Hundreds of cays scattered across clear, shallow banks, reached by a direct flight from Heathrow to Nassau.
The Bahamas is an archipelago of 16 main island groups spread across the shallow banks south-east of Florida. Nassau and Paradise Island have the big resorts, but we spend most of our time out in the Family Islands: the Exumas, Eleuthera and Harbour Island, Andros and the Abacos.
We use Nassau as a gateway rather than a destination. From there, short flights and boats take you to the Exuma Cays for days on a boat among sandbars, to Harbour Island for pink sand and clapboard cottages, or to Andros for bonefishing and blue holes.
The caveats are cost and connections. Everything is imported and the Family Islands are expensive. Flights between islands are small and weather-dependent, so we allow a buffer night in Nassau before the flight home.
The experiences we plan most often, with the months they are at their best.
The Exuma Cays run for more than a hundred miles south of Nassau, and a private boat from Staniel Cay is the way to see them. Stop at sandbars that surface at low tide, snorkel over coral heads and visit Big Major Cay, often called Pig Island, where a colony of pigs lives on the beach. Ask your captain to go early, before the day-trip boats.
Next to Staniel Cay, Thunderball Grotto is a hollow island you swim into through a gap in the rock. Inside, shafts of light fall through holes in the roof onto reef fish. It featured in two James Bond films. Go at slack low tide, when the current is gentlest, and with a guide.
This protected area in the central Exumas is a no-take zone of cays, reefs and channels, with trails on Warderick Wells and healthy, protected reefs. It is best visited by private boat or on a sailing charter. Rangers ask visitors to leave nothing and take nothing.
Harbour Island, off the north tip of Eleuthera, has a three-mile beach tinted pink by crushed shell and a town of pastel clapboard houses. People get around by golf cart. Days here are about the beach, long lunches and sundowners on the harbour. Reach it by flight to North Eleuthera and a short water taxi.
Andros is the largest Bahamian island and one of the least developed, with vast tidal flats and mangroves. It is known for bonefishing with local guides, and for blue holes: deep, water-filled caves in the forest and on the reef. A small lodge here is a quiet contrast to the Exumas.
Junkanoo is the Bahamas' biggest street festival, with costumed groups parading to goatskin drums, cowbells and horns. The main parades in Nassau happen in the early hours of Boxing Day and New Year's Day. If you are in Nassau over Christmas, it is worth staying up for.
Stay a night or two on Paradise Island at The Ocean Club if you want Nassau's restaurants. In the Exumas, small lodges on Staniel Cay put you close to the sandbars and grottoes. On Harbour Island, The Dunmore sits on the pink sand. On Andros, Kamalame Cay is a private island lodge. Two islands plus Nassau is about right.
We match each trip in Bahamas to hotels, lodges and villas chosen for the way you travel. Tell us what matters and a specialist will suggest two or three that fit.
Ask for hotel suggestionsThe Bahamas sits further north than most of the Caribbean, so winter can be cooler: lows around 21°C, and the odd cold front that stirs up the sea. Summer highs reach 26°C to 32°C. Spring, from March to May, combines warm water, dry weather and calm seas, and is our favourite time for the Exumas.
Rain comes in short squalls, with May and June the wettest. The hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, and the FCDO notes that hurricanes and floods in the Bahamas can be deadly. Late August to October is the riskiest period; many hotels offer hurricane cancellation policies, and we always check them.
A night on Paradise Island, four in the Exumas for boat days and snorkelling, then three on Harbour Island, with a buffer built in before the flight home. 9 nights.
Land in Nassau and cross to Paradise Island. A slow day on the beach to shake off the flight.
A small plane south to Staniel Cay. Private boat days to the sandbars, Thunderball Grotto and the Land and Sea Park.
Fly via Nassau to North Eleuthera and take the water taxi across. Pink sand, golf carts and long lunches.
A morning flight to Nassau connects with the direct flight to Heathrow.
Practical notes checked against their sources. For entry and safety, the FCDO advice for Bahamas (opens in a new tab) is always the authority.
British Airways flies daily non-stop from Heathrow to Nassau, and Virgin Atlantic twice a week, in about 9 to 10 hours. From Nassau, small aircraft and ferries reach the Family Islands.
UK passport holders do not currently need a visa for a short holiday. Read the FCDO entry requirements (opens in a new tab) before you book, especially if you are routing through the USA.
Read the FCDO entry requirements for Bahamas (opens in a new tab)
Use sunscreen, take breaks from the sun and drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids. Check TravelHealthPro (opens in a new tab) and the FCDO health page before you go.
The Bahamian dollar is held at the same value as the US dollar, and the two are used interchangeably. ATMs are found in banks on Nassau and the larger Family Islands; carry cash for the smallest cays.
BTC has roaming agreements with many foreign networks, so check with your UK provider about coverage and charges. Hotel wifi is standard, though slower on remote cays.
Tipping is customary: about 15% for waiters and taxis and around $1 a bag for porters. Many places add a gratuity to the bill, so check first.
It is a real consideration. The season runs from June to November, peaking between mid-August and mid-October, and storms here can be severe. If you travel in summer or autumn, book flexible rates and insurance, and keep a buffer day. Spring is the safer choice.
The FCDO reports violent crime, including armed robbery, in residential and tourist areas of New Providence and Grand Bahama. Stay in the main tourist areas, avoid walking after dark away from them and use licensed taxis. The Family Islands, where we spend most of our time, feel very different.
They are fun for a short stop, especially with children, but busy in the middle of the day. Go early with a private boat, follow your captain's guidance on feeding, and treat it as one stop on a boat day rather than the reason to visit.
The Bahamas offers more variety: many islands, boat days in the Exumas and a direct daily flight from Heathrow. Turks and Caicos is simpler, with one long beach on Providenciales and a quieter feel. Choose the Bahamas for island hopping, Turks and Caicos for a single easy base.
Tell us a little and a specialist will reply with ideas, dates that work and a price. Best months: March to May and December.
The pale sand of Grace Bay, a barrier reef and calm, shallow water, on a British Overseas Territory.
Blue Mountain coffee, river rafting, reggae and a north coast of fine old hotels: a beach holiday with a strong culture.
A beach for every day of the year, Nelson's Dockyard and a day trip to the pink sand of Barbuda.
