Bahamian Activities

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GUIDES

Chasing the Bahamas Best Tarpon Fishing Spots

Tarpon in the Bahamas can exceed 100 pounds, launching themselves 10 feet into the air and racing across the flats at 35 mph. Tarpon in the Bahamas can exceed 100 pounds, launching themselves 10 feet into the air and racing across the flats at 35 mph. A tarpon in the air is a sight you don’t forget — 100 pounds of silver muscle exploding out of shallow Bahamian water, hanging there for a second that feels longer than it is. Locals call it the Silver King for a reason. These fish can gulp air to survive in low-oxygen shallows,

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How to Spend an Afternoon Learning Bahamian Knot Tying

I learned to tie my first knot — a simple figure-eight — on a shaded dock at Highbourne Cay, with the water so clear I could see sea fans swaying twenty feet down. The instructor was Windy Chien, a San Francisco-based artist who spent a full year learning a new knot every single day — a project she called The Year of Knots. That afternoon in the Exumas changed how I think about rope, craft, and the slow pleasure of hands-on learning. This article covers how to spend an afternoon learning Bahamian knot tying yourself — whether you join

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A Guide to Booking a Sunset Sail on a Traditional Sloop

On a clear evening in the Exumas, the low-angle sun turns the shallows into a sheet of gold and electric blue while a traditional sloop cuts through the flat water. Bahamas sunset cruises run year-round, but the departure time slides dramatically — from as early as 4pm in January to as late as 6pm in August. This guide covers exactly how to book a sunset sail on a traditional sloop, what to expect, and which islands deliver the best experience for couples, small groups, and families. Sunset timing in the Bahamas varies by season: November–January sees sunset around 5:45–6:15pm,

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A Guide to Scuba Diving Certifications You Can Earn on Vacation

The water off San Salvador Island is so clear you can see the sandy bottom 40 feet below before you even put your mask on. PADI, the world’s largest scuba training organization, has been certifying divers since 1966, and earning your Open Water Diver certification on vacation is one of the most rewarding ways to spend a few days. This guide covers the certification process, costs, and exactly where in the Bahamas to do it — whether you’re a solo traveler, a couple, or a family with kids aged 10 and up. Visibility in San Salvador regularly exceeds 100

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Exploring Bahamian Cave Systems Beyond the Tourist Trail

Slip into the tannin-stained water of a Grand Bahama blue hole and within seconds the surface chatter fades. Below the halocline—the swirling boundary where freshwater meets saltwater—visibility opens up and the scale of the Bahamas’ submerged cave network comes into focus. The Old Freetown system alone snakes 23,400 feet (roughly 4.4 miles) through limestone bedrock beneath Freeport. This article covers five cave systems across the Bahamas that reward the extra effort to reach them, from dry caves with Lucayan artifacts to world-class freediving spots. More than 170 blue holes dot Andros Island alone, part of a submerged cave network

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A Guide to Freediving Competitions on Long Island

Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island, Bahamas, drops to 150 metres (492 feet) — deep enough to make it the planet’s deepest known blue hole. Every July (and occasionally June) it hosts Vertical Blue, a freediving competition that athletes routinely call “the Wimbledon of Freediving.” This guide covers what Vertical Blue is, how to see it in person, and what you need to know about safety, etiquette, and logistics if you’re planning a trip to watch — or simply want to understand why this remote spot draws record-breakers from 16 countries. Vertical Blue at Dean’s Blue Hole has seen

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A Beginner’s Guide to Kiteboarding in the Bahamas

The trade winds deliver 15 to 25 knots across the Bahamas from November through April, and nowhere is that more useful than on the ten-kilometer Atlantic beach at Greenwood Beach Resort on Cat Island. This is the one place in the country with a proper kiteboarding school, and it’s where most beginners get their start. Most students achieve their first water starts within three to five days of lessons. If you’ve been eyeing kiteboarding but felt intimidated, the Bahamas offers forgiving flat-water spots and a direct learning path. This guide covers the lesson experience at Greenwood Beach, the gear

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Watching the Family Island Regatta Like a Local

The first time I watched the 69th National Family Island Regatta from the harbour wall in George Town, I understood why people fly in from all over the Bahamas for this week. Elizabeth Harbour, normally a quiet stretch of water, was packed with hundreds of boats, and the air carried the sound of reggae from a stage set up in the park. Thousands of people had arrived for the national championship of Bahamian sailing — a five-day event where traditional wooden sloops with towering masts race for the Prime Minister’s Cup. This article covers how to watch the regatta

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How to Join a Coral Restoration Dive in the Bahamas

Coral fragments grow 2–4 times faster in nurseries than on the natural reef — restoration diving accelerates recovery that would otherwise take decades. Under the surface off Green Turtle Cay, the reef should have been a graveyard. Instead, staghorn coral branches stretched toward the sun in thickets so dense they blocked the light. That difference is what a decade of active restoration looks like. The Perry Institute for Marine Science has planted over 15,000 corals across the Caribbean, and their long-term monitoring shows measurable increases in both coral cover and fish populations. This article walks you through how to

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A Beginner’s Guide to Lobster Diving Season in the Out Islands

A pod of dolphins cruised past our skiff as we anchored off a small cay in the Abacos. Michael was already in the water, mask down, scanning the sandy patches between coral heads for the telltale antennae of a spiny lobster. The Bahamas spiny lobster open season runs from August 1 to March 31 each year, and we had timed it right. This guide covers everything a beginner needs to know about lobster diving in the Out Islands — permits, gear, techniques, locations, and the rules that keep it sustainable. Spiny lobster season in the Bahamas runs August 1

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