Boo Boo Hill on Warderick Wells
4. Long Island: Snorkel over 663-foot-deep Dean’s Blue Hole and wade far out at Cape Santa Maria
5. Elbow Cay: Car-free Hope Town and a kerosene-lit lighthouse you can climb for free

The islands are farther apart than they look, and I’ve pinned all 15 places on the map below to help you plan your route. Harbour Island and the Glass Window Bridge, for example, make an easy day together on Eleuthera, while Inagua needs a flight of its own. Save the map to your phone before you fly, because you’ll want it once you’re island hopping!

1. Andros, Bahamas

• 📍 Location: Andros Island, about 30 miles west of Nassau
• 🏆 Best For: Snorkelers and divers who want empty beaches
• 🌊 Why Go: The world’s third-largest barrier reef and swimmable blue holes
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: November to April for calm, clear water, or June for Crab Fest 🦀
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Small Hope Bay Lodge – Family-run beachfront lodge near Fresh Creek, close to Captain Bill’s Blue Hole

Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas, sitting about 30 miles west of Nassau. Even with all that space, you won’t find any big resorts here. There’s just a handful of small, locally run lodges and miles of empty coastline. If you love snorkeling and diving, you’ll have a great time on Andros!

The main reason to visit is the Andros Barrier Reef, which stretches about 190 miles along the island’s east coast. It’s the third-largest barrier reef in the world, and parts of it sit close enough to shore for easy snorkeling. Experienced divers can head further out to the Tongue of the Ocean, an underwater trench where the reef wall drops to around 6,000 feet.

Andros is also famous for its blue holes. These are deep, circular sinkholes filled with water, and you’ll find them both inland and in the sea around the island. For your first one, I recommend Captain Bill’s Blue Hole near Fresh Creek, where you can swim and snorkel in clear water surrounded by trees.

If your trip falls in June, try to catch the All Andros Crab Fest. Andros is known as the “Land of Crabs,” and every year on the second weekend of June, locals gather in Fresh Creek to celebrate with land crab dishes and live Bahamian music. The 2027 festival should take place around June 11 to 13.

2. Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Park

• 📍 Location: Chippingham Road, Nassau, about 15 minutes by taxi from downtown
• 🏆 Best For: Families with young kids and animal lovers
• 🦩 Why Go: Marching flamingo shows three times a day
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: Year-round, arriving for the 11 AM show (closed Dec 25, Dec 26 and Jan 1)
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Graycliff Hotel – Historic boutique hotel in downtown Nassau, a short taxi ride away

Ardastra Gardens is a small zoo and conservation center set in four acres of tropical gardens, just west of downtown Nassau. The flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas, and Ardastra has been breeding them since the 1950s, when the first birds arrived from Inagua. If you’re in Nassau with kids or want a break from the beach, I recommend setting aside a morning here.

The star attraction is the marching flamingo show, where a trained flock struts in formation on command. Shows happen at 11 AM, 1:30 PM and 3 PM. Aim for the 11 AM show before the afternoon heat kicks in. You’ll also see over 135 animals around the gardens, and kids love the $5 add-ons for feeding the tortoises or rabbits!

Tickets cost $35 for adults and $25 for kids ages 4 to 12, and you can buy them at the gate without booking ahead. Everyone has to sign a waiver before entering. I suggest printing it from the Ardastra website and filling it out at home to skip the line. Plan on one to two hours, and remember the last entry is at 3 PM.

After your visit, walk five minutes to Arawak Cay, home to the Fish Fry, a strip of colorful local restaurants. I recommend going straight there after the morning show for fresh conch salad and fried snapper. Grab a taxi back to your hotel afterward, since the walk to downtown takes around 30 minutes.

3. Cable Beach

• 📍 Location: West of downtown Nassau, about 15 minutes by taxi
• 🏆 Best For: Families and first-time visitors who want an easy beach day
• 🏖️ Why Go: 2.5 miles of public white sand with calm, shallow water
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: Mid-December to April for dry, sunny weather ☀️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Grand Hyatt Baha Mar – Beachfront resort with free, unlimited access to Baha Bay water park

Cable Beach is a 2.5-mile stretch of white sand about 15 minutes west of downtown Nassau. It’s lined with resorts and beach bars, and the water near shore is calm and shallow. I recommend it for families and first-time visitors who want an easy beach day with food and restrooms nearby.

