An Expressions tailor-made holiday to the Bahamas contains all the stunning environment, sunshine, activities and relaxation expected of a Caribbean beach holiday. With over 700 islands of varying sizes of soft golden-white sands and clear blue-green waters, the Bahamas offers a range of luxury holiday possibilities from quite commercial resorts of large purpose-built hotels to quainter, more characterful and secluded places on outstanding beaches. Scrub and wispy casuarina pines are the natural vegetation on the low-lying coral limestone islands of the Bahamas where the highest point is rarely 50ft above sea level. The gulf stream washes the shores and all islands are known for their clear waters and soft banks of sand. New Providence with its capital Nassau has the obvious links with Britain with Government House and the regular changing of the guard. New Providence also has superb beaches and is more commercial than the Out Islands. Eleuthera, one of the Out Islands, has a much slower pace of life. Water sports including diving, boating and fishing are to be had on all the islands of the Bahamas and there are good golf courses.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bahamas offers a choice that few single islands can match. It is an archipelago of some 700 low-lying islands and cays, with a full-service resort on Paradise Island and small, characterful hotels on the quieter Out Islands. The water is known for its clarity and shades of turquoise over white sand banks. A daily direct flight from London makes it straightforward to reach.
Strictly speaking, no. The Bahamas lies in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba and east of Florida, rather than in the Caribbean Sea. It is usually grouped with the Caribbean for holiday purposes and shares the same warm climate, beaches and relaxed island pace. Its northerly position does mean winters are slightly cooler than on islands further south.
The choice of island shapes the whole holiday.
• New Providence and Paradise Island, home to Nassau, offer the widest range of restaurants and activities and the easiest access. The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons resort, is on Paradise Island.
• Harbour Island, off Eleuthera, has a long pink sand beach and a small colonial town, with an informal but stylish atmosphere. Pink Sands is here.
• Andros, the largest island, is quiet and natural, known for its barrier reef, blue holes and bonefishing. Kamalame Cay is on its own private island just offshore.
• The Exumas, a chain of cays to the south-east, are known for sandbars and sheltered boating waters.
Your Expressions consultant will help you decide which island, or combination of islands, suits you best.
• New Providence and Paradise Island, home to Nassau, offer the widest range of restaurants and activities and the easiest access. The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons resort, is on Paradise Island.
• Harbour Island, off Eleuthera, has a long pink sand beach and a small colonial town, with an informal but stylish atmosphere. Pink Sands is here.
• Andros, the largest island, is quiet and natural, known for its barrier reef, blue holes and bonefishing. Kamalame Cay is on its own private island just offshore.
• The Exumas, a chain of cays to the south-east, are known for sandbars and sheltered boating waters.
Your Expressions consultant will help you decide which island, or combination of islands, suits you best.
The Out Islands, also called the Family Islands, are all the islands of the Bahamas other than New Providence and Grand Bahama. They include Eleuthera, Harbour Island, Andros, the Exumas and the Abacos. Life is noticeably slower, with small settlements, few large hotels and long stretches of empty beach. Many visitors combine a few nights near Nassau with a longer stay on an Out Island.
Most islands are linked to Nassau by short scheduled domestic flights, typically of 20 to 45 minutes. Harbour Island is reached by flying to North Eleuthera and taking a short water taxi across the harbour, or by fast ferry from Nassau. Connections can be infrequent on some routes, so Expressions plans inter-island travel and transfers as part of the itinerary to keep the journey simple.
Harbour Island is known for its three-mile pink sand beach, which takes its colour from fragments of coral and shell. Dunmore Town, one of the oldest settlements in the Bahamas, has clapboard houses, picket fences and a handful of good restaurants. Cars are few, and visitors generally get about by golf cart or on foot. It suits those who want a sociable but unhurried stay.
Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas and has a long British colonial history. The pink Government House, the Queen's Staircase cut into the limestone and the forts of Fincastle and Charlotte can be seen in a morning. The Straw Market and the harbour front give a sense of local life. For guests staying on an Out Island, a night or two in or near Nassau is a convenient way to see the capital.
