Just over the horizon from South Florida, only 50 miles from Miami, are 700 islands and nearly 2,500 cays spread across 10,000 square miles of ocean. From the Abacos to the Exumas, the fishing, the diving and, above all, the clarity of the water are breathtaking. Solitude, nightlife, fine food, great accommodations, casinos, deserted beaches, perfect anchorages… it’s all there. Head for the waypoints on the following pages to experience these magical islands at their best. <\/P><\/p>\n
9 Great Hotels<\/B>
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\nAtlantis Resort
\n\uffb7 Atlantis, Paradise Island. A “wow” resort with a mega-marina.
\n\uffb7 One and Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island. The former home of zillionaire Huntington Hartford, now a posh getaway.
\n\uffb7 Four Seasons Resort at Emerald Bay, Great Exuma. The only full-service resort in the Exumas has a new marina.
\n\uffb7 Pink Sands, Harbour Island. Only 25 rooms and an incredible beach.
\n\uffb7 Westin & Sheraton, Lucaya, Grand Bahama. Three hotels, two great beaches and a full-service marina.
\n\uffb7 Abaco Beach Resort, Great Abaco. The biggest hotel in Marsh Harbour overlooks Boat Harbour Marina.
\n\uffb7 Abaco Inn, Elbow Cay. Small, sophisticated and with an ocean-level pool.
\n\uffb7 Compass Point, New Providence. Cottages on stilts overlook the water in high style.
\n\uffb7 Green Turtle Club, Green Turtle Cay. “In” spot where the villas have docks and the marina is famous. <\/P><\/p>\n
4 Unforgettable Watering Holes<\/B>
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\n\uffb7 Nipper’s, Great Guana Cay. Above one of the best beaches in the Bahamas, has a split-level pool.
\n\uffb7 Compleat Angler, Bimini. A whole room devoted to Ernest Hemingway.
\n\uffb7 Hummer’s Lounge, Marsh Harbour. The coziest bar in the Bahamas, even has a fireplace.
\n\uffb7 Miss Emily’s, Green Turtle Cay. Famous for its goombay smash; finding it is half the fun. <\/P><\/p>\n
9 Top Marinas <\/B>
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\nSampson Cay Marina
\n\uffb7 Treasure Cay Marina, Great Abaco. Great beach, a golf course and very well-protected.
\n\uffb7 Old Bahama Bay Marina, Grand Bahama. Great stopover when entering the Bahamas; magnificent “infinity” pool.
\n\uffb7 Boat Harbour, Abaco. Largest in the Bahamas; a serious gathering spot for sportfishermen.
\n\uffb7 Sampson Cay Marina, Exumas. Sits in a natural hurricane hole.
\n\uffb7 Hurricane Hole Marina, Paradise Island. Within walking distance of Atlantis or Ocean Club.
\n\uffb7 Highbourne Cay Marina, Exumas. Small and attractive, with good services; gateway to the Exumas.
\n\uffb7 Lucayan Marina, Grand Bahama. New, full-service center with free shuttle service.
\n\uffb7 Atlantis Marina, Paradise Island. Spectacular and meticulously maintained, with many services.
\n\uffb7 Marina at Emerald Bay, Exumas. New, with access to Four Seasons Resort and Greg Norman links. <\/P><\/p>\n
11 Tempting Restaurants<\/B>
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\nGraycliff Restaurant
\n\ufffd Luciano’s, Grand Bahama. Cognac-flamb\ufffded scampi.
\n\uffb7 The Landing, Harbour Island. Lobster in banana leaves.
\n\uffb7 Aqua, Old Bahama Bay. Beef, veal and lobster in a peppercorn sauce.
\n\uffb7 Abaco Inn, Elbow Cay. Try the frittata breakfast.
\n\uffb7 Pink Sands, Harbour Island. Salmon in a herb crust.
\n\uffb7 Rock House Restaurant, Harbour Island. Tiger shrimp spaghetti.
\n\uffb7 Mangoes, Marsh Harbour. Mango grouper is unforgettable.
\n\uffb7 Club Soleil, Elbow Cay. Great Sunday brunch.
\n\uffb7 Green Turtle Club, Green Turtle Cay. Ginger lobster medallions.
\n\uffb7 Bluff House, Green Turtle Cay, Abaco. Lobster quesadillas are a house specialty.
\n\uffb7 Graycliff, Nassau. Lobster Graycliff in white wine sauce. <\/P><\/p>\n
Local Foods To Try <\/B>
\n\uffb7 Boil fish. Grouper with salt pork, onion, pepper and spices.
\n\uffb7 Rice and peas. As much of an island classic as Bahamian bread.
\n\uffb7 Souse. Pigs feet, chicken parts and sheep tongue simmered in a spicy broth.
\n\uffb7 Stew fish. Tasty grouper in brown sauce.
