Hidden Gems

Hidden Gems and Underrated Islands

The Bahamas has about 700 islands and cays, but most visitors see two: Nassau and the Exuma cays within a day-boat radius. The islands below reward the effort to reach them. Some require a short flight, some a water taxi, some just a 20-minute drive from a resort you're already staying at.

Eleuthera

Eleuthera is the best underrated island in the Bahamas for travelers who want genuine quiet. Population about 11,000, no traffic lights, and a geography so narrow in places you can see both the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea from the road. It sits about 50 miles east of Nassau, close enough for a quick flight but far enough to feel like a different country.

The Cove Eleuthera

A 40-acre boutique property that opened in 2013 and completed a multi-tiered renovation in late 2024. The renovation revamped 29 rooms and added four cottages and a two-bedroom suite. The property has two beaches, a spa with standalone cottages, bike cruisers, a full dock, and Freedom Restaurant with a dedicated sushi bar run by South African chef Aadam Coetzee. The two-bedroom ocean-view suite runs 1,100 square feet with en-suite baths and a powder room. A three-bedroom cove villa sleeps up to six and comes with a lap pool and butler service.

The Farm

Opened November 2024 by Ben Simmons, who also runs The Other Side on Eleuthera and Ocean View on Harbour Island. Twelve solar-powered cottages on a working farm: eight larger units at 1,024 sq ft and four smaller at 540 sq ft. Breakfast is complimentary and comes from the property's 200 garden beds and flock of about 70 chickens. Lunch and dinner are reservation-only with priority to guests; the kitchen uses garden vegetables, daily-caught fish, and no meat. A spa with a cold-plunge pool is planned for 2026. The location is practical: 10-minute shuttle to North Eleuthera Airport, five-minute walk to the beach, and a 10-minute ferry to Harbour Island. Prices as of late 2024: $600/night for the larger cottages, $400/night for the smaller ones.

Sapphire Blue Hole

A natural inland blue hole with a 40-foot jump platform into a pool of vivid cerulean water. One of those places that looks implausible until you're standing above it.

Cat Island

Cat Island has a population of about 1,500 and sits 40 minutes by air from Nassau via Western Air, or reachable from Florida on Makers Air. Flights land at New Bight Airport. The island covers about 150 square miles across a 50-mile length, and it remains genuinely quiet through winter and early spring, with 15-20 daily visitors during peak season compared to hundreds on Harbour Island. Winter temperatures hold around 85°F.

Greenwood Beach

Eight miles of continuous pink sand where foraminifera fragments create a vivid rose hue. Wading depth reaches knee-deep water 200 yards offshore. Water temperature stays between 75-78°F December through March. The beach is rarely crowded.

Mount Alvernia and The Hermitage Monastery

Mount Alvernia is the Bahamas' highest point at 206 feet. The Hermitage Monastery sits at its peak, built between the 1930s and 1950 using hand-cut limestone blocks by Father Jerome, a Franciscan hermit. On a clear day, the monastery offers views 25 miles across to San Salvador. The climb is steep but short.

Natural Features

Mermaid Hole, a freshwater pool near Bain Town, is 65 feet wide and 10 feet deep with year-round temperatures of 78-80°F. Big Blue Hole near Orange Creek reaches 100 feet deep with about 30 feet of visibility in calm conditions. Devil's Point cliffs rise 40-50 feet above pocket beaches along the island's coast.

Old Bight

This fishing community has about 200 residents and maintains 15-20 boats that depart at 5:30 AM. Fishermen return between 3-5 PM with grouper, snapper, and winter lobster. Mary's Conch Shack and Benny's Beach Eats both serve conch salad for about $15-18. Fish fry spots in New Bight serve authentic local seafood. Cracked conch and peas n' rice runs about $12-15; grilled local snapper or grouper around $15-18; a Kalik or Sands beer about $4.

Hawks Nest Resort & Marina

Sits 100 yards from an 800-foot ocean drop-off, with a shark feeding dock where sharks gather most afternoons. The property has a private airstrip 300 feet from the accommodations. Rooms start at $196 per night as of the source date.

Rollezz Villas Beach Resort

A small beachfront property on Cat Island. Beachfront cottages run $120-175 per night as of the source date.

Griffin Bat Cave

A 40-foot cathedral chamber that houses 200-300 fruit bats. The cave extends 100 feet into the hillside. Bat emergence occurs around 5:45-6:15 PM EST in December.

Bonefishing

Three square miles of bonefishing flats near Fernandez Bay hold fish averaging 3-5 pounds December through March. Professional guides cost $550 per day for a single angler.

Deveaux Mansion

Built in 1783, the mansion is associated with Colonel Andrew Deveaux, who received 500 acres on the island. The structure remains a landmark from the island's colonial period.

Healing Pond

A freshwater pool with temperatures of 82°F year-round.

Car rental on Cat Island runs about $60-75 per day as of the source date.