You don’t need to stay at a resort to use the beach, because all of it is public by law. The easiest place to walk in is Goodman’s Bay at the eastern end, which has a public park and fewer people than the resort strip. The No. 10 jitney bus from downtown costs $1.50, and a taxi from the cruise port costs about $15 to $20.

The western end is home to Baha Mar, a resort complex with three hotels and the Baha Bay water park. Baha Bay has over 30 attractions, including a lazy river and a surf simulator. Grand Hyatt guests get unlimited access for free, while day passes cost $160 for adults and $65 for kids under 48 inches.

The beach gets crowded on days when four or five cruise ships are in port, and I’d check the Nassau cruise schedule before you go. Mornings bring the calmest water. Plan your trip between mid-December and April for dry, sunny weather.

4. Elbow Cay

• 📍 Location: Abaco Islands, a 20-minute ferry ride from Marsh Harbour
• 🏆 Best For: Couples and families who want a walkable, car-free village
• 🗼 Why Go: Pastel Hope Town and one of the last hand-cranked lighthouses in the world
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: December to May for breezy, dry days 🌞
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Hope Town Inn & Marina – Waterfront resort steps from the lighthouse, with its own harbor shuttle

Elbow Cay is a small island in the Abacos, about 20 minutes by ferry from Marsh Harbour. Its main village, Hope Town, is full of pastel cottages and white picket fences, and it’s one of the prettiest places in the Bahamas. The village center is closed to cars and golf carts, and it’s small enough to explore on foot.

Start your visit at the Elbow Reef Lighthouse, the red-and-white striped tower across the harbor. It’s free to climb the 101 steps, and from the balcony you can see the whole village and the Sea of Abaco. The lighthouse is still lit with kerosene and wound by hand, and if you visit around dusk, you might catch the keeper lighting it!

After the lighthouse, I highly recommend renting a golf cart and driving to Tahiti Beach at the south end of the island. The water is calm and shallow, and there’s good snorkeling nearby at Tilloo Cut. If you have an extra day, you can rent a small boat to visit Man-O-War Cay or Great Guana Cay.

To get to Elbow Cay, fly into Marsh Harbour, about 30 minutes from South Florida, and take a taxi to the ferry dock. There are no rental cars on Elbow Cay, and I’d definitely book your golf cart before you arrive. Hope Town Inn & Marina is a good place to stay, with a shuttle boat that takes you straight to the lighthouse.

• Read next: Where to Go in the Caribbean

5. Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

• 📍 Location: Exuma Cays, just north of Staniel Cay
• 🏆 Best For: Snorkelers and nature lovers who want healthy reefs and empty beaches
• 🐢 Why Go: The world’s first land-and-sea park, with no fishing allowed since 1958
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: January to April for calm seas and the clearest water 🌤️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Embrace Resort – Small Staniel Cay resort with free breakfast and airport shuttle, a short boat ride from the park

Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park has banned fishing since 1958, and you can see the results the moment you put your face in the water. The reefs are crowded with fish, and you may spot sea turtles in the water and iguanas on land. This 176-square-mile reserve in the central Bahamas was the first land-and-sea park in the world, and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean.

Your first stop should be Warderick Wells Cay, home to the park headquarters and a giant whale skeleton. From the office, a short, well-marked trail climbs to Boo Boo Hill, passing a blowhole that sprays seawater into the air near the top. At the summit, you’ll see the deep blue Exuma Sound on one side and shallow turquoise banks on the other, with driftwood signs left by passing sailors.

You can only reach the park by boat, and I recommend the Whale Tale Tour with Staniel Cay Adventures. You’ll snorkel a reef packed with tropical fish called the Sea Aquarium, swim over a sunken plane, walk Warderick Wells, and finish with lunch at MacDuff’s on Norman’s Cay. Licensed local captains who grew up in the Exuma Cays lead every trip, and they’ll meet you when you land on Staniel Cay.

