Experiences

The Out Islands offer the most specialised and least-packaged experiences in the Bahamas. Most are not general holiday destinations: they reward visitors who come specifically for what each island does exceptionally well, diving, bonefishing, birdwatching, or genuine remoteness.

Cat Island

Cat Island has shark diving via an operator called Shark Exp and resort-based diving through Greenwood Beach Resort. The Mermaid Hole, an inland blue hole accessible after a 20-minute hike, adds a land-based element to the diving experience. Kiteboarding and surfing are also available on the island.

Hawks Nest Resort & Marina sits 100 yards from an 800-foot ocean drop-off and operates a shark feeding dock where sharks gather most afternoons. The resort has direct access to blue and white marlin, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, sailfish, dolphin fish, and king mackerel. A private airstrip sits 300 feet from the accommodations.

San Salvador

San Salvador has about 50 named dive sites, including Vicky's Reef for reef diving and Hole in the Wall for wall diving. The island is small and remote, which keeps dive sites uncrowded. Riding Rock Inn is the established dive-focused accommodation, with visiting dive groups making repeat trips over many years.

Rum Cay

Rum Cay holds the wreck of the HMS Conqueror and the Santa Maria Teresa, a 360-foot Spanish battleship sunk in 1898, both diveable. The island's coral reefs and marine life also attract snorkelers and fishermen. Most visitors use Long Island as a base and reach Rum Cay by boat or charter flight.

Berry Islands

The Berry Islands sit above the Tongue of the Ocean and offer varied diving across nearly 30 cays, most uninhabited. Hoffman's Cay Blue Hole is 600 feet wide with a 20-foot cliff above the water, making it one of the more dramatic inland blue hole entries in the Bahamas. Great Harbour Cay and Chub Cay are the main inhabited islands. The annual Chub Cay Invitational Fishing Tournament is the anchor fishing event for the island group. Staniel Cay Yacht Club operates since 1956 with waterfront bungalows clustered around a marina and clubhouse, positioned for access to Thunderball Grotto, Big Major Cay, sandbars, and small cay exploration.

Acklins and Crooked Island

Acklins and Crooked Island offer bonefishing on remote flats, snorkeling, and diving within a 500-square-mile lagoon called the Bight of Acklins. Bonefishing lodges provide personal fishing guides. Acklins also contains the largest known Lucayan Indian settlement in the Bahamas, which adds archaeological interest to the island for visitors inclined toward it.

Andros

Tiamo Resort on South Andros accommodates a maximum of 38 guests and is accessible only by boat or seaplane, with a transparent canoe available for exploration. The reef sits less than 3 miles offshore for diving and snorkeling. The resort offers bonefish flats and offshore trips for wahoo and tuna, with a barbless fly catch-and-release policy.

Mangrove Cay Club provides direct boat access to North, Middle, and South Bights without needing trailers, with bonefish weighing 11 to 13 pounds landed every season. Fishing packages start at $4,200 per person for three nights with two guided days. The lodge operates October through June.

Bair's Lodge has operated since 1989 and offers direct access to more than 120 square miles of bonefish flats.

Stafford Creek Lodge limits stays to a maximum of eight anglers. Dolphins regularly swim up Stafford Creek at sunrise.

Inagua

Inagua National Park covers almost half of Great Inagua and protects a flamingo colony of over 80,000 West Indian flamingos along with 140 species of native and migratory birds. It is the dominant wildlife experience in the southern Bahamas. Little Inagua, the largest uninhabited cay in the Caribbean, is a protected sea turtle habitat accessible only by boat. Birdwatching tours on Inagua are available in half-day and full-day formats.

Ragged Island

Ragged Island has bonefishing on what local sources describe as unparalleled flats, with additional catches of grouper, snapper, barracuda, tuna, and kingfish available. One-day water expeditions depart from the island. Most visitors base themselves on Long Island and reach Ragged Island by boat or charter flight. Hog Cay, just north of Ragged Island, offers birdwatching, bonfires, and picnic spots.

Abaco

The Abaco Inn on Abaco offers reef snorkeling and shipwreck dives, along with wild pig viewing.

