Things to do in Nassau
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Nassau
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Mid December to mid April is best and peak, driest and sunniest with the calmest seas and highest prices.
Late April to June is the best value shoulder, with warming seas, thinning crowds and lower hotel rates.
July to early August is hot, humid and festive, with the warmest sea and afternoon thunderstorms.
Mid August to October is the worst weather window and cheapest, with peak hurricane risk from August to early October.
November to mid December is a quiet recovery shoulder, with improving weather and low prices until mid December.
What's on
- Junkanoo 26 December and 1 January
Costumed groups parade on Bay Street from about 2am in a judged competition worth timing a whole trip around.
- Bahamas International Film Festival December
Film festival held in Nassau and Eleuthera in the winter peak window.
- Bahamas Carnival usually May
Road Fever brings a Caribbean carnival parade weekend to Nassau.
- Independence Day 10 July
Concerts, fireworks and Junkanoo rush outs nationwide.
- Goombay Summer Festival Thursday evenings in July
Street festival of Bahamian music, food and craft at Arawak Cay in recent programmes.
- Eleuthera Pineapple Festival early June
A day trip curiosity from Nassau, not a Nassau event.
Best things to do in Nassau
Atlantis Paradise Island
Huge water park, marine habitats and casino resort that earns a full day, with slides and aquariums you cannot get elsewhere in Nassau.
Queen's Staircase
Hand carved limestone steps climbing to Fort Fincastle, with the best free panorama over the harbour and Paradise Island.
Tru Bahamian Food Tours
Guided downtown walk of family run Bahamian tastings, rum and chocolate, layered with architecture and Junkanoo history.
National Art Gallery of The Bahamas
Bahamian art in a restored 1860s mansion, dealing with colonial history, Junkanoo and island identity in 1 to 2 hours.
John Watling's Distillery
Rum made in a 1789 estate house, with a free basic tour and paid tasting flights of pale, amber and Buena Vista rums.
Graycliff Heritage Village
1740 mansion turned heritage village with chocolate classes, a cigar factory, museum and a huge private wine cellar.
Cable Beach
Two and a half miles of pale sand and calmer, shallower water west of downtown, best reached as a non guest via Goodman's Bay.
Cabbage Beach
Long public Atlantic beach of white sand and clear turquoise water, best walked east away from vendors and crowds.
Where to stay in Nassau
Paradise Island
first trip and families
Resort security, Cabbage Beach, Atlantis and tour boat docks at your feet, and the safest feeling base at night.
Cable Beach / Baha Mar
couples, luxury and bachelor or bachelorette
The island's best resort beach plus Baha Mar's hotels, casino, water park, golf and densest cluster of good restaurants.
Downtown / Bay Street
short, culture first stays
Walkable to forts, the gallery, food tours and the port, and cheapest centrally, but downtown empties after ships leave.
West: Love Beach, Compass Point, Orange Hill and Sandyport
repeat visitors and quiet stays
Calmer and more local with better sunsets, closer to the airport and Clifton, but taxis or a rental for almost everything.
Think twice about
- Over-the-Hill, south of Shirley Street
Advisories single out these inner city districts for gang related violent crime. Do not base or wander here, especially after dark.
- Potter's Cay and East Bay Street rental area
The dock and arterial area is poorly lit, truck heavy and empty at night. Eat there by day, do not sleep there without a known reviewed property.
- Downtown side streets off Bay Street at night
Downtown empties when ships leave and side streets can feel sketchy by 8pm. Stay on Bay or Shirley Street itself and take taxis after dark.
Best restaurants in Nassau
Twin Brothers
First timer friendly Fish Fry name at Arawak Cay, known for daiquiris and the full Bahamian shack menu.
Oh Andros
Fish Fry restaurant known for huge local portions at the lowest prices, including conch salad and fried snapper.
McKenzie's
Working dock stand under the Paradise Island bridge serving conch salad and whole fried snapper to a mostly local crowd.
Bahamian Cookin' Restaurant & Bar
Downtown lunch institution serving conch fritters, chowder, steamed chicken, oxtail and peas n rice at low prices.
Café Matisse
Refined Italian cooking bent to Bahamian seafood in a shaded courtyard behind Parliament Square, lunch is the value play.
Dune by Jean-Georges
Jean-Georges French Asian Caribbean dining room on a bluff above Cabbage Beach, best booked for a terrace table at sunset.
