The Out Islands of the Bahamas: The Abacos, Bimini, Eleuthera, the Exumas & Andros

This guide is drawn from our larger guide to all of the Bahamas. There's another world in the Out Islands of Abaco, Andros, the Berry Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Crooked Island, Eleuthera, the Exumas, Harbour Island, Long Island, and so on. The Out Islands have long been popular for sailors, sport fishermen and divers. Today, they are fast becoming popular with other active travelers.  In the many villages to the southeast, the traditional pattern of farming and fishing prevails. Fruits and vegetables are grown throughout the Out Islands, along with pigs, sheep, goats and turkeys, while crayfish (Bahamian lobster), lumber, and pulpwood are exported, chiefly to the United States.  Thick vegetation, mostly shrubs and bushes, covers most of the Out Islands. Each is a tiny land of dunes and rocks, sea grass, spider lilies, seagrape, mangrove, casuarina and palm. Each is a land of endless shores, tiny bays and rocky inlets, where the colorful families of the ocean live, play and die in the crystal-clear waters of the reefs.  Marsh Harbour, on Abaco Island, is the third-largest city in the islands. This little town is somewhat reminiscent of an American frontier cattle town of the 1880s. In contrast, the neat little painted villages of Hope Town, on Elbow Cay, and New Plymouth, on Green Turtle Cay, might well have been lifted up and flown in straight from New England.  We travel to grow our Adventure Guides show you how. Experience the places you visit more directly, freshly, intensely sometimes best done on foot, in a canoe, or through cultural adventures like art courses, cooking classes, learning the language, meeting the people, joining in the festivals and celebrations. This can make your trip life-changing, unforgettable. All of the detailed information you need is here about the hotels, restaurants, shopping, sightseeing. But we also lead you to new discoveries, turning corners you haven't turned before, helping you to interact with the world in new ways. That's what makes our guides unique. Photographs throughout. All the latest information on the best hotels in all price categories, restaurants, dive sites, dive operators, fishing guides and much, much more. You'll find more information on these islands here than in any other guide. The Bahamas were once the playground of pirates. Modern travelers can find a different kind of adventure here, be they divers exploring a shipwreck, honeymooners beachcombing near a secluded cove. This can indeed be a paradise if you are well-prepared. This guide is the best way to prepare, whether you want to explore the British forts and tropical forests, play with dolphins in the surf, seek duty-free bargains, or pay a visit to the Out Islands, where the residents are among the friendliest people in the world. "This is a highly informative guidebook that reviews both the obvious and obscure. The Bahamas has so much to offer and this book really manages to cover quite a bit. I highly recommend it for someone that wants an insight into each of the islands that make up the Bahamas." -- Globehound  "Now in an updated fourth edition, The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos is a travel guide the 700+ islands of the Bahamas as well as the Turks and Caicos. Fabulously illustrated with full color photographs on virtually every page, The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos lists the best hotels in different price ranges, restaurants, dive sites, dive operators, tours, fishing guides, historic forts and pirate hideouts, where one can walk through tropical forests or play with dolphins, find duty-free shops with bargains, and much more. An easy-to-use, reader-friendly field guide. Highly recommended for tourists and business travelers alike." -- Midwest Book Review