Staniel Cay sits just south of the park. I’d book a room at Embrace Resort, which includes free breakfast and a free airport shuttle. You’ll also be a short boat ride from the swimming pigs at Big Major Cay. Plan your park visit between January and April, when the seas are calm and the water is at its clearest.

6. Grand Bahama

• 📍 Location: Northern Bahamas, a short flight or ferry from Fort Lauderdale
• 🏆 Best For: Beach lovers and road trippers coming from Florida
• 🏖️ Why Go: Gold Rock Beach and the underwater caves of Lucayan National Park
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: November to April for cooler, dry weather 🌤️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Viva Fortuna Beach by Wyndham – All-inclusive beachfront resort in Freeport with an on-site dive center

Grand Bahama is the northernmost island in the Bahamas and one of the easiest to reach from Florida. You can take a ferry from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport or fly straight into Grand Bahama International Airport. Once you arrive, I recommend renting a car, since the island’s best sights are spread out and taxi fares add up quickly.

Your first drive should be east to Lucayan National Park, about 40 minutes from Freeport. Here, you can look down into Ben’s Cave and Burial Mound Cave, part of one of the longest underwater cave systems in the world, then follow a boardwalk through the mangroves to Gold Rock Beach. Go at low tide, when sandbars appear and the water is shallow enough to wade far out.

Gold Rock appeared in two Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and it’s one of the prettiest places in the Bahamas. Park entry costs around $12 for adults and covers the caves, trails and beach. The park is open daily from 9 AM to 4 PM, and I’d plan on a half day to see everything.

Back in Freeport, Port Lucaya Marketplace has bars, souvenir shops and live music in Count Basie Square. The nearby Grand Lucayan resort is being rebuilt with a large waterpark, due to open in early 2028. If you’re sailing with Carnival, you’ll dock at Celebration Key, the cruise line’s private destination on the island’s south coast.

• Read next: Top Places to See in the Caribbean
• You may also like: Coolest Places to Live in the Caribbean

7. Inagua

• 📍 Location: Southernmost Bahamas, a 90-minute flight from Nassau
• 🏆 Best For: Birdwatchers and travelers who want a place few tourists ever reach
• 🦩 Why Go: The world’s largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: November to June for flamingo viewing 🐦
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Enrica’s Inn – Friendly Matthew Town guesthouse with rooms from $85 a night and help booking tours

Want to see wild flamingos in the Bahamas? Head to Great Inagua, the country’s southernmost island, where around 60,000 West Indian flamingos live in the world’s largest breeding colony. Flamingos here outnumber people by a long way, and some even roost near the airport runway!

You can only enter Inagua National Park with a Bahamas National Trust warden. Warden Henry Nixon, whose family has protected these birds for generations, drives visitors about an hour into the park by 4×4 to reach the flocks around Lake Windsor. Book your park tour through the BNT before you fly, and ask for an early morning or late afternoon trip.

Birders also come for the Inagua woodstar, a tiny hummingbird found only on Great and Little Inagua. For a wider look at the island, local guide Colin Ingraham offers full-day tours covering the park, the Morton Salt works and the lighthouse. Keep your camera ready, because wild donkeys wander the roads.

Bahamasair is the only airline serving Inagua, with a few flights a week from Nassau, and I’d lock in your room and park tour before booking a flight. I recommend Enrica’s Inn in Matthew Town, the island’s only settlement. Rooms start at $85 a night, and the staff can help you set up car rentals and tours.

8. Long Island

• 📍 Location: Central Bahamas, a short flight from Nassau
• 🏆 Best For: Road trippers and snorkelers who want empty beaches
• 🌊 Why Go: Dean’s Blue Hole, the third-deepest blue hole in the world
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: November to April for sunny days, or summer to watch the Vertical Blue freediving competition ☀️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort – Beachfront bungalows and villas on a 4-mile beach, 10 minutes from Stella Maris Airport

Long Island is where you’ll find Dean’s Blue Hole, a 663-foot-deep sinkhole just a few steps off a sandy beach. Only two blue holes on Earth go deeper, and you can snorkel right over the edge where the sandy shelf drops away. The water has no swell or current, which makes it easy for first-timers to float over the drop.

