With over 700 islands and cays stretching south off the coast of Florida, The Bahamas spans over 100,000 sq. miles of tropical Atlantic seas. The archipelago is distinctly unique from its Caribbean counterparts because the bulk of islands are not part of any deep underwater volcanic shelf system. Rather, most of the islands have formed over millions of years by shifting silt and sand in low levels of water to form a hard coral and limestone bedrock. It was Columbus who first named the island group Baja Mar—or "shallow sea." Combine that lack of depth with so many protective land masses that make up the island chain, and the result is often impossibly serene and clear waters. Locals call it "liquid light."

Throughout the last half of the 1900s, the majority of tourism development in The Bahamas was congregated in Nassau and Paradise Island on New Providence Island, and around the city of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. Within the last five years, over a billion dollars has been earmarked for hotel and island infrastructure upgrades and expansion. Today, both destinations are hardly recognizable to many past visitors—or as the saying goes: "This isn’t your mama’s Bahamas."

For the 21st century, new generations of tourists are discovering another Bahamas. Marked by untold miles of undisturbed reefs and empty beaches lined by swaying coconut palms, the Out Islands of the Bahamas are slowly gaining exposure. The "Family Islands," as they’re called at home, offer a much slower pace and quieter atmosphere. Rather than nightlife and attractions, the selling point is natural beauty, peace and quiet, and the unassuming Bahamians themselves.

New Providence
The capital city of Nassau hums with activity centered around a variety of important historical sites. The downtown corridor is replete with regal 18th century British Colonial architecture, home to government buildings, churches, fine-dining restaurants and small hotels. Cutting through town is Bay Street, a cruise ship passenger’s dream with hundreds of boutique shops, art galleries, cigar stores and sidewalk cafes. Lastly, the cultural heartbeat for many is the Straw Market just off Bay Street, a kind of Bahamian souk selling intricate handmade straw hats and bags.

The four blocks behind Bay Street offer more attractions not to be missed. Epicureans should check out Café Matisse for lunch or dinner and Graycliff Restaurant for dinner. Also, the interactive Pirates of Nassau Museum on King Street is much more than a kitschy tourist venue. It illuminates in depth the ribald history of piracy that had such a major effect on the formation of Bahamian society.

Other stops that make Nassau an exceptional walking city include the House of Assembly, the Nassau Public Library located inside the city’s original jail, Gregory’s Arch, the Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation, and the 18th century Balcony House. More interesting history comes alive at Fort Fincastle and Fort Charlotte.

For fun and sun lovers, the major full-service hotels are located on Cable Beach west of Nassau and across the bridge on Paradise Island. During the day, the beaches are filled with sun worshippers while active vacationers play golf on new and improved courses, dive the reefs or sail to nearby Blue Lagoon Island. In addition, nature preserves offer a welcome respite from the bustling destination. Recommended gardens include the 5-acre Ardasta Garden & Conservation Center and its collection of pink flamingos, the 18-acre Botanical Gardens, and the world’s largest private collection of rare and exotic palms at The Retreat. After the sun sets, both Cable Beach and Paradise Island come alive in the night with live dance revues, lively themed restaurants, and an impressive variety of packed casinos.

Grand Bahama
Within the last decade, Grand Bahama Island has undergone nothing less than a complete transformation. Major infrastructure improvements to the port and airport have been fueled by major hotel investments in both Freeport and West End. The two shopping, dining and entertainment villages at International Bazaar and Port Lucaya Marketplace are both filled with tourists day and night, but that’s only half the story on this multi-faceted island.

The beauty of Grand Bahama is that visitors have all the cosmopolitan lures, from playing blackjack to nibbling on barbecued eel sushi to perusing the latest from Rolex and Prada. But when it comes time to escape the crowds, a whole swath of eco-adventures are only minutes away. Port Lucaya’s world-class UNEXSO Dive Center offers a host of dolphin interaction and diving programs. And a batch of tour operators offer kayak, beach and hiking combo tours out among the pristine 40-acre Lucayan National Park to explore pineland, mangrove marshes and sand dunes, along with one of the world’s largest underwater cave systems.

Grand Bahama is also a golfer and active traveler’s paradise with four championship courses designed by fairway architects such as Robert Trent Jones, Jr. The island features more than 50 tennis courts, and sailors come from all over the Eastern Seaboard to moor their yachts at Port Lucaya and the laid-back community of West End about one hour west of Freeport.

Out Islands
These are the islands that time forgot—places where people come for nothing more than endless days of limin’ and the unabashed pursuit of lazy contentment. The Bahama Out Islands are a sprawled-out series of eco-friendly destinations offering visitors the chance to completely decompress. It’s easy to go a whole vacation barefoot in places such as Eleuthera, Inagua and Cat Island. Whereas, Harbour Island, The Exumas, Andros and The Abacos offer more of the same serenity plus a few luxury properties for clients seeking more pampered pleasures.

While many visitors arrive to the Family Islands with just a suitcase full of books, each island offers its own unique ambiance and variety of activities. Deep sea fishing off Bimini and bone fishing near Crooked Island and Great Exuma are ranked among the best in the world. Meanwhile, the wall diving is exceptional in places like Cat Island, while snorkeling is excellent in the Exuma Land & Sea Park and around Andros.

Harbour Island is an easy day trip from New Providence, and a favorite for the New England set. The island is known for its powdery pink beaches and Nantucket-like clapboard houses surrounded by picket fences. Dunmore Town resembles the early New England seacoast villages home to Loyalists who flocked here after the American Revolution.

The Abacos are a cluster of islands strung out over 200 miles in the northeast Bahamas. Like Harbour Island, the Loyalist communities of New Plymouth and Hope Town resemble quaint fishing villages in Maine with their gingerbread houses and nautical history. Most of the hotels are either small inns or part of large marinas that make these islands the sailing mecca of the Bahamas.

Andros is the largest Bahamian island and home to the third longest reef in the world. Located about 20 miles west of Nassau, it’s best known for superlative bone fishing, blue holes and exceptional diving. Farther south, the 365 cays making up The Exumas are surrounded by mirror-flat waters home to the Out Island Regatta, a 3-day race with Junkanoo festivals and arts ’n crafts fairs. Just east of Great Exuma, Long Island is one of the most scenic of the Out Islands, with soft sandy beaches on the west coast and dramatic rocky cliffs along the east. The hotels in the north are well guarded secrets with private airstrips welcoming pilots from all over the world.

And only 40 miles farther to the east, it is widely believed that Christopher Columbus first dropped anchor in the New World on the shores of San Salvador, close to the present village of Cockburn Town. The San Salvador Museum pays tribute to the great Italian admiral, while the wall diving offshore among 40 different dive sites is as good as it gets.