Cat Island Activities and Attractions

Probably, the biggest "thing-to-do" on Cat Island is to do nothing at all. Sure, it\'s all here for you to do - fishing, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving - but you may appreciate the peaceful serenity so much, you end up doing absolutely nothing but enjoying it, which is fine.

Cat Island Attractions & Activities

Beautiful Beaches

With its pristine virgin beaches, Cat Island is one of the most beautiful islands in The Bahamas, and it is so little visited that it´s inexpensive and still feels undiscovered. Many local historians claim that Cat Island residents were the first to see Columbus. The great explorer himself was believed by some to have been welcomed here by the peaceful Arawaks.

Beautiful beaches offer an array of water sports. Visitors can go swimming or snorkeling at several places. The island´s north side is wild, untamed shoreline. Boating and diving are among the main reasons to go to Cat Island, and diving lessons are available for novices.

The Cat Island Dive Center at the Greenwood Beach Resort (tel. 242-342-3053) will take you out on diving or snorkeling excursions, or rent you snorkeling gear and other water toys.

Historical Sites

There's an interesting Arawak cave at Columbus Point on the southern tip of the island. In addition, you can see the ruins of many once-flourishing plantations that saw their heyday during the island's short-lived cotton boom. Early planters, many of them Loyalists, marked their plantation boundaries with stone mounds -- some of which are now nearly 200 years old. The ruined plantations include the Deveaux Mansion, built by Col. Andrew Deveaux of the fledgling U.S. Navy (who recaptured Nassau from the Spanish in 1783), and the Armbrister Plantation, which lies in ruins near Port Howe.

You can also hike along the natural paths through native villages and past exotic plants. Finally, you reach the peak of Mount Alvernia, the highest point in The Bahamas, at 62m (206 ft.) above sea level, where you will be rewarded with a spectacular view. The mount is capped by the Hermitage, a religious retreat built entirely by hand by the late Father Jerome, the former "father confessor" of the island, who was once a mule skinner in Canada. Curiously, the building was scaled to fit his short stature (he was a very, very short man). Formerly an Anglican, this Roman Catholic hermit priest became a legend on Cat Island. He died in 1956 at the age of 80, but his memory is kept very much alive here.