The Bahamas: 12 Best Things to Do Beyond the Atlantis Resort in 2025

700 Islands and Infinite Possibility 🇧🇸

Most people visiting the Bahamas stay on New Providence (Nassau's island) or on Paradise Island at the Atlantis Resort. Both are excellent. But the Bahamas is so much more than Nassau — it's an archipelago of extraordinary diversity, with over-the-water bungalows, pink sand beaches, swimming pigs, enormous sharks, and a pace of life so relaxed it borders on transcendent.

Here are 12 experiences you should know about.

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1. Swimming With Pigs at Pig Beach, Big Major Cay

This is one of the world's most photographed travel experiences, and in person it's even more surreal than the pictures suggest. A beach on Big Major Cay in the Exumas is home to a small population of feral pigs who swim out to meet passing boats. The sight of a fully grown pig paddling enthusiastically towards your dinghy is genuinely extraordinary.

Accessible by charter boat from Nassau or by small plane to Staniel Cay. Worth every bit of the effort to get there.

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2. Pink Sands Beach, Harbour Island

The pink-sand beaches of Harbour Island are among the most famous natural wonders of the Caribbean. The sand is genuinely, unmistakably pink — coloured by billions of microscopic coral organisms called Foraminifera — and the beach runs for nearly three miles with remarkable consistency. The water is calm, clear, and a brilliant turquoise against the pink sand.

Harbour Island itself — a short water taxi from Eleuthera — is a gem: pastel-painted colonial cottages, boutique hotels, excellent restaurants, and a pace of life that feels like the Caribbean of 40 years ago.

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3. Snorkelling the Thunderball Grotto, Staniel Cay

Made famous by the James Bond film Thunderball (and later Never Say Never Again), this underwater cave in the Exumas is one of the Caribbean's finest snorkelling spots. A natural grotto — accessible by swimming through an underwater entrance — opens into an air-filled chamber with natural skylights filtering into crystal-clear water. Schools of fish, coral, and extraordinary light make this a genuinely magical experience.

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4. Swimming With Nurse Sharks at Compass Cay

In the Exumas, Compass Cay has a shallow marina frequented by a group of nurse sharks that have been interacting with people for many years. Wading in and allowing the sharks to swim around you — perfectly safe with nurse sharks, which are gentle bottom-dwellers — is a genuinely unforgettable experience that few wildlife encounters match.

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5. Junkanoo Festival, Nassau

If your visit coincides with Boxing Day (December 26) or New Year's Day (January 1), Junkanoo is unmissable. Nassau's main street becomes the venue for one of the Caribbean's most spectacular street festivals — an explosion of homemade costumes in extraordinary colours, percussion instruments so loud the ground vibrates, and a sense of joyful chaos that is completely infectious. Bahamian culture at its most vibrant and alive.

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6. Fort Charlotte, Nassau

The largest fort ever built in the Bahamas, constructed in the late 18th century on orders from Lord Dunmore, the British Governor. The fort never fired a shot in anger — it was completed just as the era of Caribbean naval battles was ending — but it's beautifully preserved and offers commanding views over Nassau Harbour and the surrounding sea. Free to visit.

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7. The National Art Gallery, Nassau

An often-overlooked gem — the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, housed in a beautifully restored 19th-century villa, contains an impressive collection of Bahamian art spanning three centuries. The permanent collection includes work by Amos Ferguson, one of the Caribbean's most celebrated folk artists, and the gallery hosts excellent temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

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8. Glass Window Bridge, Eleuthera

One of the Caribbean's most dramatic natural sights. A narrow strip of land on Eleuthera where the dark, wild Atlantic Ocean and the calm, vivid turquoise Bight of Eleuthera come within metres of each other. Standing on the bridge, you can watch completely different seas on either side of you simultaneously. It's genuinely breathtaking.

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9. Out Island Sailing

The Bahamas has some of the finest sailing waters in the world — clear, warm, largely sheltered, and full of beautiful anchorages. Charter a sailboat (with or without a skipper) and explore the Out Islands at your own pace, anchoring off deserted beaches and snorkelling in the mornings. The Exumas chain is particularly suited to sailing, with the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park offering some of the most pristine waters in the Caribbean.

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10. Conch Salad at Arawak Cay Fish Fry

This is the authentic Nassau experience. Arawak Cay — known locally as "The Fish Fry" — is a line of colourful seafood shacks on the western edge of Nassau where locals eat, not tourists. The conch salad here (fresh conch, chopped raw and tossed with onion, tomato, sweet pepper, lime juice, and a splash of scotch bonnet pepper sauce) is extraordinary.

Eat it at the counter, drink a cold Kalik beer, and watch the boats in Nassau Harbour. It's one of those simple, perfect travel experiences.

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11. Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island

The second deepest known ocean blue hole in the world (202 metres), located in a beautiful sheltered bay on Long Island. The circular blue hole drops away into deep blue darkness surrounded by shallow turquoise water — the visual contrast is extraordinary. Free divers from around the world come here for depth record attempts. Snorkelling on the edge of the hole is an unforgettable experience.

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12. A Sunset Cruise from Nassau

Nassau Harbour is one of the Caribbean's most beautiful settings for a sunset cruise. Several operators run catamaran and sailboat sunset trips from the Nassau waterfront, typically including snorkelling stops, dinner, and open bar. The combination of the coloured Nassau skyline, the lighthouse, and the sun going down over the Caribbean is spectacular.

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Book Your Nassau Airport Transfer with My Holiday Taxi

Land at Lynden Pindling International Airport and be at your Bahamian hotel — or heading out to the islands — within 20–35 minutes. Pre-book your private transfer for a seamless start to your Bahamas adventure. 🌴