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Experienced and first-time travelers alike rely on Fodor's Gold Guides for rich, reliable coverage the world over. Updated each year and containing a full-color, foldout Rand McNally map, a Fodor's Gold Guide is an essential tool for any kind of traveler. Smart travel tips and important contact info make Smart travel tips and important contact info make planning your trip a breeze and detailed coverage of sights, accommodations, and restaurants give you the info you need to make your experience enriching and hassle-free. If you only have room for one guide, this is the one for you. The best guide to the Bahamas, updated every year Seaside golf courses, spectacular dive sites, and waters with tournament-class fishing Straw markets and the top shops for duty-free perfume, jewelry, china, and more Resort casinos, hot nightspots, and calypso dance clubs Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budget Great dining, from conch chowder at beachfront cafes to Bahamian-French cuisine in elegant colonial mansions Posh resorts, top hotels, secluded villas, and intimate inns Fresh, thorough, practical--from writers you can trust Costs, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands All reviews based on visits by our savvy writers 21 pages of maps--and dozens of unique features Important Contacts A to Z Smart Travel Tips Fodor's Choice What's Where in the Bahamas Pleasures & Pastimes, the don't-miss activities Complete index And more!

About Our Writers Each year the Gold Guides are written and updated by more than 500 resident writers
New This Year Keeps you up to the minute on recent changes
How to Use This Book Describes organization, icons, and other key information
Please Write to Us Tells you how to get in touch with our editors
The Gold Guide An easy-to-use section divided alphabetically by topic
Under each listing you'll find tips and information that will help you accomplish what you need to in the Bahamas
You'll also find addresses and telephone numbers of organizations and companies that offer destination-related services and detailed information and publications
We've also included a special Close-Up box titled "Boating in the Abacos," which is packed with tips on sailing in Bahamian waters
Smart Travel Tips A to Z Advice from the experts for planning and enjoying your vacation
Destination: The Bahamas Helps get you in the mood for your trip
A Country Built on Water: The Alluring World of the Bahamas Gives some colorful insight of the island country
New and Noteworthy Cues you in on trends and happenings
What's Where Gets you oriented
Pleasures and Pastimes Describes the activities and sights that really make the Bahamas unique
Great Itineraries These help you make the most of your time
Fodor's Choice Showcases our top picks from special restaurants and one-of-a-kind accommodations to out-of-the-ordinary sights and activities..
Let them inspire you! Festivals and Seasonal Events Alerts you to special Bahamian events you'll want to seek out
Chapters onNew ProvidenceandGrand Bahamaislands are divided into sections on exploring, beaches, dining, lodging, nightlife and the arts, outdoor activities and sports, and shopping, and the chapters end with sections called A to Z
which tell you how to get there and get around and provide important contacts and resources
The Out Islandsand the Turks and Caicos Islands
chapters cover these smaller islands (and groups of islands) individually in alphabetical order
At the end of the book you'll find Portraits of the Bahamas
The first essay
"In the Wake of Columbus," provides a short history of the island country
In the second essay, inveterate traveler William G. Scheller follows the path of Columbus through the Bahamian islands
Lastly, our Casino Gambling Primer is a mini-guide to gambling.
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Beaches
You're standing in water so clear you can see straight down to your toes; in the distance, the sea becomes the patchwork of emerald, aqua, and sapphire that you thought existed only in postcards. The torrid Bahamian sun beats inexorably down, and golden sands stretch toward infinity. As you look around, you realize there's only one thing you don't see: other people. And that -- sun, sea, sand -- is the appeal of the Bahamas in a nutshell. Best of all, the concept of private beaches doesn't apply here; all beaches in the Bahamas are public up to the high-water mark. Of course, land access can be restricted, so you may need to boat into that unspoiled Eden -- but if you can get there, it's yours -- for the afternoon, anyway.

In Nassau, the major Cable Beach and Paradise Island hotels sit right on the water, while hotels on the outskirts are always near beaches such as Love Beach and Saunders Beach on the north shore, and Adelaide Beach on the south. On Grand Bahama, only the Lucaya hotels are beachside, but if you're staying in Freeport you'll have access to public beaches like Xanadu Beach, Taino Beach, and the long strip at Williams Town, all local favorites. The Out Islands are similarly brimming with beautiful beaches. One of the most intriguing is the pink-sand beach at Harbour Island, off Eleuthera.

