Bahamas: Choose Your Own Adventure
Pink sands. Turquoise waters. Blue holes. We’re turning to the dreamy Islands of The Bahamas to splash vibrant swaths of colour over the past year’s monotone gray.
A nation of over 700 idyllic islands and cays located a three-hour flight from Toronto, The Bahamas makes it easy to stake out your own piece of paradise.
Ready for a virtual vacation? We created a choose-your-own adventure that hops through a few of the country's mangrove-lined islands and secret sandbars. Start by picking an option below to get to your first surprise stop.
You’ve just arrived in The Bahamas. Where to first? (Choose an option below.)
- I’ve heard there may be some swimming pigs …
- I want to see a landscape that’s inspired artists.
- When in Rome! Can I ask a local for recommendations?
Dive into the world’s third-largest fringing barrier reef
Experienced and beginner divers alike will relish up to 200 feet of visibility as they glide by the 305-kilometre-long Andros Barrier Reef, the third largest fringing barrier reef in the world.
Scuba divers can float by stingrays, octopi, blue marlin and large schools of red snapper as they explore the coral floor.
Just stunning. Where to next?
- I'm tuckered out now; let’s head back home.
- I don’t want this trip to end! Can I start again?
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See where navy meets aquamarine
If you climb the karst rocks at Glass Window Bridge, the narrowest sliver on a thin crest of land that separates the wild Atlantic from the Eleuthera Bight, you can see a true natural wonder — the dark navy of the ocean abutting the neon-bright teal of the crystalline bay. It looks like Mother Nature somehow coloured within the lines.
After you visit the bridge, travel less than a kilometre south to the naturally formed Queens Baths carved into rock. Visit these pools at low or medium tide, and the sun will have warmed the water to bath-like temperatures (but be sure to step in with water shoes on).
Absolutely stunning. What’s next?
- I'm a history buff – let's see a piece of Bahamian history.
- I'm not done with the water. Where’s a good swimming spot?
- I've got kids in tow, and they’d like to see some animals.
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Live like a local
Curious what a Bahamian family eats at a party or which beach they love best? Before your trip, sign up for the People-to-People Program.
One of 800 volunteer ambassadors living throughout the country will share a bit of their life with you, inviting you to a Bahamian feast, showing you around their hometown or escorting you to a monthly tea party hosted at the Governor’s House.
So cool. What’s next?
- I'm a history buff – let's see a piece of Bahamian history.
- How about a good swimming spot?
- I've got kids in tow and they’d like to see some animals.
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Swimming with friendly pigs
No one knows how these squealing cuties first came to Big Major Cay, but now the 20-some pigs are among The Bahamas’ biggest celebrities.
Take a speedboat or plane from Nassau or Great Exuma to what’s known as Pig Beach and swim with oinkers lovingly dubbed names like Kenzo and Wolfe. The sociable swine will come out to meet you and happily chomp on fresh carrots or apples you toss their way while you pet them in the balmy water.
Well, that was adorable. What’s next?
- I'm a history buff – let's see a piece of Bahamian history.
- I'm not done with the water. Where’s another good swimming spot?
- I've got kids in tow and they can’t get enough time with animals.
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Dancing along to the rhythm of Junkanoo
In the wee hours of the morning on Boxing Day and New Year’s, large dance groups head to Nassau’s Bay Street for the biggest celebrations of the year — Junkanoo. This confetti-coloured street parade and competition sees hundreds of people performing dances they've workshopped for months, grooving to the rhythmic sounds of goatskin drums, cowbells and horns.
Smaller versions of this 200-year-old tradition take place on many summer Saturdays if you’re not in town for the main Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 events, and you can always learn more about the art of Junkanoo at the Educulture Bahamas museum in Nassau.
That was awesome. What’s the next stop?
- That worked up an appetite. Let's get something to eat.
- I'm in The Bahamas; I want to try a dive.
- I'm partied out — let's go back home.
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Stamp a seahorse onto your own batik cloth
In the 1960s, an entrepreneur named Rosi Birch began batik-making classes on a Bahamian beach, based on the traditional Indonesian artform. Half a century later, the bright, bold material created by her Androsia workshop is the unofficial fabric of The Bahamas.