Dean’s is also the world’s best-known freediving spot, with 75 world records set here. Complete beginners can learn with Vertical Blue, the freediving school founded by world record holder William Trubridge. Its 4-day beginner course costs $715, with 2027 dates of February 25–28 and April 22–25.

At the north end of the island, Cape Santa Maria Beach has 4 miles of soft white sand and water that stays ankle-deep for dozens of yards. Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort sits right on the beach, 10 minutes from Stella Maris Airport. I’ve been to a lot of beautiful beaches in the Bahamas, and I still think about how soft the sand is here!

Long Island is 80 miles long and just 4 miles wide, and a rental car is the best way to get around. On the drive south, book a flashlight tour of Hamilton’s Cave with owner Leonard Cartwright, and look for a message written on the wall in 1865. In Clarence Town, climb the bell tower of Father Jerome’s Catholic church for views over the harbor.

9. Manjack Cay

• 📍 Location: Abaco Islands, a short boat ride north of Green Turtle Cay
• 🏆 Best For: Families and snorkelers who want to see rays and turtles up close
• 🐢 Why Go: Friendly stingrays that swim right up to the beach
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: March to June for calmer seas and better visibility 🌤️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Bluff House Beach Resort & Marina – 12-acre resort on the highest point of Green Turtle Cay, with a pool, private beach and marina

Manjack Cay is a small private island in the Abacos, just north of Green Turtle Cay, where stingrays swim right up to the beach. Only a few families live here, and they kindly let visitors walk the island’s trails and enjoy its beaches. You’ll see it called Nunjack Cay on some maps, and locals use both names.

My favorite spot is the sheltered cove at the north end, where rays glide into the shallows and nurse sharks and sea turtles often swim nearby. You can wade in and watch them up close, and I recommend bringing a mask for the snorkeling farther along the shore. At high tide, take a small boat through the mangrove creek into the middle of the island to spot even more turtles.

One short trail climbs a hill lined with art left by past visitors, and another crosses to a small beach on the Atlantic side. Bring bug spray, since mosquitoes can be fierce on the trails. There are no shops or restaurants on Manjack, and I’d pack lunch and water before you leave Green Turtle Cay.

You can only reach Manjack by boat, and I recommend renting one on Green Turtle Cay from Donny’s Boat Rentals or Sunset Marine. Many visitors pair it with nearby No Name Cay and its swimming pigs for a full day on the water. To get to Green Turtle Cay, fly into Treasure Cay, take a 5-minute taxi to the dock, then hop on the 15-minute ferry.

10. Nassau

• 📍 Location: New Providence Island, the capital of the Bahamas
• 🏆 Best For: First-timers and cruise passengers with a day to explore
• 🎭 Why Go: A walkable historic downtown and the Junkanoo street parades
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: December to April for dry weather, or December 26 and January 1 for Junkanoo 🥁
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau – Right on Junkanoo Beach with a water park, a short walk from downtown

If you only have one day in the Bahamas, spend it in Nassau. The capital sits on New Providence Island, and its colorful downtown and city beach are both within walking distance of the cruise port. It’s also where you’ll land, since Lynden Pindling International Airport is the country’s main gateway.

Start with the Queen’s Staircase, 65 steps carved out of solid limestone by enslaved people in the 1790s. It’s free and shaded for most of the day, which makes it a good stop even at midday. At the top, Fort Fincastle charges a few dollars to enter.

If you’re in Nassau over the holidays, don’t miss Junkanoo, the Bahamas’ biggest street festival and a UNESCO-listed tradition. Dancers in costumes up to 15 feet tall rush down Bay Street to goatskin drums and cowbells from around 2 AM on Boxing Day (December 26, 2026) and New Year’s Day (January 1, 2027). Bleacher seats near Rawson Square, where the judging happens, have the best views, and tickets usually go on sale in early December.

• Tip: Want to swim with the pigs without leaving Nassau? This full-day powerboat tour takes you to the Exumas and back, with stops for rock iguanas and nurse sharks on the way!

