NOT FOR: People in search of an unsanitized Bahamian experience who don't want manufactured amusement.
Great Abaco
CLAIM TO FAME: Abaco and its cays were settled in the 1780s by Loyalist planters fleeing the newly formed United States in the wake of the American Revolution. Abaco has a very Anglo-American feel to it.
Cactus plants cover a cliff on Eleuthera, one of the Bahamas' Out Islands.
(Bahamas Ministry Of Tourism)
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PROS: Spectacular beaches and Anglo-American culture, especially in the offshore cays. Hope Town on Elbow Cay and New Plymouth on Green Turtle are beautiful villages of colonial architecture offering a wide range of amenities, accommodations, restaurants and shops, and lovely beaches.
CONS: Time pressure. Ferry schedules from mainland Abaco to its cays require that you arrive no later than mid-afternoon, so as to catch the last ferry runs of the day. Marsh Harbour and the more populous cays, Elbow and Green Turtle, may be too crowded for some.
BEST FOR: Families, beachcombers, honeymooners, snorkelers, divers, anglers.
NOT FOR: People looking for bargain vacations or who like a lot of glitz, although Marsh Harbour gets down after dark.
Eleuthera and Harbour Island
CLAIM TO FAME: The oldest post-Columbian settlement in the Bahamas, Dunmore Town on Harbour Island dates from the mid-17th century. It's a pristine, flower-strewn village of whitewashed churches at the corners of streets lined with small hurricane-shuttered buildings that are centuries old. The most luxurious destination in the Out Islands. Nearby Eleuthera is 110 miles of stunning beaches linking small settlements, notably Gregory Town, Governor's Harbour and Rock Sound. The cliffs north of Whale Point Road offer the most dramatic vistas in the Bahamas, but they are challenging and dangerous -- no easement, guides, trails or rails.
PROS: A real travel experience in myriad forms.
CONS: Harbour Island is very expensive.
BEST FOR: Nearly everybody. Between Harbour Island and Eleuthera, there's a situation to satisfy virtually every traveler.