Harbour Island

Harbour Island (locally called "Briland") is no secret among experienced Bahamas travelers, and Travel + Leisure readers have voted it among the best islands in the archipelago. The island is just over three miles long and sits northeast of Eleuthera. What most visitors miss is that the island rewards more than a single-day trip.

Pink Sand Beach

The pink hue comes from fragments of foraminifera shells mixed into the sand. The color is most vivid when the sand is wet, right after the tide pulls back. The beach runs about three miles and is 50 to 100 feet wide depending on the tide. Come at low tide for the best color.

Dining and Conch

King Conch and Queen Conch are legendary conch salad vendors on the island. The Dunmore and Rock House are recommended for dinner. Coral Sands Inn & Cottages reopened in late 2025 and features The Pink Mermaid restaurant, which offers a complimentary continental breakfast. The Beach Bar serves tropical drinks, conch fritters, fish sandwiches, fish tacos, and pizza.

Coral Sands Inn & Cottages

The property recently underwent a tropical-glam transformation, offering 41 accommodations across eight acres fronting pink-sand beach. Units include seafront and garden cottages and beachside residences. Amenities include a pool, pickleball courts, fitness room, and hot tub.

Activities and Services

Conch & Coconut is a luxury concierge offering horseback riding, deep-sea fishing, snorkeling, and diving. Private boat charters are available for full or half-day trips. Meeks Patch is a location to feed swimming pigs. Spanish Wells, a historic fishing village, is visible on boat tours.

Briland Club

A 27-acre property on the southern end of Harbour Island with the only marina on the island that carries 480-volt power at every pedestal. The marina bar is called Bar 480. Activities include stand-up paddleboards, 18-foot Boston Whalers, and four pickleball courts. The property is permitted for up to 93 residences and was accepting reservations as of early 2023.

Getting There and Around

Fly into North Eleuthera Airport (ELH), about 30 minutes from Miami and just over two hours from New York. A 10-minute ferry connects North Eleuthera to the island. Best time to visit is November through April. On the island, rental buggies (golf carts) provide transportation. Dunmore Town has shops including Blue Rooster Boutique, Carousel Briland, and Shine.

The Exumas

Travel + Leisure has named the Exumas among the top four Caribbean islands, and the archipelago's 365 cays justify the reputation. Most visitors hit the swimming pigs at Big Major Cay and Thunderball Grotto. Below are the spots worth adding.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

Operating since 1956, the Staniel Cay Yacht Club offers waterfront bungalows and sits on a boating crossroads in the Exumas. The property provides easy access to Thunderball Grotto, Big Major Cay, sandbars, and snorkeling spots.

Pipe Creek Sandbar

Shifting tides in the Exuma Cays expose temporary sand islands that disappear when the water rises. There is no permanent landmass here, which is exactly the point. Time your visit around low tide.

Shroud Cay

Uninhabited and accessible only by boat at the northern end of Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. A tidal river locals call the "washing machine" generates a natural whirlpool current strong enough to float you without swimming. No development, no services, no crowds on most days.

Tropic of Cancer Beach, Little Exuma

Little Exuma connects to Great Exuma by a one-lane bridge. The Tropic of Cancer Beach sits at the island's south end, reached via Queen's Highway, a left turn, then a dirt road marked with a sign at the entrance. The beach extends northward; a rock outcropping marks a private property boundary. Snorkeling is good at the rocks on the right side. Santanna's Bar & Grill is a short drive south along the road if you want food nearby.

Compass Cay

A quiet cay with natural tide pools where nurse sharks congregate. You can snorkel among them without a dive certification. The sharks are habituated to people and genuinely harmless at this size, but they are real sharks.

Fowl Cay Resort

Private island, all-inclusive, and each villa comes with its own powerboat. This is one of the most thoughtful setups in the out-islands: no ferry schedule, no waiting, just drive yourself wherever you want to go.

Andros

Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas and among the least visited by tourists, which is the whole point. The island has serious bonefishing, blue holes, and a barrier reef that ranks among the largest in the Western Hemisphere. It's also where you'll find some of the best fishing lodges in the archipelago.

Tiamo Resort on South Andros caps at 38 guests total, accessible only by boat or seaplane. The property offers a transparent canoe for viewing marine life beneath you. Rates start at $1,220 per night including taxes and fees as of the source date.

Caerula Mar Club on South Andros holds one MICHELIN Key recognition and provides access to South Andros blue holes and the barrier reef. Rates start at $1,217 per night; the property closes August through October as of the source date.

