10 Best Bahamas Islands

Start on Paradise Island, home to the enormous Atlantis resort

Paradise Island is one of the top spots for food and nightlife in the Bahamas. This island is connected to the city of Nassau by two bridges, providing easy access the Bahamas' capital city. While some of the islands around the Bahamas are relatively untouched, Paradise Island is home to the enormous Atlantis resort. With dozens of restaurants and bars to enjoy, along with casinos and water rides, there's a lot to do on Paradise Island. All kinds of tasty seafood can be gobbled down at Paradise, with a whole range of unique cocktails available as well. There’s a lot of great food to be found all around the Bahamas, including tasty fish fry stands on many beaches, but Paradise offers more variety than most other islands.

Enjoy near-total intimacy on Exumas Island

If you're a loving couple looking for a romantic getaway, or maybe even searching for the ideal honeymoon destination, the Bahamas are a great place to be, and Exumas Islandis one of the top locations to visit. Offering breathtaking views and near-total intimacy, this island isn't one of the top tourist spots, so the only way to get there is by private charter or hitching a ride on a yacht. Exumas is uninhabited, letting you and your partner enjoy total freedom and feel like you have your own private island all to yourselves. All sorts of reefs, caves, wrecks, and more can be found at Exumas too.

Relax on stunning stretches of coastline on Long Island

Picking the best Bahamas island in terms of its beaches is an almost impossible decision, as nearly every single island has stunning stretches of coastline for all to admire. However, Long Island is often regarded as having some of the best beaches of all. This island features a surprisingly wide array of landscapes, including cliffs, ruins, caves, and more, and that variety extends to the beaches of Long Island too. Some parts of the coast offer long, uninterrupted banks of sand, while others will feature little coves and caves to explore and even warm pools of water to soak in.

Best for wildlife lovers: Grand Bahama Island

If you’re looking to explore, Grand Bahama Island is the place to be. The northernmost island of the Bahamas, Grand Bahama is a paradise for wildlife lovers. An enormous amount of birds can be found living on this island, which also has three different national parks to discover, with Lucayan National Park offering some particularly beautiful hiking trails. Not only that, but there are plenty of old wrecks and coral reefs for divers to take a look at, along with dozens of underwater caves. Many of the caves are closed off, but some, like Burial Mound Cave, are open for exploration, making Grand Bahama the place to be for people with a sense of adventure.

Best for fishing: Andros Island

For fishing at the Bahamas, there's one clear option that stands out above the rest: Andros Island. Any keen angler in the area can be found at this location, with Andros being regarded as the bonefishing capital of the world. A huge network of streams and waterways can be found all around the island, offering countless opportunities to reel in a big one. The island itself also provides a beautiful backdrop for fishing trips, with hundreds of bird species and beautiful mangroves to explore.

Best for a honeymoon in the Bahamas: Eleuthera and Harbour Islands

Eleuthera and Harbour Islands are separated by a narrow stretch of water which takes just 5 minutes to cross by ferry. While they are very close together, the two islands are miles apart in character. Harbour Island is known for its long pink-sand beaches, and the picturesque New England-style houses which were built by loyalist settlers back in the 1700’s. There is great snorkeling around the offshore coral reefs. Eleuthera is wild and wonderful and attracts adventure lovers who come to enjoy excellent surfing at Surfer’s Beach and to swim in Ocean Hole, a natural swimming hole where you can swim with tropical fish and even turtles.

Best for boating and sailing: The Abaco Islands

Discover the beautiful Abaco Island chain, one of the world’s most inviting boating and sailing destinations. Here you will find a string of stunning islands and cays stretching around 120 miles from north to south. Island-hopping is the name of the game in the Abacos, and offers visitors the opportunity to explore a new island paradise every day. The islands offer everything you could dream of for your vacation including soft sandy beaches, excellent water sports, scuba diving, boating, fishing and interesting colonial towns to explore. Those who are not exploring by boat will find a range of great accommodation and dining options on all the islands.

Best pink beach in the Bahamas: Cat Island

Secluded and serene, Cat Island offers visitors the chance to explore a pristine island landscape far from the more popular tourist destinations. Surrounded by soft sand beaches, including an 8-mile stretch of pink beach, Cat Island has some outstanding dive sites and offers near-perfect conditions for kite surfers. At the heart of the island you will find Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas. Visitors tend to spend their time exploring the rolling hills and nature trails, enjoying chartered fishing excursions or relaxing at one of the beach clubs or private inns. Enjoying freshly caught fish and seafood forms an integral part of your island experience.

Discover Ernest Hemingway's favorite--Bimini Island

Bimini Island is actually made up of 2 adjoining islands, North Bimini and South Bimini, which lie just 50 miles east of Florida. The island was once a favorite vacation destination of Ernest Hemingway and is known for offering wonderful dive sites and some very special unique marine experiences. Here you can enjoy swimming with playful wild dolphins which are regularly found in the waters north of the island. You could also take the opportunity to go on a scuba adventure to observe the Hammerheads and Bull sharks which frequent the waters in winter. Most visitors come to soak up the sun, enjoy the beaches or spend their days enjoying excellent fishing.

Best for diving in the Bahamas: San Salvador

You will never be bored on the beautiful island of San Salvador, which is brimming with attractions and activities to keep visitors on the go. The island has loads of history as it was here, on Long Bay, that Christopher Columbus made landfall in 1492. The island boasts at least 50 amazing dive sites and you can even visit an underwater monument which marks the spot that Columbus’ ship Pinta dropped anchor. There are miles and miles of beautiful beaches to enjoy and a range of accommodation options to suit all tastes and budgets. You can enjoy a wide range of water sports as well as activities like hiking, visiting archaeological sites, zip lining and city tours.