Bahamas - Overview

Dive into coral reefs set in the world's clearest waters. Climb the elegant Queen's Staircase.

Play the casinos and discover the beach where Columbus first got his feet wet in the New World. You can also journey back through the centuries as Fort Rodney's fascinating multimedia museum recreates. Admiral Rodney's 1872 victory over France right before your eyes. Shop Nassau's fabulous Bay Street straw market where bargaining with local vendors can be as much fun as dancing under a limbo pole. And let yourself go at the annual Junkanoo celebration in downtown Nassau, where exotic rhythms and slightly wicked costumes can loosen the inhibitions of anyone.

Nassau/Paradise Island, the hub of the Bahamas, boasts beautiful beaches, duty-free shopping, glittering clubs and casinos ... and a local culture that blends African and British influences into something that is authentically Bahamian.

The Bahama Islands consist of over 700 islands and cays, most of which are uninhabited, covering over 100,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean between South Florida and Hispaniola.

In the 10th century, Lucayan Indians (a branch of the Arawaks) settled in the islands of the Bahamas. The Lucayans had fled the Lesser Antilles to avoid the Carib Indians, who were their enemies, astute warriors and cannibals. The Lucayan Indians were a very peaceful people, who farmed, lived in thatch huts, used stone tools and made their own pottery. They were politically, socially and religiously advanced. Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 on the Bahamas Island of San Salvador (the former name of on Cat Island), he enslaved them and coupled with new diseases brought by Columbus and crew, wiped out the entire tribe within 25 years.