Just off the Florida coast, and a favourite destination for Americans wanting to enjoy the experience of a Caribbean holiday while not straying too far from home, The Bahamas has developed a reputation for being too Americanised with its huge but excellent resorts and status as a first point of call for any cruise ship visiting the Caribbean.
The truth of course is that if you do not stray from the Resorts like Atlantis that have been developed principally for the American market, and the Capital city Nassau, then all you will see is a manicured Caribbean Lite destination. Those who look for it though find that the Bahamas is anything but a purely American playground, and beyond the Casinos and water parks of Paradise Island, there is a beautiful and very friendly country waiting to give you a traditional warm welcome.
Nassau is a good place for sight seeing, there is much left of the colonial style buildings of the Bahamas history, and plenty of shops as well as a few good museums dedicated to the history of the port as a favourite haunt of pirates.
The Abacos Islands in the North, are a favourite point for sailors, particularly at Marsh Harbour, but around the smaller cays that make up the group are some almost uninhabited islands to stop for a few days and enjoy the peace away from the crowd. The diving in Abacos is also excellent.
Eleuthera East of Nassau is the place to go in the region and somewhere that it is possible to rub shoulders with off duty celebrities in the small club style resorts or in the exclusive nightspots on the island.
The Bimini Group of islands was for a while the home of the great Ernest Hemingway, and there is a good museum dedicated to him there. It is the closest point to the US mainland in the Bahamas.
Facts for the Traveller:
Name: Bahamas
Capital: Nassau
Area: 5,380 sq km
Population: 294,982
Language: English
Flight Time: 8 Hours from London
Currency: Bahamian Dollar