Yes. Clear water and extensive reefs make the Bahamas one of the leading areas for underwater activities in the region. Andros has one of the largest barrier reefs in the world, with a deep ocean trench, known as the Tongue of the Ocean, just offshore. It also has many blue holes, which are flooded limestone sinkholes. The shallow flats of Andros and the Out Islands are well known for bonefishing, usually arranged with a local guide.
The most settled months are mid-December to May. From December to February, daytime temperatures are typically in the low to mid twenties and the sea can feel fresher than further south. March to May brings warmer air and water with little rain. The hurricane season runs from June to November, and the northern position of the Bahamas means it is more exposed than the southern Caribbean, with August to October the least settled months.
Conch is the defining ingredient of Bahamian cooking, served as fritters, cracked and fried, in chowder or as a fresh, lime-dressed salad. Grouper, spiny lobster and peas and rice also feature widely. In Nassau, the Arawak Cay fish fry is a lively place to try local food. On the Out Islands, meals are often taken at small beachside restaurants or in the hotels themselves.
Yes, and it is often the best way to see the Bahamas. A popular pattern is a few nights on Paradise Island for restaurants and Nassau's history, followed by a longer stay on Harbour Island or Andros for beaches and quiet. Domestic flights make the transfer easy within a day. Expressions tailors multi-island itineraries with all flights and transfers arranged.
Our bespoke, luxury hotel holidays can be
● Single centre or multi-centre● Long or short stays
● Combine a number of different hotels in different regions
● Utilise a variety of transport arrangements to the Caribbean and within the Caribbean, combining flights and private transfers
Our special interest holidays to the Bahamas
● Watersports holidays● Spa holidays
● Honeymoons and weddings
● Family holidays
Included in all our holidays
● Concierge service● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday
Call us on 01392 441245
Highlights of the Bahamas
Nassau with its pink neo-classical buildings including Government House, the Straw Market in Nassau, Versailles gardens Pink Beach with its miles of delicately shaded pink sand on the Harbour island, Eleuthera. Pineapple festival in Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Conch fritters, salad and chowder, local pineapple, rum cocktails called Yellow Bird and Goombay Smash, Junkanoo festival on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, Goombay festival starting in June, scuba diving to see flower corals and carpet anemone, swimming with dolphins. The underwater ‘Grand Canyon’ on Andros Island which is home to pilot whales and whale sharks.
Travel within the Bahamas
Car hire is available on most of the islands as are motor scooters and bicycles. You can take the BahamasAir flights to many of the main islands. New Providence with the capital Nassau is quite commercialised but the Out Islands have a much slower pace of life. Well worth combining a stay in Nassau or New Providence with some time on Eleuthera (Harbour Island) as well to get a feel for the Bahamian way of life.
The Bahamas travel information
Flying time from London to Nassau is about 9 hours.By air
British Airways has direct flights from London Heathrow to Nassau. For Eleuthera you connect by BahamasAir or private charter. For Andros fly to Miami with British Airways or Virgin daily and then connect with American Airlines.Our bespoke, luxury hotel holidays can be
● Single centre or multi-centre● Long or short stays
● Combine a number of different hotels in different regions
● Utilise a variety of transport arrangements to the Caribbean and within the Caribbean, combining flights and private transfers
Our special interest holidays to the Bahamas
● Watersports holidays● Spa holidays
● Honeymoons and weddings
● Family holidays
Included in all our holidays
● Concierge service● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday
Call us on 01392 441245
Here you will find a map of Bahamas showing the locations of the hotels that we offer
Our bespoke, luxury hotel holidays can be
● Single centre or multi-centre● Long or short stays
● Combine a number of different hotels in different regions
● Utilise a variety of transport arrangements to the Caribbean and within the Caribbean, combining flights and private transfers
Our special interest holidays to the Bahamas
● Watersports holidays● Spa holidays
● Honeymoons and weddings
● Family holidays
Included in all our holidays
● Concierge service● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday
