Things to Do in Bahamas

The Bahamas rewards travelers who look beyond the cruise port. In Nassau, start at the Queen’s Staircase, a 65-step limestone passage carved by enslaved workers in 1793 that leads up to Fort Fincastle and one of the best panoramic views of the harbor. From there, walk downhill through the old town to the Nassau Straw Market on Bay Street, where vendors sell handwoven baskets and straw goods that have been a Bahamian tradition for generations.

For a more unfiltered slice of Nassau life, head to Potter’s Cay Dock beneath the Paradise Island bridge, where conch boats unload their daily catch and vendors crack and prepare conch salad right in front of you - this is the real Bahamas, no resort filter needed. Nearby Arawak Cay, known locally as the Fish Fry, is a strip of colorful shacks serving fried snapper, cracked conch, and sky juice (a coconut water and gin cocktail that hits harder than you expect). If you have kids or simply love marine life, the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island houses one of the largest open-air marine habitats in the world, and its Aquaventure water park is genuinely impressive regardless of your age.

But the real magic of the Bahamas begins when you leave Nassau. A 30-minute flight to Staniel Cay in the Exumas opens up a world that feels like a private planet. Thunderball Grotto, the sea cave made famous by the James Bond film, is best entered at low tide when you can swim through shafts of sunlight illuminating schools of tropical fish - bring a waterproof camera and check the tide tables before you go. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, established in 1958 as the Caribbean’s first marine protected area, is a no-take reserve where the snorkeling is extraordinary because the reef has been protected for over six decades.

For something completely different, head to Andros, the largest and least developed Bahamian island, with over 200 blue holes - the highest concentration anywhere on earth - and western flats that are the bonefishing capital of the world.