Nassau International Airport Travel Guide

A necklace of more than 700 islands scattered over the warm waters north of the Caribbean, the Bahamas is more than just the playground of the rich. It is an archipelago throbbing with local party spirit and home to natural glories from sinister schools of sharks to dazzling flocks of flamingos.

Cable Beach near Nassau is perfect for families with its soft white sand, gentle waves and children's clubs. Watch the fisherman bring in the day's catch at New Providence's Adelaide Beach. Get away from it all at Fortune Beach on Grand Bahama, where the white sand stretches into the distance. Couples escape to Pink Sands Beach on Eleuthera to watch the colours glow and change as the sun sets.

Take a swashbuckling trip back in time at the Pirates of Nassau interactive museum. Examine religious and folklore paintings at Nassau's National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, housed in a refurbished colonial house. Nearby Pompey Museum focuses on the slave trade and the earliest Arawak settlers.

Fill your lungs with the cleansing scents of pine trees as you wander through Lucayan National Park on Grand Bahama. On North Bimini, seek out the Healing Hole, a freshwater sulphur spring where locals believe Martin Luther King was inspired to write his I have a dream speech. Go birdwatching in the Abacos National Park or board a boat to tiny deserted islands around Exumas and try a bit of iguana-spotting.

Sign up for a shark wall dive from the southern shores of New Providence. For a more secure view of life underwater, take a trip in a semi-submersible from Nassau. Snorkel or dive to see the underwater Bimini Road, supposedly part of the fabled lost city of Atlantis. Trawl the waters of Bimini on a big game fishing expedition.

Expect to find everything from steak and kidney pie (dating from the days of British colonial rule) in the backstreets of Nassau to the islands' favourite conch salad, served at roadside shacks. A traditional dish is meat souse (boiled mutton), accompanied with fried plantain, macaroni pie or peas and rice.

Dance to soca and calypso in intimate clubs in the old town of Nassau. Party on the sand at Cable Beach or rattle your ribcage with the pounding bass of techno on Paradise Island. Join the locals on the open-air dancefloor at Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama or mix with the young party crowd at Abacos.

Junkanoo carnival masks from artists' studios bring a little Caribbean flavour into your home. Bay Street sells cut-price jewellery, cosmetics and hand-rolled cigars.