Official Name: Bahamas Capital: Nassau (New Providence Island) Flag: Population: 309,156 Language: English Currency: Bahamian dollar (BSD) Government Website: www.bahamas.gov.bs Chamber of Commerce: www.thebahamaschamber.com Emergency Info:

About The Bahamas

The beauty in the Bahamas may quite possibly lie in the lay of the land. When visiting the beautiful Bahamas, you’re not just getting one destination, but scores of stunning vacation spots. The Bahamas, known as “The Country of 700 Islands” are much more than one Island destination. There are 23 inhabited islands and a thousand more untouched islands and cays. Perhaps the most desirable part about the many Islands of the Bahamas is that they are surprisingly unique from one another.

Set only 50-miles off the coast of Florida, the Bahamas are closer than other Caribbean vacations and traveling there is generally less expensive, but no less of a Caribbean getaway. The Bahamas are also famed for being the origin of the Gulf Stream, creating their fine status in the sailing world, as well as resulting in the incredible diversity among marine life in their Islands, including legendary game fish which draw fisherman from all over the world to try their hand at a Bahama cast.

Since over 5% of the entire world’s reef mass is located in the Bahamas, it is no wonder that there is a never ending seeming supply of explorable snorkeling and diving territory. To accompany the tremendous reef of course requires a vast amount of beach, which is no less plentiful in the Bahamas, with its many miles of warm pink-sand beaches, like Harbor Island's rose-colored sands, off the coast of Eleuthera. Around 80 percent of the beaches of The Bahamas are isolated beaches, uninhabited by services, crowds or nuisances. But being the diverse country it is, the Bahamas also offers beaches that are chalk full of the most convenient amenities one could need during a day at the beach, including sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, diving, fishing, restaurant, bar, and facilities.

With over 700 islands and 2,400 cays, the Islands of The Bahamas offer an overwhelming variety of historical, cultural, and natural attractions. You’ll probably want to make sure you look into some of these destinations before you get to the Bahamas, so you can spend less time figuring out what you want to do, and more time doing it. While most people are drawn to the Bahamas for the marine life, there are also abundant land activities to explore in the forest of the Bahamas including 12 outstanding government-funded national parks. National Parks in the Bahamas hold rare and endangered species, including the Bahamian Iguana and the exotic Abaco Parrot. When it comes to animal life in the Bahamas there are reptiles and amphibians such as the endangered Bahamian rock iguana, the Cat Island terrapin, and the Hawksbill. The Bahamas is also home to the largest nesting colony of West Indian flamingoes in the world, and of course the Bahama Parrot. Perhaps the biggest hit with visitors is the Hutia. Native to the Bahamas, the well liked Hutia is a bit like a tropical guinea-pig.

On very special cloudless twilights, right when the sun disappears beyond the sea, people visiting the Bahamas may be lucky enough to see the elusive green flash. The green flash is a magnificent rarity unique to the Bahamas, where the sunset creates a dazzling green flash of light that stretches wide across the horizon for a mere moment.

What is it about islands? Are we lured to them by a mystique set adrift on a tropical breeze? (Or is it for a really good tan?) Are our deepest senses around by the gentle sifting of sand between our toes? (Or by a mango daiquiri?) Is there something in the song of a steel drum that sweetens the rhythm of our own hearts? (Or do we just want to know what it's like to come face-to-face with a parrotfish?) We still don't know.

Bahamas Map