Prebook a class to try hand-pressing wax onto the soft cloth before it’s dyed a brilliant fuchsia or pineapple yellow. You’ll learn from artisans who have been doing this for decades, handcrafting the stamps in island-inspired shapes like conch shells and iguanas. You can also just take a tour of the iconic factory, or browse the on-site shop for shirts, placemats and other souvenirs.
That was awesome. What’s the next stop?
- I'm getting hungry — what's a good lunch spot?
- I'm in The Bahamas; I want to try a dive.
- That was so fun. I’m ready to take my souvenirs home.
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Wiggle your toes in blush-pink sand
With powder-soft beaches framing over 700 islands, is it even possible to choose a favourite? We narrowed the field by focusing on the coastlines painted a pale pink.
The most famous, for good reason, is Pink Sand Beach on Harbour Island. Tiny organisms called foraminifera, which have a reddish shell, colour the silky shore a delicious cotton-candy hue, and outer reefs shelter the extra-swimmable water. Be ready for an avalanche of likes when you post this one on social media.
Travelzoo Tip: Get there on your own rented golf cart; it’s Harbour Island’s primary mode of transportation.
Just gorgeous. What’s the next stop?
- I'm getting hungry — what's a good lunch spot?
- I'm in The Bahamas; I want to try a dive.
- That was perfect. I’m ready to head back home.
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Spoon into a fresh conch salad on Potter’s Cay
Eat like a local at Potter’s Cay, a line of pastel-painted conch shacks and fruit markets shaded by the bridge connecting Nassau with Paradise Island. The food stalls here sell everything, from cold Kalik beer to conch fritters, but the must-try is a Bahamian conch salad.
Ordering this dish comes with a show — the cook dices up fresh onions, peppers, tomatoes, pineapple and an entire dressed conch, then squeezes the juice from a lip-smacking lime over the entire pile.
Travelzoo Tip: Go to McKenzie’s for a practiced hand; he’s been serving up salads in the same spot for 25 years.
Delicious! Where to next?
- I'm tuckered out now; let’s head back home.
- I don’t want this trip to end! Can I start again?
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Jump into Captain Bill’s Blue Hole
Blue holes are deep, round sinkholes carved out of limestone rock. Andros Island alone has at least 150 of them.
One of the most accessible is Captain Bill’s Blue Hole, a sapphire circle set in the middle of a green pine forest. Visitors can bring lunch and eat on picnic tables in the gazebo or walk down wooden steps right into the water. There’s also a platform hanging overhead, begging swimmers to jump in.
Where are you headed next?
- I want to check out a good souvenir shop to remember this trip.
- Come on, I’m in The Bahamas — it's beach time.
- Let's go to The Bahamas’ biggest party of the year!
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Snorkel over WWI-era shipwrecks
A massive gray ghost rises out of the water about 5 kilometres from the shore of South Bimini Island. This sunken concrete ship, the S.S. Sapona, was originally commissioned by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for WWI service, but the war ended before the ship was built, and its massive hull at times served as a casino and a storage facility for Prohibition-era rum. WWII soldiers even used it for bombing target practice. Now, snorkellers can search it for secrets while swimming in the wreck with sea turtles and friendly stingrays.
Where are you headed next?
- Let's go to The Bahamas’ biggest party of the year!
- Come on, I’m in The Bahamas — it’s beach time.
- I want to check out a good souvenir shop to remember this trip.
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Witness a bright pink sea of 80,000 flamingos
The southernmost island in The Bahamas archipelago is Inagua — this isle plays host to the world’s largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos.
Bird-watchers, take note: colouring the Inagua sky alongside these 5-foot-tall pink giants are emerald Bahamian parrots, violet-throated hummingbirds and about 140 other species. While you’re on the island, get a tour of the Morton Salt Factory there, which produces a million pounds of salt per year from the island’s salt pans. The flamingos are fans; the brackish water attracts brine shrimp, a main source of food for the fuchsia flock.
Travelzoo Tip: If you can’t make it to Inagua, see the famous Marching Flamingos in Nassau.
Where are you headed next?
- Come on, I’m in The Bahamas — it's beach time.
- I want to check out a good souvenir shop to remember this trip.
- Let's go to The Bahamas’ biggest party of the year!