Bahamian Spots

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Sampson Cay Exuma a Marina Tucked Into a Private Feeling Cove

An estimated 239,000 cubic yards of material will be removed to carve two marinas into Sampson Cay’s shoreline — a scale that captures both the ambition and the environmental tension at the heart of this project. Sampson Cay sits in the Exumas, a stretch of The Bahamas that includes the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, one of the oldest protected marine reserves in the Caribbean. The island is being developed by Yntegra, a private investment firm, with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts as the anchor operator. The plan calls for a Rosewood-branded resort, exclusive residences, a beach club, dining

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Bitter Guana Cay Exuma and Its Endangered Iguana Colony

Bitter Guana Cay sits low in the central Exumas, a scrub-covered sliver of limestone and sand that most visitors glide past without a second glance. But pull a dinghy onto its western beach and you step into one of the quieter wildlife encounters in the Bahamas — a beach shared with the critically endangered Exuma Island Rock Iguana. Adults can grow up to four feet in length, though most beach specimens you’ll encounter on Bitter Guana Cay measure closer to two. That size range comes from the same Cyclura species found across the Exumas, but the colony here is

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Leaf Cay Exuma Home to the Bahamas Rock Iguanas

Fewer than 5,000 Bahamian rock iguanas remain in the wild, and Leaf Cay — a speck of limestone and sand in the central Exumas — holds one of the most accessible colonies left on Earth. Leaf Cay, also called Iguana Island, sits just south of Staniel Cay in the central Exumas, uninhabited and undeveloped. What it lacks in facilities it makes up for with one of the most direct wildlife encounters you’ll find in the Bahamas: dozens of endangered Bahamian rock iguanas (Cyclura cychlura) that have grown accustomed to human visitors and will wade into the shallows when a

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Duncan Town Ragged Island Where Fewer Than a Hundred People Remain

Hurricane Irma ripped through the Jumentos Cays on September 8, 2017, packing 180-mph winds that flattened Duncan Town, the only settlement on Ragged Island. The government declared the place uninhabitable and ordered everyone out. Most never came back. Today, around 65 people live in Duncan Town — a fraction of the 1,000 who called it home in the 1930s, and fewer still than the 72 counted in the 2010 census. Around 65 people remain in Duncan Town today — down from a peak of roughly 1,000 in the 1930s and even from the 72 recorded in the 2010 census.

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Pittstown Point Crooked Island Where the Lighthouse Still Stands Watch

Bird Rock Lighthouse was once considered the loneliest station in the British dominion, with supply vessels calling only twice a year. That 112-foot stone tower has been standing watch over Crooked Island’s northern tip since 1876, long after the British Imperial Lighthouse Service erected it and long after automation rendered it obsolete around 1934. Today it’s abandoned, a weathering monument on a rocky offshore outcrop that most visitors never set foot on — but its silhouette defines this corner of The Bahamas just as clearly as it did a century ago. Crooked Island sits roughly 60 nautical miles southeast

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Deadman’s Reef Grand Bahama for Shallow Water Snorkeling

Deadman’s Reef at Paradise Cove holds a 4.7-star rating across 261 reviews, making it one of the most consistently praised shore-snorkeling spots on Grand Bahama. Emily’s Take Deadman’s Reef is a rare shallow-water reef you can wade into from the beach — no boat, no deep-water anxiety, just calm, clear water and immediate marine life. The catch? High tide is non-negotiable for decent depth, and the 30-minute drive from the cruise port means you’ll want to plan your timing carefully. For families with beginners or anyone who wants to spend more time in the water than in transit, it’s

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Smith’s Bay Cat Island Where the Water Turns Impossibly Clear

Cat Island recorded a near 70 percent increase in foreign air arrivals in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic 2019 — the highest jump in the Bahamas. Cat Island led the Bahamas with a near 70 percent increase in foreign air arrivals in 2022 compared to 2019. That stat alone tells you something is shifting on this long, quiet Out Island. For years, Cat Island flew under the radar — fewer flights, limited infrastructure, and a population of just 1,602 according to the 2022 census. But in May 2023, Prime Minister Philip Davis stood at Fernandez Bay Village in Smith’s Bay

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Fortune Hill San Salvador for a View Worth the Climb

The wind hits you first — a steady trade breeze that shapes everything on San Salvador’s eastern side. From the Crossway Observation Deck atop Fortune Hill Settlement, the Atlantic stretches out in layers of blue, with the island’s limestone ridges and scrub-dotted landscape falling away beneath you. The Crossway Observation Deck offers sweeping vistas for photography and relaxation, open 24 hours a day atop Fortune Hill Settlement. Fortune Hill isn’t a polished tourist stop — there are no railings at every edge, no gift shop, no shade. What it offers is a raw, unobstructed view of an island that

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Elizabeth Harbour the Bay That Made George Town Famous

Elizabeth Harbour doesn’t just sit beside George Town — it made George Town. Without this deep, protected anchorage tucked behind Stocking Island, the annual National Family Island Regatta would never have found a home here in 1954, and the winter fleet of cruising boats that gives the town its off-season bustle would anchor somewhere else entirely. What started as a three-day gathering of about 70 working schooners, dinghies, and sloops has grown into a nationally celebrated event that draws top racing sloops from across the Bahamas, and the harbour that hosts them now supports a conservation network of 16

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Sandy Point Abaco Where the Bonefishing Flats Begin

Sandy Point sits at the southern tip of Great Abaco Island, a quiet fishing village where the road ends and the bonefishing flats begin. The community of roughly a few hundred residents supports itself through commercial fishing for crawfish, conch, and grouper, alongside a growing number of bonefish guiding operations that draw anglers from across the hemisphere. Bonefishing across the Bahamas generates over $169 million annually, and the flats around Sandy Point — with their hard-packed sand bottoms and mangrove-lined creeks — are a big reason why. Bonefishing across the Bahamas generates over $169 million annually, and the flats

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