Bahamas for Families

The Bahamas has many attractions to choose from but if you’re looking for a memorable and exciting excursion then this experience is right for you. Arrange to be picked up either from the port or from any hotel on paradise island. The stables are about a 25 minute drive from downtown Nassau. Whether you’re a novice or an expert at horseback riding, Duke, The trainer at Happy Trails Stables, is very experienced and will teach anyone how to ride a horse the English style. Horses are assigned to you based on your riding experience. (This helps to ensure safety.) Your adventure begins at the stable where Duke will escort you and fellow riders to Coral Harbour Beach. Along your journey you will see breathtaking views of natural unused beaches while you and your horse splash around in the water to cool off. The setting is very intimate since there’s only about 6 horses available for riding. This experience will surely stick with you for a lifetime.

Junkanoo is one of the most spectacular street festivals and parades in the world, a Boxing Day tradition that takes over the streets of Nassau every year. If you’re in the Bahamas over the holidays, drag yourself off the beach and into the big city for a bit of revelry that will give you a fresh new perspective on island culture. The costumes are stunning, the parade floats amazing, and the colors breathtaking.

Androsia Hand Made Batik Factory has been a local family business on Andros since it started on the beach in the late 1960s. The colorful fabrics, with patterns inspired by the natural beauty of the Bahamas, are hand created using a technique called batik, in which designs are applied to the cloth with wax before the cloth is dyed. Androsia’s fabrics have become an iconic part of Andros, and visitors to the factory can not only watch the artisans at work on a self-guided tour, but also arrange batik lessons. A small store offers batik fabrics by the yard, along with clothes, jewelry and other handicrafts.

The only zoo in the Bahamas started as a tropical garden and nature preserve in the 1950s. Over the years, Ardastra evolved, adding a conservation center for Caribbean flamingos and a small zoo containing birds, reptiles, and mammals. The four-acre zoo is filled with the colors and fragrances of its tropical gardens, which feature paths through the tamarind, West Indies mahogany, and Indian tulip trees, amid the abundant blooms of yellow elder, the national flower of the Bahamas, and frangipani. Visitors can see flamingos, iguanas, and lemurs, while enjoying interactive experiences like feeding the rainbow lorikeets and playing with the rabbits in the petting zoo.

History springs to life in vibrant pastels in Nassau’s Rawson Square, where the Supreme Court and Parliament buildings are painted brilliant pink.

A 600-suite hotel within a hotel, The Cove is the most luxurious of the room towers at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort. Kids aren’t banned, but the vibe is definitely grown-up—witness the adults-only Cove Pool, with its DJ-driven party scene, outdoor gaming tables, and mating-ritual pool wear. But there’s a sense of sophistication in the two-story lobby, which soars above ponds of water lilies, as well as the suites, which have balconies with ocean views, sunken living rooms, and marble-floored bathrooms. All the activities of Atlantis, including those that make adults feel young again—such as the Abyss and Leap of Faith waterslides, or the dolphin encounters—are only steps or a free shuttle ride away. Also available is immersive programming that connects guests to the rich history, art, people, food, and festivities of the islands, from exhibits showcasing regional artists and a weekly Junkanoo Fest & Feast (honoring a more than 500-year-old tradition) to five new outposts of beloved local Bahamian restaurants.

“As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart-broken probably more than once and it’s harder every time. You’ll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You’ll fight with your best friend. You’ll blame a new love for things an old one did. You’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and you’ll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you’ve never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you’ll never get back” Nassau, the Bahamas, June 2011 I was in the Bahamas for my birthday with one of my Gemini friends, who celebrates her birthday three days before me. Whereas her birthday was quite sunny and warm, the day of mine, was with some showers and thunderstorms. This image was taken a day or two before my birthday, I think. I was walking on the beach, debating what to shoot, what to drink or whether to have a swim or not. And then I saw these teenager-kids goofing around. Throwing each other to the water, swimming back to shore, stepping back to the pier and doing it again. I decided to follow them with my camera and catch their great-young and restlessness energy. I couldn’t ignore the happy expression on this kid’s face and his inviting gesture. Do you think I jumped too?

Music producer turned hotelier Chris Blackwell has made a name for himself converting Caribbean properties (Pink Sands on Harbour Island, GoldenEye in Jamaica) into jetset destinations with studios where his rock-and-roll friends can kick back while recording their next album, but it all began at Compass Point. Bob Marley, the Rolling Stones, and Eric Clapton have all stayed in some of the resort’s 18 rainbow-hued stand-alone huts, which are inspired by the colors of Bahama’s Junkanoo carnival and are simply furnished to encourage engagement with the outdoors; though the interiors are air-conditioned, most have sea-view balconies that are sighted to catch ocean breezes. In keeping with the theme, each comes with a surround-sound system and a library of CDs by artists who have recorded at Compass Point, but you’re just as likely to keep them off, preferring instead to listen to the waves that crash on the hotel’s small beach.