\n\uffb7 Cracked conch. So fresh you’ll hear the chef banging in the kitchen. <\/P><\/p>\n
Tourist Stuff You just Can’t Resist<\/B>
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\nJunkanoo
\n\uffb7 Dolphin Encounter, Nassau. Your chance to get up close and personal with Flipper.
\n\uffb7 Hartley’s Undersea Walks, Nassau. Walk on the sea bottom with lightweight diving helmets.
\n\uffb7 Albury’s Sail Shop, Man-o-War. Shop for locally made canvas totes, duffels and more.
\n\uffb7 Hope Town Lighthouse, Elbow Cay. Photograph the landmark seen on Bahamas postage stamps.
\n\uffb7 Junkanoo. Attend this Mardi-Gras-style festival that’s held on most islands in December or January.
\n\uffb7 Atlantis Marine Habitat, Paradise Island. View 50,000 species in this aquarium. <\/P><\/p>\n
6 Spectacular Beaches<\/B>
\n\uffb7 Pink Sands, Harbour Island. Three miles of powder-fine pink sand protected by reefs.
\n\uffb7 Stocking Island, Exumas. No crowds and clear water.
\n\uffb7 Tahiti Beach, Elbow Cay, Abacos. Isolated, with great pickings for shell collectors.
\n\uffb7 Sandbar near Musha Cay, Exumas. When the tide’s right, this patch of sand off a very exclusive resort is paradise.
\n\uffb7 Treasure Cay, Great Abaco. Consistently rated among the world’s best.
\n\uffb7 Great Guana Cay, Abaco. A wild, untouched stretch that goes on and on. <\/P><\/p>\n
Bahamas On The Screen<\/B>
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\nPhoto: M16-The Home of James Bond 007
\n\uffb7 Splash. Daryl Hannah as a mermaid.
\n\uffb7 Darker Than Amber. Rod Taylor as Travis McGee.
\n\uffb7 Help! The Beatles on Paradise Beach.
\n\uffb7 Flame of the Islands. Yvonne De Carlo smolders with Jim Arness.
\n\uffb7 Jaws IV, The Revenge. Underwater sets remain off Clifton Pier.
\n\uffb7 Speed 2. Sandra Bullock in disaster film reprise.
\n\uffb7 Sea Hunt. 1950s TV series with Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson. <\/P><\/p>\n
James Bond Loved the Bahamas<\/B>
\n\uffb7 Never Say Never
\n\uffb7 Thunderball
\n\uffb7 The Spy Who Loved Me
\n\uffb7 You Only Live Twice <\/P><\/p>\n
6 Great Diving Spots<\/B>
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\nDivers enjoy great visibility.
\n\uffb7 Bimini Wall, Bimini. A vertical wall with black coral trees that seems to drop to infinity.
\n\uffb7 Current Cut, Eleuthera. A wild ride for skilled divers through a narrow opening with currents up to eight knots.
\n\uffb7 Stocking Island, Exumas. This tiny island off George Town is ringed with undersea caves and coral gardens.
\n\uffb7 Lucayan National Park, Grand Bahama. The longest underwater caves-seven miles-in the world.
\n\uffb7 Andros Wall, Andros. This barrier reef drops more than 6,000 feet.
\n\uffb7 Walls of San Salvador, San Salvador. Many sheer, straight drop-offs.<\/P><\/p>\n
Best Ways To Enjoy Local Lobster<\/B>
\n\uffb7 Steamed
\n\uffb7 Breaded
\n\uffb7 Sauteed in butter
\n\uffb7 With grated cheese
\n\uffb7 Minced with tomatoes, green peppers and onions. <\/P><\/p>\n
6 Angling Adventures<\/B>
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\nAnglers hit the Bahamas for bonefish on the flats.
\n\uffb7 Bahamas Billfish Champion-ship. Compete in the tournament series that showcases the top big-game boats and crews.
\n\uffb7 Tuna Alley. The legendary waters between Cat Cay and Bimini produce bluefin over 700 pounds.
\n\uffb7 World-Record Wahoo. Hit San Salvador for wahoos that push 160 pounds. The high-speed Bahamas Wahoo Championship also gets under way in November in Port Lucaya.
\n\uffb7 Bonefish Heaven. Shimmering schools of speedy bonefish cruise the Abaco Marls and the flats off Andros and Grand Bahama.
\n\uffb7 Trophy Grouper. Pick a reef, nearly any reef, in the 700-island chain, and troll up tasty grouper using deep-running plugs.
\n\uffb7 Troll for Billfish. The Tongue of the Ocean just beyond the Great Bahama Bank is one blue marlin hot spot. The area east of the Abacos is another.<\/P><\/p>\n
By Chris Caswell from Motor Boating
\nwww.motorboating.com<\/SMALL><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Bahamas are the Magic Kingdom of cruising destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248043\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}