Bahamian Spots

Island
Hopper
GUIDES

Cherokee Sound Abaco Where the Road Simply Ends

At low tide, Cherokee Sound’s bay becomes a vast sandbar where you can wade nearly a mile offshore in knee-deep water — a geography so unusual it shaped the longest wooden dock in the Bahamas. Twenty-five miles south of Marsh Harbour, the Great Abaco Highway narrows, the pine forest gives way to salt air, and the pavement simply stops. You’re in Cherokee Sound. Founded in the 1790s by Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, this working fishing village holds fewer than eighty residents today — mostly descendants of those original families. There are no hotels, no beach bars, no souvenir

Read More »

Fortune Hill San Salvador for a View Worth the Climb

Fortune Hill is believed to have been one of the earliest and largest plantations on San Salvador Island — a ridge-top cotton estate established by Loyalist Burton Williams in the late 1700s. Emily’s Take Fortune Hill rewards the climb with sweeping views of San Salvador’s east coast and a direct encounter with Bahamian plantation history. The ruins are genuine but sparse — stone walls, building foundations, and the layout of a once-operational cotton plantation. Come for the vista and the tangible link to the Loyalist era, not a restored museum. Best for History enthusiasts Hikers Photographers Fortune Hill sits

Read More »

Sandy Point Abaco Where the Bonefishing Flats Begin

Within minutes of shoving off from the Sandy Point dock, guide Paul Pinder spotted a permit and handed over a 12-weight rod. The water was so clear you could count the red starfish on the bottom. That kind of immediate access to world-class flats isn’t typical — even for someone who’d fished the Florida Keys for years. For fly fishing enthusiasts, Sandy Point has emerged as one of the premier bonefishing destinations in the Bahamas. Sandy Point sits at the quiet southwestern tip of Great Abaco, about 50 miles southwest of Marsh Harbour. It’s a working fishing village where

Read More »

Cambridge Cay a Quiet Anchorage Inside the Exuma Land and Sea Park

Cambridge Cay sits at the southern edge of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a 112,640-acre protected reserve established in 1958 as the first marine reserve in the wider Caribbean. Its mooring field — roughly six balls on the western side of the cay — offers the kind of all-weather protection that makes it a favourite among cruisers when the forecast looks unsettled. Rocky Dundas caves lie a short dinghy ride north, the Sea Aquarium snorkelling site is equally close, and the nearest provisioning at Staniel Cay is about five nautical miles south. For anyone navigating the park

Read More »

Staniel Cay Yacht Club the Unofficial Hub of the Exumas

Thunderball Grotto alone drew more than 16,000 visitors in a single winter season. Thunderball Grotto alone drew more than 16,000 visitors in a single winter season. Staniel Cay Yacht Club has been the social and logistical heartbeat of the central Exumas since 1956. Founded by Bob Chamberlain and Joe Hocher, this marina, restaurant, and cottage resort sits on an island with fewer than 120 full-time residents. It’s the place where cruising sailors top off fuel, grab a cold Kalik, and plan their next day among the cays — the unofficial hub that makes exploring this stretch of the Bahamas

Read More »

Elbow Cay’s Candy Striped Lighthouse and the Village Beneath It

At 2 a.m. on Elbow Cay, the lighthouse keeper climbs 101 spiral steps to hand-wind a spring mechanism that has kept the beacon turning every night since 1863. The ritual hasn’t changed in over 160 years — no automation, no modern shortcuts, just kerosene and a brass weight system that works like a grandfather clock. World’s last manually operated lighthouse — kerosene-burning, hand-cranked, and absolutely unautomated since 1863. That’s the Elbow Reef Lighthouse, the last kerosene-burning, hand-cranked lighthouse on the planet. And the candy-striped tower isn’t the only reason to visit Hope Town, the car-free village that sits beneath

Read More »

Sumner Point Rum Cay for Divers Who Want Solitude

Twenty miles southwest of San Salvador, on an island where the population barely reaches 80, sits one of the Caribbean’s most accessible yet least-visited shipwrecks. The HMS Conqueror, Britain’s first propeller-driven warship, grounded on Sumner Point Reef in 1861 and now rests in just 30 feet of water — a protected site within the Bahamas Underwater Museum where cannons and coral coexist in water so clear you can see the full scatter of artifacts from the surface. The HMS Conqueror, a 101-gun warship, sank at Sumner Point Reef in 1861 with all 1,400 souls surviving. Its wreck sits in

Read More »

Taino Beach Freeport’s Local Favorite Away From the Cruise Crowds

Ranked the #8 beach in The Bahamas, Taino Beach is where locals in Freeport go to escape the cruise-ship crowds. Six miles west of the Freeport Cruise Port — about a fifteen-minute taxi ride — Taino Beach splits its personality right down the middle. On quiet weekday mornings it feels like a sleepy Bahamian backyard: a few locals reading on the sand, vendors cracking fresh conch, the water flat and turquoise. Then a cruise ship docks, and the same stretch fills with deck-chair rows, jet-ski engines, and the clatter of beach bars hitting full swing. The trick is knowing

Read More »

Paradise Cove Grand Bahama’s Underrated Reef Right Offshore

Rated 4.7 out of 261 reviews, Deadman’s Reef is consistently called the best shore snorkel on Grand Bahama — and it’s a short swim from the sand. Emily’s Take If you want a world-class reef experience without the boat trip, Paradise Cove delivers. The catch? It’s a 35-minute drive from Freeport, and cruise ship days can get busy. Book ahead, bring your own mask if you have one, and aim for high tide. Best for Snorkellers Families Day-trippers Stop Best For Key Feature Insider Tip Deadman’s Reef Snorkellers of all levels Reef balls + natural coral Visit at high

Read More »

Deadman’s Reef Grand Bahama for Shallow Water Snorkeling

Deadman’s Reef sits just offshore from Paradise Cove Beach on Grand Bahama’s western coast, a stretch of shallow water where natural coral formations meet hundreds of reef balls — concrete structures designed to encourage coral growth and provide habitat for marine life. Together they form the largest contiguous reef ball system in the Bahamas, and because the water stays calm and never gets deep, it works for snorkelers who’d rather not swim far from shore. This article covers what you need to know about snorkeling Deadman’s Reef — the marine life you’ll see, how to get there from Freeport,

Read More »