The fishing lodges on Andros are among the best in the Bahamas:

• Bair's Lodge, South Andros: operating since 1989 with access to 120+ square miles of bonefish flats. Packages start at $4,250 for three nights and two guided days; non-angler rates from $650 as of the source date.
• Mangrove Cay Club: direct boat access to the North, Middle, and South Bights without trailers, with bonefish weighing 11-13 pounds landed seasonally. Fishing packages start at $4,200 per person for three nights with two guided days; operates October through June.
• Stafford Creek Lodge: maximum eight anglers. Dolphins swim up the creek at sunrise; tarpon feed from the dock after dark. Packages start at $2,180 per person for three nights and two guided days.

All lodge pricing and availability as of source date.

The Underwater Sculpture Garden, Nassau

Off the coast of Clifton Heritage National Park on New Providence's southwest tip, the Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden is operated by the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF). The garden sits within the Southwest Marine Managed Area and has spent about a decade transforming from an art installation into a functioning reef, now home to fish, spotted eagle rays, and coral growth. British artist Jason deCaires Taylor installed a piece called Lady of Coral here, seeded with coral fragments from a BREEF nursery adjacent to the site. Bahamian artists Andret John and Willicey Tynes also have works in the garden. The largest underwater sculpture on the planet, Ocean Atlas, is in this same garden. Thousands of Bahamian schoolchildren visit annually on field trips. This is one of the few places in the Bahamas where snorkeling doubles as a conservation experience, and most Nassau visitors have no idea it exists.

Ocean Cay and Sandy Cay, Bimini Area

Ocean Cay is an MSC Cruises private island with more than two miles of beachfront across eight beaches, operating since 2019 under a 100-year lease. The island added a Marine Conservation Center in April 2025 and four new dining options and an adults-only beach in late 2025. A 165-step lighthouse is the visual centerpiece. A new adjacent private island called Sandy Cay, built on a natural sandbank, is planned to open in 2028 for MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys guests. Sandy Cay features aragonite sand.

Athol Island

Athol Island, a short trip from Nassau, has a culturally focused day-trip destination called The Village, run by Captain Jermaine Johnson. It offers an immersive look at Bahamian life that goes beyond the standard beach excursion.

Bimini Area

Bimini sits 50 miles off the Florida coast, making it the westernmost district of the Bahamas and the first landfall many boaters hit coming from Miami. Locals call it the "Gateway to the Bahamas," and there's a quieter tradition here that most visitors miss entirely: Bimini as a place of healing and contemplation.

The Healing Hole is a natural freshwater spring tucked into the North Bimini mangroves, with high mineral content and local lore about its restorative properties. Bimini Road, an underwater stone formation off the coast, draws divers and curious travelers who've heard the speculation that it's a remnant of Atlantis. Neither claim is scientifically settled, but both are worth seeing. Bonefish Creek, surrounded by thick mangroves and trees, holds over 100 species of fish and marine life, including sea turtles, juvenile lemon sharks, and starfish. Two busts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mark the island: one in Alice Town, one among the mangroves. Dr. King stayed in Cottage 3 at the Big Game Fishing Club during visits to Bimini, and local tradition holds that he drafted his final speech here.

Ansil Saunders, a local boat builder and champion bonefisher, carries a family legacy stretching back to the Hemingway era on the island. If you can arrange a morning on the flats with someone from that tradition, you should.

Bimini Big Game Club is the anchor property in Alice Town. Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina is a historic retreat on Green Turtle Cay, positioned between White Sound and the Sea of Abaco. Both properties emphasize boat access and community connection over resort-scale development, which is exactly what makes Bimini worth the trip.

Gold Rock Beach, Grand Bahama

Part of Lucayan National Park, a 40-acre protected area. Grand Bahama gets far less attention than Nassau or the Exumas, which means this beach is rarely crowded.

Love Beach, New Providence

Twenty minutes from Nassau by car and close to the airport. Most visitors never make it here because the resort strips at Cable Beach and Paradise Island absorb nearly all the tourism traffic. If you have a half-day before a flight, this is a better option than sitting in a hotel lobby.

Cape Santa Maria, Long Island

A crescent-shaped beach at the northern tip of Long Island with powder-soft sand. Long Island is genuinely off the beaten path for most Bahamas tourists. Getting there requires a flight to Deadman's Cay Airport or a ferry, which keeps the crowds away. The property at Cape Santa Maria sits near Dean's Blue Hole, the second-deepest blue hole in the world at 663 feet. Rates start at $300 per night as of the source date. Nearby Coconut Bay accommodations, which also provide direct access to Dean's Blue Hole, start at $446 per night including taxes and fees. Dean's Blue Hole hosts the annual Vertical Blue International Freediving Competition. Verify all rates before booking.

Jumentos Cays and Ragged Islands

A 110-mile-long archipelago that is about as close to off-grid as the Bahamas gets. Almost no infrastructure, no resorts, and no day-trip boats. This is for sailors and serious out-island travelers only. If you need to ask how to get there, you probably aren't ready for it yet.

Great Cistern, Abaco

A sea-view studio converted from a shipping container in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. Accommodations start at $380 per night including taxes and fees as of the source date. Verify before booking.