11. Paradise Island

• 📍 Location: Just across the harbor from downtown Nassau
• 🏆 Best For: Families who want a water park and a big beach day in one place
• 🌊 Why Go: Atlantis’s Aquaventure water park and nearly 2 miles of Cabbage Beach
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: December to April for sunny, dry weather ☀️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: The Coral at Atlantis – Family-friendly Atlantis tower with Aquaventure access included

Paradise Island sits across the harbor from downtown Nassau, linked by two bridges and a short water taxi ride. It’s home to Atlantis, the giant resort with a 141-acre water park and a casino. If you’re looking for places to visit in the Bahamas with kids, it’s the easiest spot to fill a whole day.

You don’t have to stay at Atlantis to ride the slides at Aquaventure. Day passes started around $195 for adults and $95 for kids this year, and only a limited number go on sale each day. My favorite money-saving trick for families is a night at Comfort Suites Paradise Island, where rooms include Aquaventure access for up to four people, though one-night stays can’t use it on arrival day.

Right next door, Cabbage Beach gives you nearly 2 miles of white sand for free. Walk in on the public path off Casino Drive, between the RIU Palace and Sunrise Beach Club, then head east where the crowds thin out. Shade is hard to find and there are no restrooms, and renting a chair and umbrella from the beach vendors is money well spent.

On your way over, keep an eye out for the Versailles Gardens and its medieval French cloister, shipped to the Bahamas and rebuilt stone by stone. It even shows up in two James Bond films! The gardens belong to The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, and only hotel guests can walk through, but the cloister’s columns are easy to spot from the road.

12. The Glass Window Bridge

• 📍Location: North Eleuthera, on Queen’s Highway between Gregory Town and Lower Bogue
• 🏆 Best For: Road trippers and photographers exploring Eleuthera by car
• 🌊 Why Go: The dark Atlantic and turquoise Bight of Eleuthera side by side, just 30 feet apart
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: November to March for cooler weather and calmer seas 🌤️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: La Bougainvillea – Small boutique hotel on a pink sand beach just outside Governor’s Harbour

If you’re driving Queen’s Highway on Eleuthera, you’ll cross the Glass Window Bridge between Gregory Town and Lower Bogue. Here, the island narrows to about 30 feet, with the dark Atlantic on one side and the turquoise Bight of Eleuthera on the other. Pull over at one of the free parking spots on either side, because this is one of the most unique places in the Bahamas!

The best photos come from the rocks beside the road, looking back at the bridge and both bodies of water. When the Atlantic is rough, waves can break over the road, and the bridge sometimes closes for a few days at a time. Check the forecast before you drive up, and stay well back from the edge on windy days.

A new $71.7 million bridge is on the way, set 60 feet west of the current one and about 16 feet higher to keep waves off the road. Construction should take around two years, and the old bridge is expected to stay mostly open in the meantime. When the work is done, the old bridge will be removed and the site will become a public park with a visitor center.

Rent a car when you land at North Eleuthera or Governor’s Harbour, since there’s no other easy way to reach the bridge. Bring water and snacks, as there aren’t any shops nearby. I recommend staying at La Bougainvillea, a small boutique hotel on a pink sand beach just outside Governor’s Harbour.

• Read Next: 10 Best Airlines to the Bahamas

13. Pig Beach (Big Major Cay)

• 📍 Location: Big Major Cay, Exuma, a 10-minute boat ride from Staniel Cay
• 🏆 Best For: Families and animal lovers on a bucket-list trip
• 🐷 Why Go: The Bahamas’ famous swimming pigs, plus Thunderball Grotto next door
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: December to April for calm seas, arriving in the morning when the pigs are hungry ☀️
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Staniel Cay Yacht Club – Classic island hotel and marina with powerboat rentals, minutes from the pigs

Pig Beach is a small beach on Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the Exuma Cays about 75 miles southeast of Nassau. Around 20 pigs live here on their own, and when a boat pulls up, they swim out through the clear water to say hello and look for snacks. Local legend says farmers from nearby Staniel Cay moved the pigs here to keep the smell away from their village. The swimming pigs have been a Bahamas icon ever since!