Casinos
There are four glitzy casinos in the Bahamas: two on New Providence Island -- the Crystal Palace Casino at the Nassau Marriott Resort on Cable Beach and the Paradise Island Casino on Paradise Island -- and one on Grand Bahama -- the Princess Casino in Freeport. All have the additional attractions of above-average restaurants, lounges, and colorfully costumed revues.

Dining
Most Bahamian cuisine looks to the sea, which provides a cornucopia of fresh products; meat, on the other hand, is often imported and consequently expensive. The islands' signature seafood is the conch; this slow-moving creature abounds in the shallow waters of the Bahamas, and consequently finds its way onto many a menu; its widely touted aphrodisiacal qualities don't hurt its popularity either. Grouper is the headline fish, and you can feast on it and other fish from dawn to dusk if you so desire. For breakfast, you might try "boil fish," cooked with salt pork, onions, peppers, and spices, or "stew fish," in a rich brown gravy -- both are usually served with grits or mildly sweet johnnycake.

Fishing
This country is an angler's dream. Light tackle, heavy tackle, fly-fishing, deep-sea fishing, reef fishing, fishing for blue marlin, bonefishing -- you name it. Fishing in the Bahamas starts in the waters of Bimini off the Florida coast and ends at the southernmost island, Inagua, on the northern edge of the Caribbean. Tournaments pop up all over the Out Islands during the year -- Bimini alone has a dozen.

Golf
Golfers will find some enticing courses, most of them with refreshing sea views. The 18-hole, par-72 championship courses on New Providence and Paradise islands are all spectacularly beautiful and will put your swing to the test. Cable Beach Golf Club is on West Bay Street in Nassau, across the boulevard from Breezes. The course at South Ocean Beach & Golf Resort, an elegant spot on the island's south coast, is secluded and scenic. A third course, Paradise Island Golf Club, covers most of the east end of Paradise Island. All three courses are open to the public, and instruction is available.

Junkanoo

Much of the Bahamians' music carries echoes of African rhythms, Caribbean calypso, English folk songs, and its own hearty beat. Nowhere is the Bahamians' zest for life more exuberantly expressed than in the Junkanoo celebrations held yearly on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and New Year's Day. Beginning at 2 am, the darkened streets come alive with raucous revelers dressed in costumes representing everything from kaleidoscopic dragons to eye-poppingly bright fish. Competing groups carry elaborately adorned floats fashioned from cardboard fastened to aluminum rods and decorated with glitter and crepe paper. The results of a year's worth of fiercely secret preparations, the most ornate of these floats can weigh up to 400 pounds. The music, too, is distinctly Bahamian and indisputably clamorous, filling the breezy night with the sounds of goatskin drums, clanging cowbells, and shrieking whistles. The celebration gets more imaginative, more colorful, and noisier every year.

People-to-People Programme
The free People-to-People Programme, a popular social event in the islands, gives visitors a more intimate glimpse of Bahamian life. The most extensive programs are on New Providence and Grand Bahama islands, where coordinators match visitors with Bahamians who have similar interests. Your hosts may show you around their town, invite you to attend a church service or community event, or even ask you into their home for a meal.

Sailing and Seafaring
Crystal seas tinted every color from deep sapphire to pale aqua are dotted with tiny, palm-fringed cays that beckon the weary sailor to step ashore for a brief respite; with more than 700 to visit, the best and only way to reach many of the isles is by ship. And with such pleasures as diving and snorkeling of prime quality here, it would be a shame not to get off the islands for some exploration. Boat rentals are scattered through the islands, making it easy to procure your own craft for a seafaring adventure (most also offer crews for the sailing-challenged).

Excerpted from Bahamas 2000: Expert Advice and Smart Choices, Completely Updated Every Year, Plus a Full-Size Map by Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. Staff
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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The Fodor's Bahamas 2000

The Fodor's Bahamas 2000

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