Bahamas Beyond Nassau: Exuma Pigs, Harbour Island Pink Sand, Andros Blue Holes, Eleuthera Glass Window, and Conch Culture
The Bahamas beyond Nassau encompasses the swimming pigs of the Exuma Cays, the pink sand beach of Harbour Island, the world-class blue hole diving of Andros, the dramatic Glass Window Bridge of Eleuthera, and the conch cuisine that defines Bahamian food culture.
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Exuma Cays: The Swimming Pigs
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, accessible from Nassau by seaplane or boat, is the most biodiverse marine environment in the Bahamas and the home of the Pig Beach of Big Major Cay where the swimming pigs that have become one of the most shared wildlife images on social media live on the beach and swim out to greet visiting boats in waters of extraordinary turquoise clarity.
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Harbour Island: The Pink Sand Beach
Harbour Island off the north coast of Eleuthera, accessible from Nassau by flight to North Eleuthera and water taxi, has the Pink Sand Beach, one of the most famous beaches in the world for the distinctive rosy pink color of the sand created by the microscopic coral organisms and shell fragments that color the beach differently from any other Caribbean sand. The Dunmore Town of Harbour Island is the most elegant small colonial town in the Bahamas.
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Andros: The Blue Holes
Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas and the least developed, contains the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere after the Mesoamerican reef and the blue holes, the vertical underwater cave systems that descend to depths of hundreds of meters in the limestone platform of the Bahama Banks. The diving of the Andros blue holes is the most technically demanding and scientifically significant underwater experience in the Caribbean.
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Eleuthera and the Glass Window Bridge
Eleuthera, the long thin island east of Nassau accessible by flight or ferry, has the Glass Window Bridge, a narrow road bridge crossing a point where the island is barely 30 meters wide between the dark Atlantic on the eastern side and the turquoise Bahamian sound on the western side, creating the most dramatic visible contrast of two ocean environments in the world. The Eleuthera pineapple heritage and the surf at Surfers Beach provide additional attractions.
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Nassau Cuisine: Conch and Bahamian Dishes
The conch, the large sea snail whose shell is the symbol of the Bahamas, is the defining food of the Bahamian cuisine, consumed as conch salad marinated raw in lime juice, as cracked conch fried in a light batter, and as conch fritters with the hot sauce that is the universal accompaniment. The Arawak Cay fish fry on the Nassau western waterfront, where the local stalls serve conch in all forms alongside steamed fish and peas and rice, is the most authentic Nassau food experience.
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Grand Bahama: Freeport and Lucayan
Grand Bahama Island, the northernmost major island of the Bahamas accessible from Nassau by short flight or from Florida by the Freeport ferry, was severely damaged by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and is still recovering its tourism infrastructure, with the Lucayan National Park preserving the finest blue hole cave system accessible to non-divers and the Gold Rock Beach providing one of the most spectacular beaches in the Bahamas.