Posted signs ask you to feed the pigs only in the water, since pigs that eat off the sand swallow sand too. Never give them alcohol, and leave the piglets on the ground. I recommend visiting in the morning when the pigs are hungry (they nap in the shade by midday).

Nearby, you can snorkel Thunderball Grotto, the underwater cave from the 1965 James Bond film. Visit at low slack tide, when the entrance sits above the water. Compass Cay is a short ride north, where you can wade in with nurse sharks at the marina.

You can also visit Pig Beach on a day trip from Nassau, and I highly recommend this full-day powerboat tour for seeing the best of the Exumas at once. After a fast ride over, you’ll meet the rock iguanas of Allen Cay and swim with gentle nurse sharks at Compass Cay, then the pigs will swim right up to your boat. Pack sunscreen and a waterproof phone case, because you’ll want photos from start to finish!

14. Harbour Island

• 📍 Location: Off the northeast tip of Eleuthera, a short water taxi ride from North Eleuthera Airport
• 🏆 Best For: Couples and beach lovers who want a walkable island with great food
• 🌸 Why Go: Pink Sands Beach and the pastel cottages of Dunmore Town
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: December to April for dry, breezy days 🌞
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Coral Sands Inn & Cottages – Freshly renovated beachfront hotel on the pink sand, named to Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Gold List

Harbour Island is a small island off the northeast tip of Eleuthera, just over 3 miles long and half a mile wide. Its east coast is lined by Pink Sands Beach, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the Bahamas. The sand has a soft pink color, thanks to tiny red-shelled sea creatures called foraminifera that wash up and mix with the white sand.

Getting here takes two short hops. Fly into North Eleuthera Airport, take a quick taxi to Three Island Dock, then ride a water taxi across for about $5 to $7 per person. Once you arrive, rent a golf cart, and book ahead if you’re visiting between December and April.

The island’s only town, Dunmore Town, is full of pastel cottages with bougainvillea spilling over white picket fences. For lunch, head to Queen Conch on Bay Street, where they chop your conch salad fresh right in front of you. Ask for the hot sauce, and try the exotic conch salad with fresh fruit mixed in!

I recommend staying at Coral Sands Inn & Cottages, right on the pink sand and freshly renovated, with a spot on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Gold List. If your hotel sits on the bay side, you can rent two chairs and an umbrella at Teejays on the beach for around $25. Stay at least one night if you can, and catch the sunrise when the pink sand glows brightest.

15. Bimini

• 📍 Location: Western Bahamas, about 50 miles east of Miami
• 🏆 Best For: Anglers 🎣, wreck divers 🤿, weekend escapers 🛥️
• 📸 Top Experiences: Diving the SS Sapona wreck, swimming the gin-clear flats, chasing the Bimini Road mystery
• 📅 Best Time to Visit: March to June for calm seas and prime fishing 🌊
• 🏨 Where to Stay: Hilton at Resorts World Bimini – marina resort with a fast ferry from Miami

Want to visit the Bahamas without a long flight? Bimini sits just 50 miles off South Florida, and you can reach it on a two-hour ferry from Fort Lauderdale. The Balearia Caribbean ferry leaves Port Everglades at 9 AM on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays this fall, and the return trip leaves Bimini at 6 PM.

Bimini has two main islands, and the main settlement of Alice Town sits on North Bimini. Ernest Hemingway fished these waters in the 1930s, and big-game fishing and bonefishing are still big draws today. In town, don’t miss the Dolphin House Museum, a three-story house built from seashells and sea glass by local historian Ashley Saunders.

For snorkeling, book a boat trip to the SS Sapona, a concrete ship that ran aground in a 1926 hurricane and now rests in about 15 feet of water. Most trips pair it with Honeymoon Harbour, where wild stingrays swim right up to you. Divers can also visit the Bimini Road, a half-mile line of underwater stones some believe is part of Atlantis.

I recommend staying at Hilton at Resorts World Bimini, close to the ferry dock on North Bimini. The daily resort charge includes shuttles into Alice Town and beach chairs. Check the cruise calendar before booking, since the resort’s beach closes to hotel guests on days when Virgin Voyages is in port.