Bahamas Snorkeling

Bahamas snorkeling provides the most affordable and convenient way to engage in high-quality coral reef exploration for visitors based in the U.S. and Canada.

Coral reefs at most of the islands of The Bahamas are well worth visiting, and many popular vacation destinations here offer fine reef snorkeling opportunities both for beginners and veteran coral reef explorers.

Coral reefs of the Bahamas are exclusively fringing reef systems; there are no "true" barrier reefs or atolls here.

Nonetheless in recent years the particularly extensive and well-developed fringing reef system off the east coast of Andros Island has increasingly been referred to as a "barrier reef" or "fringing-barrier reef".

In general, fringing reef systems of The Bahamas are best developed along the eastern margins of the Bahama Banks (see below), where island coasts and reefs face prevailing trade winds and broad expanses of deep ocean, providing a clear water, high energy environment well suited for coral reef development.

A typical shallow coral reef in The Bahamas. © Fotolia

However, because The Bahamas are situated at the northern edge of the Greater Caribbean region, they experience cooler winter water temperatures than those of the more southerly Caribbean Sea proper. Thus, some corals, fishes, and other marine life of the Greater Caribbean region that require warmer waters are absent or rare in The Bahamas.

The Islands of The Bahamas

The islands of The Bahamas are low islands, rarely exceeding 100 ft. in elevation. The underlying geological structure of The Bahamas differs from that found in almost all other island nations of the Caribbean region.

The Bahama Banks. Courtesy NASA

Nearly all of the islands and coral reefs of The Bahamas are found along the rims of a number of large submarine formations called the Bahama Banks - extensive sand-topped shallow plateaus rising from surrounding deep blue ocean depths and ringed by islands and coral reefs.

Despite their appearance however, the Bahama Banks are not true atolls as first defined by Darwin and still commonly defined by reef scientists. Rather, the Bahama Banks are unusal atoll-like geologic formations formed by completely different processes.

The large interiors of the Banks consist essentially of vast expanses of shallow (less than about 5 to 7 meters) back reef habitat composed largely of sand plains rimmed in many places by extensive mangrove forests. In some areas, the Banks also contain substantial seagrass meadows, and/or numerous isolated coral heads and patch reefs.

The outer rims of the Banks consist of areas that either simply drop abruptly into much deeper water, or form the floor of island chains and fringing reef systems.

Bahamas Vacation Destinations

There are two main classes of island destinations to choose from when it comes to choosing where to go for a Bahamas vacation:

• The tourism centers of Nassau/Paradise Island, and Freeport/Lucaya

• The Out Islands

Nassau/Paradise Island and Freeport/Lucaya

Nassau (New Providence Island) and its tiny neighbor Paradise Island, along with the Freeport-Lucaya complex (Grand Bahama Island) comprise the main population and tourism centers, and are the largest cities in The Bahamas.

These are places you can fly to nonstop from the US, stay in a mid or upscale hotel with all the amenities you'd expect "back home", and have a reasonably wide choice in dining, shopping, night life, and snorkeling operations.

However, the price of this extensive tourism development has been highly degraded coral reef ecosystems and coastal environments. About 60% of the coral reef habitat from the north coast of New Providence Island (Nassau/Paradise Island) has been lost since 1943. Most of this damage is attributed to the extensive coastal development that has occurred here; specifically from sedimentation, dredge and fill, and construction of the cruise ship port.

Thus, in terms of the best Bahamas snorkeling destinations at which to explore coral reefs, for all practical purposes you can forget Nassau/Paradise Island or Freeport/Lucaya.

The Out Islands of The Bahamas

The Out Islands of The Bahamas (or "Family Islands" as they are sometimes called) have always been considered a separate category of Bahamas vacation destinations.

These low-lying specks of land are far less developed or populated (and in some cases considerably remote) than the main population centers of Nassau and Freeport.

Here, you will find more of the laid back "real Bahamas" lifestyle so treasured by many visitors, with more privacy and natural beauty.

The Out Islands offer by far the best Bahamas snorkeling, providing ready access to far healthier, less visited coral reefs and marine life than can be found near Nassau or Freeport.

Best Bahamas Snorkeling Vacation Destinations

For reasons explained above, the best Bahamas snorkeling vacation destinations for exploring coral reefs are found along the eastern shores of some of the Out Islands.

A few of our favorite snorkeling destinations in The Bahamas include:

• Abaco Islands

• Harbour Island (N. Eleuthera)

• South Andros Island

Bahamas Travel Information

Getting to The Bahamas is easy, particularly for visitors from the U.S. and Canada.

Nassau (New Providence Island) is the main point of entry to the islands of The Bahamas, although Grand Bahama Island (Freeport/Lucaya) also has an international airports served by flights from the U.S. mainland and other international destinations.

From Nassau, you can make daily connections to many of the Out Islands, with more remote island vacation destinations served at least several times a week.

There are non-stops into Nassau from New York, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Calgary, Halifax, and London.

The Bahamas also offers a very wide range of accommodations, from luxury hotels at the main tourism centers to high-end resorts and rustic island-style accommodations on the out islands.