Graycliff Restaurant
Grand old fine dining room in the 1740 mansion, with Bahamian lobster, filet mignon and tours of its huge wine cellar.
Fish by José Andrés
Contemporary Atlantis room built around Bahamian catch, with reworked conch fritters, ceviches and whole fried snapper.
Outdoor things to do in Nassau
Powerboat Adventures
Fast boat to Ship Channel Cay in the Exumas for iguanas, stingrays, shark feeding, swimming pigs, snorkelling and lunch.
Sandy Toes
Relaxed Rose Island day 25 minutes away, with reef snorkelling, managed swimming pigs, Bahamian lunch and hammocks.
Blue Lagoon Island
Private island reached by ferry, with a sheltered lagoon beach, water park and dolphin and sea lion encounters.
Stuart Cove's
Famous southwest coast operator for reef and wreck diving, a shark feeder dive, courses and half day snorkel trips.
Rose Island
Dedicated half day snorkel boats to Rose Island reefs, Atholl Island and the Sea Gardens for coral, rays and turtles.
Royal Blue Golf Club
Nicklaus championship course of two contrasting nines, water on the front and limestone moonscape on the back.
Ocean Club Golf Course
Weiskopf course along Paradise Island's eastern peninsula, with Atlantic and harbour views and crosswinds as the defence.
Clifton Heritage National Park
Park of Lucayan, Loyalist and enslaved African remains, trails, cliffs, quiet beaches and the Ocean Atlas sculpture offshore.
Best hotels in Nassau
The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort
Low rise grande dame with Versailles style gardens and a quiet stretch of Cabbage Beach, chosen for couples and quiet luxury.
Rosewood Baha Mar
Calm luxury wing of Baha Mar, a short walk from the campus restaurants, casino, pools and Royal Blue golf.
The Cove at Atlantis
Adult, suite only Atlantis tower with its own adults only pool and Fish by Jose Andres downstairs.
The Royal at Atlantis
Iconic family tower at Atlantis, where you pay for the towers and view and should expect scale and lines.
The Island House
30 room boutique alternative to the mega resorts, with private beach access, cinema, wine market and three restaurants.
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
Baha Mar's cheapest hotel that still feels luxury, with full access to pools, beach, casino and restaurants.
SLS Baha Mar
Party luxe Baha Mar hotel with swanky restaurants, bars and a pool party scene, in the heart of the action.
Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau
Modern downtown resort with a small water park and beach club on Junkanoo Beach, walkable to Bay Street.
Is Nassau expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | BSD 140 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | BSD 320 a person |
| Splurge | BSD 700 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Atlantis Paradise Island: a few days ahead
- Tru Bahamian Food Tours: weeks ahead
- Graycliff Heritage Village: weeks ahead
- Atlantis Aquaventure: a few days ahead
- Powerboat Adventures: weeks ahead
- Sandy Toes: a few days ahead
- Blue Lagoon Island: a few days ahead
- Stuart Cove's: a few days ahead
- Book Exuma boat trips days ahead in December to April, and Dune, Fish, Cafe Matisse, Graycliff and Marcus dinners in peak season.
- Book Blue Lagoon dolphin encounters and Atlantis day passes ahead on multi ship and holiday weeks.
- Book Royal Blue and Ocean Club prime morning tee times, and the Bites of Nassau food tour, ahead.
Is Nassau safe?
- Enjoy downtown and Fish Fry by day and early evening and taxi door to door after dark.
- Do not base in or wander Over-the-Hill or unlit residential districts at night, and keep jewellery and cash displays low.
- Use ATMs inside banks or resorts and cover your PIN, and never leave a drink unattended.
Nassau travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Never rent from independent unregulated jet ski operators. Use a resort operator or skip jet skis.
- Price a night at Atlantis that includes Aquaventure against day passes at about $149 a head before buying passes.
- Straw Market opening prices are not prices and much stock is imported. Junkanoo Beach is a dip and a beer, not a beach day.
Getting around Nassau: public transport and more
- Jitneys cost about $1.25 to $1.50 cash on set routes, roughly 6am to 7pm, with No. 10 to Cable Beach the workhorse.
- Taxis are mostly unmetered, so agree the full fare plus the Paradise Island bridge toll before getting in, and use licensed yellow plate taxis.
- Driving is on the left, with limited downtown parking. Rent only for a Clifton or west DIY day, fully insured.
Who Nassau suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Nassau your trip
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