Why the Bahamas
Seven hundred islands and two thousand cays spread over a thousand kilometres, off Florida. Only about thirty are inhabited. New Providence, with Nassau, holds two-thirds of the population and most of the cruise tourism. Grand Bahama lies to the north. The Out Islands — Exuma, Eleuthera, Andros, the Abacos — are the real interest: thinly populated, lightly built, with water of exceptional clarity.
Andros holds the world's largest system of blue holes and the planet's third largest barrier reef.
December to April: dry, twenty-five degrees, outside hurricane season. From June to November it is hurricane season, and the archipelago sits directly in their path — Dorian in 2019 was a harsh reminder.
Entry and stay
Requirements depend on nationality. Check yours with the local authorities before booking.
No duration is quoted here, for want of an official source verified at the time of writing — 22 September 2026.
Getting around
Nothing links the islands by road. Everything goes by domestic flight or by boat: the mail boats, supply vessels that take passengers, serve the Out Islands from Nassau, slowly and cheaply.
In Nassau, jitneys — private minibuses on fixed routes — cover the island. Driving is on the left, a British legacy, even though the cars are often imported from the United States with the wheel on the left.
Money
The Bahamian dollar, pegged to the US dollar at parity. Both circulate interchangeably and change often comes back mixed.
Cards work in Nassau and in the resorts; the Out Islands run largely on cash, and some have no cash machine at all.
Health
No vaccination required from Europe. Malaria is absent.
Serious facilities are in Nassau. From an Out Island the question is air evacuation: insurance covering it is essential.
Before you go
This is an expensive destination, more so than most of the Caribbean, and Nassau's prices are set for the cruise trade.
The swimming pigs of Exuma have become a mass attraction; several operators and rules now govern how closely the animals may be approached.
The archipelago is flat: the highest point barely passes sixty metres. That makes it particularly vulnerable to storm surge, and that is the real risk factor of hurricane season.