Fishing Regulations

A sport fishing permit is required for all non-Bahamian-owned vessels. A fly fishing license is required for anyone over 12 years old. Two or more anglers on the flats must use a certified Bahamian guide, and only Bahamian-registered vessels may fish the flats. Bag limits: 18 pelagic fish (dolphin, wahoo, kingfish, tuna combined); 10 lobsters when in season; 6 conchs (shell must have a well-developed flaring lip); 60 pounds or up to 20 demersal fish (snappers, groupers). Visitors cannot sell or trade fish caught. All billfish must be released unharmed outside tournaments. Shark fishing is prohibited. Spearfishing is prohibited within 200 yards of any Out Island coast, and spearguns are prohibited throughout the Bahamas.

Cat Island

Cat Island's highest point, Mt. Alvernia, rises 206 feet above sea level, making it the tallest point in the Bahamas. The Hermitage, a stone monastery built by Father Jerome in 1939, sits at the summit and is reached by a short climb. Arthur's Town, the island's capital, is the birthplace of actor Sidney Poitier, and the island also preserves his boyhood home. Cat Island residents maintain basket-weaving and bush medicine as living cultural practices, and the island's People-to-People ambassadors can arrange shared meals and authentic Bahamian dining experiences with local families. The island has multiple beaches across its length: Old Bight Beach stretches nearly five miles of continuous sand, the longest uninterrupted beach in the Bahamas. Greenwood Beach is a pink-sand stretch on the southern edge. Fernandez Bay is a crescent-shaped beach popular for swimming and snorkeling. New Bight Beach offers white sand near Mount Alvernia.

People-to-People Programme

The People-to-People Programme pairs visitors with screened and certified local volunteer ambassadors for cultural exchange at no cost. Over 800 ambassadors participate across nine Out Islands: Abaco, Andros, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Eleuthera, Freeport, Harbour Island, and Long Island. Hosts are matched by age, occupation, hobbies, and interests. Visitors do not stay with host ambassadors. Register online or by calling (242) 356-0435/6/7, and allow at least two weeks before arrival for matching. Visitors can contact their ambassador before arrival by web, phone, or mail.

Rake 'n' Scrape

Rake 'n' scrape is the Bahamas' most distinctly local musical form, built around goatskin drums and hand saws played as melodic instruments. It originated on Cat Island and the island remains its heartland.

Junkanoo

Junkanoo celebrations take place on Boxing Day and New Year's Day across the islands. The Out Islands stage their own versions of the festival, smaller in scale than Nassau's but more accessible and less crowded.

Acklins and Crooked Island

The Bight of Acklins and Turtle Sound offer birdwatching and bonefishing in near-total isolation. Ancient Lucayan sites and the channel at Long Cay round out the draw for visitors who want historical context alongside the outdoor experience.

Inagua

Inagua holds more than 80,000 flamingos and over 140 bird species across three national parks, making it the most significant birding destination in the Bahamas by a wide margin. Inagua's Seafood Fest and the Inagua Heritage and Salty Festival are the island's anchor cultural events.

Mayaguana

Mayaguana is the most isolated and least developed inhabited island in the Bahamas. Land crabs served with grits, rice, or dumplings appear at festivals in Betsy Bay, Abraham's Bay, and Pirate's Well.

Ragged Island

People-to-People volunteers on Ragged Island offer locally prepared dishes including grilled fish, steamed fish, cracked conch, free-range mutton, and turtle soup. Local boat builders remain active in Duncan Town.

Day Trips

Rum Cay is best visited as a day trip from Long Island by boat or charter flight, with the HMS Conqueror wreck and reef diving as the primary draw.

Ragged Island is similarly accessed as a day trip from Long Island. Hog Cay to the north can be combined into the same outing.

Cat Island day trips are accessible via 40-minute hopper flights with Western Air from Nassau.

Practical Notes

• A sport fishing permit is required for non-Bahamian-owned vessels. Apply online before departure. A fly fishing license is required for anyone over 12.
• All billfish must be released unharmed outside of sanctioned tournaments. Shark fishing is prohibited throughout the Bahamas.
• The People-to-People Programme is free and available across multiple Out Islands. Register at least two weeks before arrival.